Heart-thumping hike reward with wildflowers, waterway

With Labor Day behind us, most of the tourists who clogged the roads into and out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park all summer have departed. They will be back in October, so take advantage of September by taking a hike to Ramsay Cascades.

This trail offers many attractions, including rushing water along much of its length, abundant wildflowers, glimpses of rare old-growth forest and, at its end, one of the park's most stunning waterfalls. Actually, I'm told it's not a waterfall but a cascade. I personally can't tell the difference.

The four-mile hike to Ramsay Cascades is fairly easy along the first 1.5 mile stretch. You'll actually be walking along an old jeep road. A five-man trail crew was working on this section the day I hiked. Overhanging bushes had been chopped back and new drainage trenches were dug. Crushed rock had been spread on a large segment of the path. When the crew ran out of new gravel, they turned over some of the old trail bed and smoothed it out. You couldn't ask for better walking conditions.

At its end, the old jeep road runs dead into the Ramsay Prong of the Little Pigeon River. Easy access to the water makes this a good place to stop and rest. Dozens of boulders invite you to sit in the sun and trail your fingers in the swirling, pristine water. Don't linger too long, though. You still have miles to go.

The park service has posted a sign where the old road turns into the actual Ramsay Cascades trail. From this point you have 2.5 miles left. The going is distinctly different once you leave the jeep road. Crunchy gravel gives way to soft, but not muddy, footing, and the sun is blocked by a archway of rhododendron branches.

Beside the path, the forest floor is a living science exhibit of mushrooms, mosses, wildflowers and berries. I saw one clump of startling bright blue berries I couldn't identify plus ghostly Indian Pipe, doll's eye berries, lots of the yellow coneflower and drifts of pink turtlehead, just to name a few. Besides educating myself, I find that referring to my field guides gives me an excuse to pause and keeps me from thinking too much about my thumping heart.

After you cross the first of two log bridges on the trail, the path will turn away from the water. Start looking for mammoth trees. This is one of the park's few sections that was not clear-cut by lumber companies in the early 1900s. In Hiking Trails of the Smokies, Doris Gove explains that this section of forest was sold off by the first lumber companies because of the difficulty of accessing the area. The Champion Fiber Co. had plans to build a railroad to reach the trees, but the national park took over before they could get around to that.

The last half-mile of the trail is by far the roughest going. Occasional boulders and a web of tree roots give way to almost solid rock. Trail crews have eased much of this by crafting stone staircases. If you need inspiration to keep you climbing, think how far you've come. By now you're almost 2,000 feet higher than when you started, and the air is refreshingly cool. The roar of water from the cascade lets you know you're getting close. When the trail empties into a creek bed, you have just a few yards to go. Scramble over this, and you'll see the cascade, which stair-steps down the mountainside into an incredibly clear pool that is good for hunting salamander and soaking swollen toes. Don't climb on the rocks leading up the mountainside, and don't let your children. Several people have fallen to their death while climbing on Ramsay Cascades.

I found my walking stick a welcome companion on the trail back. I also stopped to soak my feet at the point where the trail meets the jeep road.

Ramsey Cascades
Distance: 8.0 miles round trip
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Directions: Take Highway 441 South into Gatlinburg. Turn left at first light onto Dudley Creek Bypass. Turn left at Highway 321. Follow 321 past Gatlinburg City Hall and high school to Pittmann Center welcome sign. Turn right at small sign marking Greenbriar entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Follow Greenbriar Cove Road until a sign at a bridge on your left directs you to the Ramsay Cascades trailhead. Follow the side road 1.5 miles to parking area. Cross footbridge to begin hiking on old jeep road (no vehicles or horses allowed).