Lynn Camp Prong: April 5th - 6th, 2014

Lynn Camp Prong: April 5th - 6th, 2014

Total mileage: 11.2 mi round-trip
Elevation Gain: 1615'

I had some free time, so I decided to head to the Tennessee side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and do some hiking in the Tremont region, an area I hadn't visited yet.  I've seen lots of beautiful shots from the streams in this area, so I was hoping to see some good signs of early spring on the creeks.  I took the Middle Prong Trail 4.1 miles up to the junction with the Lynn Camp Prong Trail, which then led about 1.5 miles to BC site #28.

Immediately past the GSMNP Institute at Tremont, the road turns to gravel and slowly winds its way upstream along the right bank of the Middle Prong Little River.  There's quite a few good locations along this road for pictures, such as the shot shown below. Unfortunately, my arrival coincided with blue skies and minimal clouds - I would definitely be using my Hoya ND16 filter stacked on the B+W Slim Polarizer, but this combination essentially restricts me from using my Canon 10 - 22mm lens because of severe vignetting.  So, no wide angle shots during the day on this trip!

Middle Prong Cascade from the Tremont Road

The gravel road continues, eventually terminating in a parking lot at the trailhead of the Middle Prong Trail.  The trail is very easy to locate here, made so even more by the crowds of people you're likely to encounter.  The trail immediately crosses a bridge and veers to the left; taking the right trail would lead you on a short walk up the Thunderhead Prong (which originates from its namesake mountain along the main ridge of the Smokies).  The trail winds its way along the left side of the bank, with easy access to creek. The creek here actually isn't called the Middle Prong - it's the Lynn Camp Prong, which converges at the parking lot with Thunderhead Prong to form the Middle Prong of the Little River.

A short distance later, Lynn Camp Falls proper is visible. The falls is fairly tall (maybe 50 - 70 ft), and cascades over several layers of rock.  Above the falls, the creek is confined to a narrow ravine, resulting in some other nice cascades.  There are several nice views of the falls from here, though I didn't stop to take any pictures - maybe next time.  Within the next couple miles before the junction with the Panther Creek Trail, there are several nice cascades and pools. One such cascade is shown below - the falls itself is two-tiered, with the top tier being composed of many parallel streamlines - great for pictures! The shot from the top was actually taken the next morning on my hike out; much better lighting conditions than on the way in.

Another good sized cascade along the Lynn Camp Prong

Same falls as above, but from the top

Another nice cascade and plunge pool on the Lynn Camp Prong 

Some old rusty parts (not sure of what) and some obvious homesteading sites are passed before the junction with the Panther Creek Trail. One of these sites has a nice chimney, though it has since toppled.  The creek is significantly narrowed by this point, and the cascades have decreased in size.  As I'm sure you've seen from the pictures, there wasn't too many signs of spring yet in the park. There were some wildflowers along the trail, but nothing spectacular enough to take the time and get a good shot. The long winter in the park (and really, the whole US) delayed the onset of spring significantly.

Small cascades along the Lynn Camp Prong

One the junction with Panther Creek is reached, the trail makes a quick and easy switchback and continues along the stream bank. By this point, the crowds have substantially thinned, though there are still some stragglers heading to the last footbridge or maybe Indian Flats Falls.  Once this footbridge is reached, the trail picks up most of its hardest elevation over the next 0.75 miles or so, with several long and wide switchbacks.  Along one of these switchbacks is the turn-off trail to reach Indian Flats Falls, though I didn't know this at the time.  At the top of the switchbacks the trail intersects the Greenbrier Ridge Trail, which continues along an arduous climb to the AT just north of the Derrick Knob Shelter. Rather than partake in such torture, my route turned left and picked up the Lynn Camp Prong Trail, which gently undulates about 1.5 miles to BC 28, crossing several dry or almost dry stream beds along the way. I'm sure that in late spring, this area is rife with wildflowers.

BC #28 is a decent site, though not the best I've stayed at in the park. An unnamed creek cuts the site into two halves, with a large clearing on one side and several small clearings on the further side.  I tried to hack my way down this creek to reach the Lynn Camp Prong, but the rhododendron was so thick that I had to turn back.  Later in the evening, I discovered that if you take the worn path leaving the back on the campsite, you can quickly access the Lynn Camp Prong. However, at this point the creek is really too small to be photogenic.

I woke up very early the next morning with the goal of reaching the small footbridge over the Indian Flats Prong by sunrise.  Along the trail my headlamp caught the eyes of some strange creature flitting through the air - it landed on a rock mere feet in front of me. I've since identified the bird as Whip-o-Will, though I never heard its distinct call. I found a good spot for pictures just above the footbridge, though I never made it to Indian Flats Falls.

Cascade along Indian Flats Prong

I followed the same route back to the car, stopping frequently to get some good pictures while the light was ideal.  One of my favorite shots from the trip is a 6-shot panorama of the Lynn Camp Prong as it cascades into the bank and takes a sharp turn.

Lynn Camp Prong

Lynn Camp Prong

Panoramic shot of Lynn Camp Prong