Sky cleared up in the morning, but it was cold with tempurture about 31F. When we arrived at the visit center, the ranger told us the Newfound Gap Road was closed due to the weather. Therefore, we had to change our plan to visit the Deep Creek area instead. There is a Deep Creek Loop Trail which has 3 waterfalls, namely Juney Whank Falls, Indian Creek Falls and Toms Branch Falls. It is 4.6 miles with 579 ft elevation gain trail with difficulty rating of 5.76.
We started at the left side of the trail and found Juney Whank Falls pretty quickly.
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| Juney Whank Falls |
Then we turned to Deep Creek Horse Trail to the other side of the loop and found Indian Creek Falls and Toms Branch Falls. The trail between Indian Creek Falls and Toms Branch Falls is a pretty wide and easy trail with beautiful fall foliage. It was an enjoyable easy trail.
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| Deep Creek Loop Trail |
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| Fall foliage on Deep Creek Loop Trail |
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| Toms Branch Falls |
Then the temperature rise to upper 30F and the Newfound Gap Road was opened, we decided to try the Alum Cave Trail. Due to the Veterans Day long weekend, there were a lot to visitors and the trail head parking lot was totally full. We had to park along the road to start our hike. At that time, it was 37F. The hiking trail is 4.4 miles round trip with elevation gain of 1125ft and the difficulty rating is 6.65. However, we felt that it was easier than the Andrew Bald Trail. There are two attractions on this trail namely Arch Rock and Alum Cave Bluffs. Arch Rock is about 1.4 miles from the trail head and is a large concentration of black slate that formed a natural, arch-like shape over time. One will hike through the arch via a set of rock stairs and the assistance of cable handrails.
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| Need to use chain to help to climb up on the Alum Cave Trail |
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| View of Arch Rock from the top |
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| Alum Cave Trail near Alum Cave Bluffs |
Alum Cave Bluffs which is not a cave, but rather a massive concave overhang that towers 75-80 feet high. This large area is a popular resting point for many hikers and it was our end point of this hiking trail. When we got there, the sky cleared up with some cloud hanging in the middle of the mountains, it formed a beautiful scenery for pictures. It did not last long and the cloud gathering all over the mountains about 20 minutes later. We were so lucky to get to the top of Alum Cave Bluffs at the right time.
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| Breath taking scenery at Alum Cave Bluffs |
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| At Alum Cave Bluffs |
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| At Alum Cave Bluffs |
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| At Alum Cave Bluffs |
We had enough hiking at this point and decided to head back to town. On the way back passing an overlooking point, we noticed the sunset lighting is just right for more photographing the Great Smoky Mountains, and we had to stop for it.
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| Beautiful fall foliage with sunset lighting |
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