For the first time this year, I got a chance to hike to one of my favorite spots in the Great Smoky Mountains, Abram’s Falls. Abram’s is one of the largest water falls in the National park. The falls, named after a Cherokee chief, can be found 2.5 miles down the rocky but well trodden trail that connects Cade’s cove to the Abram’s creek ranger station.
I intentionally got off to a late start, to avoid the masses of people that frequent this location. I usually start a hike to Abram’s falls very early in the morning, before sunrise, or late in the evening, just a couple of hours before dark. This is one of the few trails that I enjoy hiking when it is still dark. It is wide, and traces a creek, so it is nearly impossible to get lost.
On the way in, I encountered a Doe, with a speckled fawn by her side, drinking from the creek. The deer in this area are very familiar with the presence of human beings, so me being just a few feet away did not seem to them to be of any concern. In fact, the mother deer completely ignored me, but the young one was curious. She, or he maybe, kept looking up at me, with wide, puzzled eyes. It couldn’t have been more that a few months old, so human beings were still (like everything else) a new sight. I’m sure to the deer, we are odd looking things indeed. Strange, mostly hairless, biped creatures that endless gawk at them, and seemingly without reason offer them food. We are strange creatures indeed.
After enjoying the company of the deer for a few minutes, I continued my journey to the falls. It wasn’t long before I noticed another one of the locals, fishing in the creek. The Great Blue Heron, one of the areas largest birds was standing in the creek, with her sharp beak, cocked and ready to impale the next unlucky fish to find itself under her looming shadow. It was a beautiful sight, but I didn’t stay to watch her work. It would have been disturbing to her, and I had miles to walk, and dwindling time to walk them in.
When I reached the falls, there was only one family there. We greeted one another, as is my custom when encountering any of my own species in the wild. Most of time my greeting is returned, but occasionally the other party just stares at the ground, and silently passes by, as if I were not there. I disregard this rudeness, and write it off to the fact that they are most likely a tourist in the wild, and are uncomfortable at the shock of having a stranger greet them.
I had to change into my swimming trunks, so the others politely turned away as I did so. Once changed, I didn’t waste any time. The water was cold but bearable, as usual, and quickly became comfortable after a few minutes of being immersed. The water level was high and the falls were at a roaring magnitude, due to the great degree of rain we have had here recently. I swam for a little while in my trunks, until I looked up and noticed that I was alone. I took the opportunity to shed my threads, and swim in my favorite fashion. It felt so good and freeing to swim with my skin fully bare to the cool water that I lost track of time.
The sun was down and darkness was soon upon me. I quickly but reluctantly drew myself out of the water and onto the dry rock. I brought no towel, so I had to air dry (a luxury that I really didn’t have time for). While I was drying, I noticed a strange creature on the rock next to me. It was a very large insect, one that I have never seen before. It looked like a walking stick, only much wider, and with two sets of large wings. It had a head like rhinoceros beetle, with large pinches. The strange looking bug was almost as large as my hand! It crawled to the top of the rock and began to flutter it’s wings, slowly at first, but with increasing speed the longer I watched. After a few minutes of warming up, it took to the sky. As it hovered over the pond, I recognized it. I have seen these things in flight before, but had no idea what they were. I used to thing they were some kind of slow flying dragonfly, but now I know they are something completely different.
It was getting dark, so I jogged the flat stretches of the trail, to save time. On the way, I encountered an entire family, with a newborn, on their way to the falls. I informed them that they were only half way, and that it would be dark soon, but they kept going anyway. I hope they had flash-lights.
I got off the trail just before dark. I was feeling kind of rushed, knowing that Denice was probably worried about me. Fate would have though, that I would be really late getting back, because Cade’s cove was gridlocked with traffic. The worst thing about Cade’s cove is the traffic. It is such a popular location, it attracts thousands of tourists every day. We are literally loving this place to death.
