Palmer Creek Trail - This 3.3 mile trail accesses the Cataloochee area from high in the Balsam Mountains.
Palmer Creek Trail elevation profile (outbound direction only - reverse for inbound direction) - The majority of my climbing for today would be on the return leg.
Heintooga Ridge Road - I saw several flocks of turkeys on the drive to the trailhead, including two flocks with chicks.
Heintooga Ridge Road - Two turkeys scurry for safety
Heintooga Ridge Road - I always enjoy driving the dirt road from high in the Balsam Mountains down into Cherokee.
Balsam Mountain Road/Round Bottom Road - This road is lots of fun to drive
Balsam Mountain Road - The foggy high spruce-fir forest
Balsam Mountain Road - Palmer Creek trailhead
The Palmer Creek trailhead at around 4500' in elevation
Palmer Creek Trail - This trail had more mushrooms than I'd ever seen on a Smokies trail.
Palmer Creek Trail -
Palmer Creek Trail - A weather monitoring system at the trailhead
Palmer Creek Trail - Yellow-Fringed Orchid
Palmer Creek Trail - Views of Shanty Ridge from the trail
Palmer Creek Trail - Yellow-Fringed Orchids beside the trail
Palmer Creek Trail - Gorgeous shelf polypores
Palmer Creek Trail - A long rhododendron tunnel
Palmer Creek Trail - This was a cool tunnel
Palmer Creek Trail - Blurry...but I love these tiny orange mushrooms
Palmer Creek Trail - A deceased swallowtail butterfly
Palmer Creek Trail - American chestnut
Palmer Creek Trail - A small crossing
Palmer Creek Trail - A huge burled tree
Palmer Creek Trail - Looking up a huge dead hemlock
Palmer Creek Trail - Approaching the crossing of Pretty Hollow Creek
Palmer Creek Trail - The Pretty Hollow Creek crossing
Palmer Creek Trail - Pretty Hollow Creek
Pretty Hollow Gap Trail/Palmer Creek Trail intersection - I hiked the Pretty Hollow Gap Trail up to Mount Sterling last year
Palmer Creek Trail - Pretty Hollow Creek again
Palmer Creek Trail - An old hemlock growing from a rock formation
Palmer Creek Trail - More tiny shrooms
Palmer Creek Trail - The stunning berries of the painted trillium
Palmer Creek Trail - Painted trillium berry
Palmer Creek Trail - A close up of the two tiny ones
Palmer Creek Trail - More huge trillium berries
Palmer Creek Trail - Shanty Mountain
Palmer Creek Trail - A small cascade at a shallow crossing
Palmer Creek Trail - A huge maple
Palmer Creek Trail - I believe this is the berry of the Sweet White Trillium
Palmer Creek Trail - The two eyeballs of the Partridgeberry
Palmer Creek Trail - Palmer Creek
Palmer Creek Trail - Another trillium berry
Palmer Creek Trail - A painted trillium and berry tucked into a big tree trunk
Palmer Creek Trail - A millipede
Palmer Creek Trail - I thought this was cute...momma mushroom and her four kids
