Maddron Bald Trail can be accessed via Hwy 321 at Laurel Springs Road.
Elevation profile for today's 15 mile out-and-back. It's my kind of profile, uphill in the morning and downhill in the afternoon. I saved the short Albright Grove Loop Trail for the return trip. With almost 5000 feet of overall climbing in the humidity, I was toast.
Maddron Bald trailhead on Laurel Springs Road - There is a small parking area here amidst a neighborhood of pretty homes.
Maddron Bald Trail - This trail is one of those big climbs that accesses the Appalachian Trail. I didn't go all the way up to the AT today, instead I turned around at Snake Den Ridge Trail.
Maddron Bald Trail - I will definitely appreciate this nice grade on the return trip almost 10 hours from now.
Maddron Bald Trail - Lots of snails out today
Maddron Bald Trail - Trailside Galax
Maddron Bald Trail - More Galax in the morning sun
Maddron Bald Trail - I believe this is Partridgeberry blooming
Maddron Bald Trail - Approaching the Baxter cabin
Maddron Bald Trail - The Willis Baxter cabin, built in 1889
Maddron Bald Trail - Late 19th century living sans windows
Maddron Bald Trail - Cole Creek
Maddron Bald Trail - Large moss-covered boulders in Cole Creek
Maddron Bald Trail - Another of Cole Creek with the big hemlock on the right
Gabes Mountain Trail/Old Settlers Trail/Maddron Bald Trail intersection - I was here on a muggy day three weeks ago when I walked Gabes Mountain Trail (the trail on the left)
Maddron Bald Trail - Continuing up past the intersection with the forest now closing in
Maddron Bald Trail - A large patch of poison ivy directly beside the trail
Maddron Bald Trail - Nice wide trail for the first 2.5 miles
Maddron Bald Trail - Ascending the former road with big hemlocks to my right and high rhododendron walls on the left
Maddron Bald Trail - A giant V tree
Maddron Bald Trail - Not sure what this is?
Maddron Bald Trail - I should've gotten a closer shot of the flowers.
Maddron Bald Trail - A large beech growing on a nurse stump
Maddron Bald Trail - Big trees and pleasant woods
Maddron Bald Trail - Morning light filters in
Maddron Bald Trail - Two large poplars
Maddron Bald Trail - Maddron Creek
Maddron Bald Trail - A nice cascade of Maddron Creek
Maddron Bald Trail - Loved this wide crossing area of Indian Camp Creek. (or is this Jones Branch?) If I remember right this is the only footlog of today's walk, the rest of the crossings are rock-hops/waders.
Maddron Bald Trail - The impressive footlog over Indian Camp Creek
Maddron Bald Trail - Upstream of the footlog
Maddron Bald Trail - Looking upstream
Maddron Bald Trail - Indian Camp Creek
Albright Grove Loop Trail/Maddron Bald Trail intersection - I'll visit Albright Grove (on the right) on the return trip this afternoon.
Maddron Bald Trail - Big poplars beside the trail
Maddron Bald Trail - A snail snacks on the tiny ferns growing on a nurse log
Albright Grove Loop Trail/Maddron Bald Trail intersection - This is the other end of Albright Grove Loop Trail, 0.3 miles further up Maddron Bald Trail
Maddron Bald Trail - Above this point MBT is now a standard trail rather than a wide flat path.
Maddron Bald Trail - The Speckled Wood Lily were showy
Maddron Bald Trail - Speckled Wood Lily
Maddron Bald Trail - Crossing Indian Camp Creek
Maddron Bald Trail - Love these large polypores
Maddron Bald Trail - Another crossing
Maddron Bald Trail - You can't really tell from the picture, but this crossing was calf deep.
Maddron Bald Trail - A tiny salamander at the crossing
Maddron Bald Trail - Another large tree towers over the rest of the forest
Maddron Bald Trail - First signs of the views of Buckeye Lead and Maddron Bald
Maddron Bald Trail - Maddron Bald in the foreground
Maddron Bald Trail - Another big monster
Maddron Bald Trail - A huge fallen tree playing nurse to new growth
Maddron Bald Trail - This crossing had formed a small grotto
Maddron Bald Trail - Now looking west towards the AT ridge
Maddron Bald Trail - Clouded ridges and dead hemlocks
Maddron Bald Trail - Looking back to the southeast towards Maddron Bald
Maddron Bald Trail - Clouds rolling in. Note the start of the spruce-fir forest up on the ridge on the left
Maddron Bald Trail - A little further down the spur is an even better view
Maddron Bald Trail - Indian Camp Creek valley from the outcrop
Maddron Bald Trail - Catawba Rhododendron and Maddron Bald
Maddron Bald Trail - The beginning of the spur trail. It looks almost like a drainage channel so I'm sure some folks have whipped right by. This spur is a don't miss.
Maddron Bald Trail - Climbing higher into the beginnings of the spruce-fir forest
Maddron Bald Trail - False Solomon's Seal
Maddron Bald Trail - Unidentified imposter amongst many False Solomon's Seal plants
Maddron Bald Trail - A large patch of Umbrella Leaf
Maddron Bald Trail - Umbrella Leaf flowers.
Maddron Bald Trail - Approaching Otter Creek
Maddron Bald Trail - Campsite #29, a.k.a. Otter Creek campsite, sits directly beside the creek after a wet crossing
Maddron Bald Trail - Many bear warning signs
Maddron Bald Trail - The bear cables at campsite #29
Maddron Bald Trail - Further up the trail, a large block field with giant hemlocks growing out of it
Maddron Bald Trail - Into a laurel tunnel as I approach the Maddron Bald
Maddron Bald Trail - Despite having gone to seed long ago at lower elevations, the painted trillium were still blooming at these elevations
Maddron Bald Trail - More painted trillium
Maddron Bald Trail - Nearing the top of the Bald
Maddron Bald Trail - Now into the red spruce that I viewed earlier in the day from the rock outcropping
Maddron Bald Trail - What a nice surprise, the Sand Myrtle were in full bloom.
Maddron Bald Trail - Sand Myrtle
Maddron Bald Trail - These little guys put on quite a show
Maddron Bald Trail - Laurel, rhododendron, and sand myrtle
Maddron Bald Trail - More sand myrtle
Maddron Bald Trail - Blueberry
Maddron Bald Trail - Catawba Rhododendron
Maddron Bald Trail - A rhododendron blossom about to open
Maddron Bald Trail - Unidentified lily (update - Looks like it's bluebead lily -- thanks again Al and Janet)
Maddron Bald Trail - Unidentified lily flowers (bluebead lily)
Maddron Bald Trail - More Sand Myrtle
Maddron Bald Trail - You can tell I liked these showy flowers
Maddron Bald Trail - Now on top of Maddron Bald with heavy clouds
Maddron Bald Trail - More blueberries.
Maddron Bald Trail - Big red spruce and the thick clouds of the high elevations
Maddron Bald Trail - Looking west towards Mount Guyot and Old Black
Maddron Bald Trail - I enjoy starting the day in the lowlands and climbing into the spruce-fir forest
Maddron Bald Trail - No view at the moment
Maddron Bald Trail - Not sure what these cool looking lillies were
Maddron Bald Trail - Walking on a carpet of spruce needles
Maddron Bald Trail - Whew! Reached the top of the climb at 5432' at the intersection with Snake Den Ridge Trail. Although it's only 0.7 more miles up to the AT from here, I chose to turn around.
Maddron Bald Trail - Looking north and downhill on Maddron Bald, about to make the return leg. I was at this intersection last year on my epic Mount Cammerer loop walk.
Maddron Bald Trail - Heading back on Maddron Bald, clouds were starting to thin just a bit.
Maddron Bald Trail - One minute there's no view, the next the view appears
Maddron Bald Trail - A heath bald across the ridge
Maddron Bald Trail - Love the Smokies high country
Maddron Bald Trail - It's hard to leave the spruce-fir forest, but I have a long trek back plus a long drive home.
Maddron Bald Trail - The beautiful bright pink of these high country rhododendron
Maddron Bald Trail - Finally, my first non-polypore mushroom of the year. This guy was the size of a medium dinner plate.
Maddron Bald Trail - A block field
Maddron Bald Trail - A large mushroom deep in the forest (I like this 26x zoom :o)
Maddron Bald Trail - Returning back across Otter Creek
Maddron Bald Trail - Moss covered boulders
Maddron Bald Trail - A panorama of the view from the spur trail
Maddron Bald Trail - Afternoon view
Maddron Bald Trail - Copperhead Branch crossing
Maddron Bald Trail
Albright Grove Loop Trail - A huge dead tree next to huge live poplar.
Albright Grove Loop Trail
Albright Grove Loop Trail - A couple massive poplars beside the trail
Albright Grove Loop Trail - The picture does no justice to this monster tree
Albright Grove Loop Trail - Tiny shrooms growing on a huge nurse log.
Maddron Bald Trail - A strange fungi
Maddron Bald Trail - One more look at big trees beside the trail
Maddron Bald Trail - Music to my feet...the sound of a flat easy grade after 15 miles of walking
Maddron Bald Trail - Back at Laurel Springs Road
Foothills Parkway - Views on the way home
