Archive for the ‘Cataloochee’ Category

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New vault toilets in Cataloochee

Thursday, July 15th, 2010
The Smoky Mountain News has a report that vault toilets have been installed in the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Despite heavy visitation, the site only had port potties. It now has three permanent restrooms at different points in valley with a rustic design that looks like an old-fashioned outhouse. Each structure has two vault-style toilets, one for men and one for women.

The park service also removed built up bat droppings from the historic chapel and gave it a fresh coat of paint.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

Posted in Cataloochee, vault toilets | Comments Off

Brand New Trails Illustrated Maps for the Smokies

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
National Geographic now has two separate Trails Illustrated Maps for the Great Smoky Mountains - in addition to the old map. National Geographic has divided the Park in two, thus allowing each map to show much greater detail. The original map, which covered the entire Park, had a scale 1:70,000. The two new maps now have a scale of 1:40,000 (1” = .6 miles) and provide much greater detail such as backcountry campsites, footbridges, fords and stream crossings, nature/interpretive trails, as well as detailed trail mileages.

The map for the western section of the Park includes the Cades Cove and Elkmont areas. The map for the eastern section includes Clingmans Dome, Mt. LeConte and the Cataloochee areas.

Coverage Highlights Areas and places featured in this map series include: the Appalachian Trail, Benton Mackaye Trail, and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. The maps also include scenic overlooks and roadside pull-outs.

Of course you can still purchase the original map that includes the entire Park.

Thanks to the blog reader that was kind enough to drop me an email informing me of these new items.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Cataloochee, Clingmans Dome, Elkmont, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Map, National Geographic, Smokies, Trails Illustrated Maps, cades cove, mt. leconte | Comments Off

Campgrounds in Smokies set to reopen this weekend

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Several seasonal facilities in the Great Smoky Mountains will reopen this weekend.

* Five of the Park's seasonal campgrounds will reopen on Friday: Abrams Creek, Big Creek, Cataloochee, Cosby, and Elkmont.

* Deep Creek is scheduled to open April 1 and Look Rock will open May 14.

* Road repair work will result in delayed openings for Smokemont and Balsam Mountain campgrounds, which are scheduled to open on May 28.

* Group camping will be available starting on Friday at Big Creek, Cataloochee, Cosby, and Cades Cove. Deep Creek will open as usual on April 1, however, delayed openings will be at Elkmont (April 10), and Smokemont (May 28). Reservations for group camping must be made through the National Recreation Reservation Service.

* The Cades Cove Campground is open year round and is not affected by the Cades Cove Loop Road construction.

* Horse Camps at Anthony Creek, Big Creek, Cataloochee, Round Bottom, and Towstring will reopen on April 1.

To make reservations at three of the Park's developed campgrounds, and all group campsites, horse camps, and picnic shelters, visitors can visit www.recreation.gov or call 877-444-6777.

> The Cades Cove Campground Store will reopen on April 1. The store provides groceries, camping supplies, firewood, ice, vending, limited food service, souvenirs, and bike rentals.

> The Elkmont Campground concession will open this Friday. The concession provides firewood, ice, camper convenience items, and vending of soft drinks, newspapers, and snacks.

> Secondary roads set to reopen this Friday include the Little Greenbrier and the Straight Fork/Round Bottom roads.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Abrams Creek, Big Creek, Cataloochee, Cosby, Elkmont, Great Smoky Mountains, Look Rock, Smokies, campgrounds | Comments Off

Elk to remain a species of special concern

Friday, March 5th, 2010
Back in January the N.C. Wildlife Commission proposed a new rule that would've resulted in elk losing their status as a species of special concern. This special designation was originally assigned as part of the reintroduction experiment of the elk to the Cataloochee area of the Great Smoky Mountains in 2001.

With this rule in place, it has been illegal to shoot an elk — both inside the national park boundaries and outside the park. If delisted as a species of special concern, elk would've retained their status as a “non-game” animal, making hunting them illegal even if they wander outside of the national park. However, landowners would've been able to shoot problem elk without a permit under the proposed change. The commission said the proposal was put forward by its biological staff because they said the special status was no longer necessary.

Yesterday, however, the N.C. Wildlife Commission voted not to remove the elk from the state’s list of Special Concern species. This was a clear victory to all the people who voiced their concern on this during the public hearing phase.

The Commission also announced that is has approved of several changes to state hunting, fishing and trapping regulations. You can read more about these by clicking here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Cataloochee, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, N.C. Wildlife Commission, elk, hunting, species of special concern | Comments Off

Old NC-284 closed until mid-February

Monday, January 18th, 2010
As a result of the late December snow storm, Old NC-284 between Big Creek and Cataloochee will probably be closed until mid-February due to downed trees.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Cataloochee, Old NC-284 | Comments Off

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