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20210617 – Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Rich Mountain Loop Trail

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Date: 06/17/2021 – Distance: 5.1 mi – Elapsed Time: 3.0 hr – Ascent: 584 ft – Descent: 512 ft – Difficulty: Medium

The Rich Mountain Loop Trail leaves from the beginning of the Cades Cove Loop, covers 8.5 miles, and includes around 1700 feet of elevation change to Double Mountain, with a few overlooks, Crooked Arm Falls, and John Oliver Cabin. We were looking for a short hike near the campground on our first day after arriving, so we opted for doing a section of this trail from the trailhead, to the cabin, and back.

Crooked Arm Branch didn’t have much flow, so we chose to skip the falls.
The pines are tall here.
Rhododendron.
It’s good to be in the Smoky’s.
This dead tree was interesting and looked like it could fall anytime.
John Oliver Cabin.
Built around 1820.
History of the cabin.
Front view.
Dung Beetle hard at work on some horse manure. Could be bear scat, but It looked like horse, and I know horses use this trail.
Small cascade.
I believe this is Dwarf Crested Iris.
This centipede was 6 inches long and moving fast.

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