Friday, December 15, 2017

A November Trip to the Cat Stairs (Part 1 of 2)




Finally! After a week or two of January-like weather, November was acting like November again. We’d had a couple of “arctic blasts” so far (or, what the Weather Channel often calls a “polar vortex,” a term that I prefer not to use because it sounds like either a ride at Disney World or a high-caffeine energy drink), and today would be a bit chilly, but it would be sunny with a chance of the thermometer topping out in the low 40’s. So Greg Harrell and I agreed to visit the Cat Stairs, one of our many favorite areas of the park.



The Cat Stairs are those cliffs that you see along the western end of Greenbrier Pinnacle. They are visible from Myrtle Point on Mount LeConte as well as a few places on the eastern side of Gatlinburg. Greenbrier Pinnacle is not exceptionally high (about 4,600’ at the western end, above the cliffs), but I’ve come to realize in the last few years that being on the highest spot is over-rated. I prefer being on rugged, lonely spots with good views, which means I often end up on medium-elevation spots, looking up and around at all the glorious peaks which surround me. If you want to take me to court on this one, the Chimney Tops would be my Exhibit A. The Cat Stairs would be Exhibit B. 



The sky was a deep, crisp blue and the temperature was 26 degrees when we stepped out of the car at the small pullout on the road to Ramsey Cascades trail. The branches of the trees were covered in a thick layer of hoarfrost, and the sun was just beginning to creep over the stateline ridge, which made the ice on the tree tops glow like white-hot fireworks. That same sunshine was also beginning to warm the icy treetops just enough to send a steady shower of ice chips, clumps, and crystals down on us all day long, even though the air temperature would hover just below freezing for much of the day. It was wonderfully typical November weather in the mountains.



The name “Cat Stairs” has a romance to it that couldn’t be ignored, so unlocking its secrets became our main Smoky Mountains project for a few years, searching for routes through or over the cliffs to the top. Yes, there’s an old trail (appropriately named the Greenbrier Pinnacle trail but no longer maintained by the Park Service) that goes to the top, but why use a trail when you can blaze your own path that few if any people have ever set foot on? To make a long story short (and this time, I really mean it – it really is a long story involving about 6 or 7 trips spread out over 12 months), we found two viable, rocky ravines through the cliffs and one route around and above the northwestern end of the cliffs. Then, of course, there are several interesting routes to take you to each of those routes – Cable Route, Chestnut Grove, Harrell’s Folly, plus a few that we haven’t named. Not to mention the fact that as you hike east along the base of the cliffs, those cliffs gradually become less vertical cliffs and more boulder fields, with many winding routes to the top. So there are lots of options, but only two real routes through the heart of the cliffs.



So on this perfect November day, we hiked the old path along Bird Branch to the Barnes graves and homesite and began our ascent up a dry, east-running ravine that eventually turns into a delightful boulder field, with rocks ranging from the size of a microwave oven to car and truck-sized. There are a few young, chestnut saplings scattered along this route, so we call it the Chestnut Grove route, although the term “grove” is a bit of an exaggeration.  [To be continued]