Wilderness Wildlife Week Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains Schedule for 2013

Every year one the most popular events that takes during Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge are the guided hikes that take place in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

These guided hikes fill up fast and you must preregister at the Music Road Hotel and Convention Center the day before hand and the number of hikers permitted may change due to availability of transportation. Hike may also be cancelled due to bad weather.

Sunday, January 13, 2013 Wilderness Wildlife Week Guided Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• 6:00am - Noon Cades Cove Photo Trek led by Dempster via Bus (Easy)
• 7:30am - 2:00pm Original Road to Walker Sisters led by Snyder: 5 miles long rated Moderate Strenuous
• 7:30am - 4:30pm Little River/Goshen Prong/Cucumber Gap led by Owen: 9.5 miles long rated Moderate Strenuous
• 8:00am - 4:00pm A.T. / Road Prong led by Lloyd: 7.2 miles long rated Moderate Strenuous
• 9:30am - 4:30pm Middle Prong led by Teague: 7 miles long rated Moderate
• 10:00am - 5:00pm Albright Grove led by McFarland: 7.5 miles long rated Moderate
• 6:00pm - 9:00pm Owl Prowl led by Garr via Bus (Easy)

Monday, January 14, 2013 Wilderness Wildlife Week Guided Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• 7:00am - 1:00pm History of Cades Cove led by Iceland via Bus (Easy)
• 7:00am - 3:00pm Finley Cane / West Prong led by Luckett: 6 miles long rated Easy Moderate
• 8:00am - 3:30pm Greenbrier - Off Trail led by McFarland: 8 miles long rated Moderate Strenuous
• 8:00am - 5:00pm Rhododendron Creek led by Duncan: 7 miles long rated Moderate Strenuous
• 8:30am - 4:00pm White Oak Sinks led by Domingue: 5 miles long rated Easy Moderate
• 8:30am - 4:00pm School House Gap led by Zachry: 5 miles long rated Moderate
• 10:00am - 4:00pm Huskey Gap / Sugarland Mountain led by Owen: 5.1 miles long rated Moderate Strenuous
• 6:00pm - 9:00pm Owl Prowl led by Garr via Bus (Easy)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 Wilderness Wildlife Week Guided Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• 7:30am - 4:00pm Mt. Cammerer led by Maynard: 11 miles long rated Strenuous
• 7:30am - 4:30pm Meigs Mountain / Lumber Ridge led by Owen: 10.8 miles long rated Moderate Strenuous
• 8:30am - 2:30pm Cades Cove led by Snyder via Bus (Easy)
• 10:00am - 2:00pm Injun Creek led by Cardwell: 2 miles long rated Easy
• 10:00am - 3:30pm Jakes Creek / Avent Cabin led by Jenkins: 3 miles long rated Easy Moderate
• 10:00am - 3:30pm Little River led by McFarland: 6 miles long rated Easy Moderate

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Wilderness Wildlife Week Guided Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• 7:00am - Noon Cades Cove Photo Shoot led by McLemore via Bus rated Easy Moderate
• 7:30am – 1:00pm Abrams Falls led by Owen: 5 miles long rated Easy
• 7:30am - 5:00pm Blanket Mountain led by Doughty: 8 miles long rated Strenuous
• 8:00am - 5:30pm Albright Grove led by Voorhis: 7 miles long rated Moderate
• 8:30am - 1:00pm Elkmont Historic District led by Dietzer: 4 miles long rated Easy
• 8:30am - 3:00pm Old Sugarlands Trail led by McFarland: 6.5 miles long rated Moderate
• 10:00am - 4:00pm Llama Hike led by Garrett: 4 miles long rated Easy Moderate
• 11:30am - 5:30pm Bus Tour of Cades Cove led by Harrington via Bus rated Easy

Thursday, January 17, 2013 Wilderness Wildlife Week Guided Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• 7:30 am – 3:00 pm Laurel Falls/Little Greenbrier led by Domingue: 7.4 miles long rated Moderate
• 8:00am - 2:00pm Rainbow Falls led by McFarland: 6 miles long rated Moderate
• 9:00am - 3:00pm Round Top - Off Trail led by Snyder: 3.5 miles long rated Easy
• 10:00am -1:30pm Old Elkmont Town led by Cardwell: 1 mile long rated Easy
• 10:00am - 3:30pm Cucumber Gap / Little River led by Luckett: 6 miles long rated Easy Moderate
• 6:00pm - 9:00pm Owl Prowl led by Garr via Bus (Easy)

Friday, January 18, 2013 Wilderness Wildlife Week Guided Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• 7:00am - Noon Cades Cove Photo Shoot McLemore via Bus rated Easy Moderate
• 8:00am - 2:30pm Meigs Mountain. - Off Trail led by Snyder: 5 miles long rated Moderate
• 8:00am - 4:00pm Little River / Huskey Gap led by Zachry: 6.8 miles long rated Moderate
• 8:00am - 5:30pm Miry Ridge led by Whitted: 8.4 miles long rated Moderate Strenuous
• 10:00am - 5:00pm Barnes Sisters led by Duncan: 5 miles long rated Moderate Strenuous
• 10:00am - 5:00pm Llama Hike led by Garrett: 4 miles long rated Easy Moderate
• 6:00pm - 9:00pm Owl Prowl led by Garr via Bus (Easy)

Saturday, January 19, 2013 Wilderness Wildlife Week Guided Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

• 8:00am - 3:30pm Birding in Cades Cove led by Alsop: 3 miles long rated Easy Moderate
• 10:00am - 4:30pm Albright Grove led by Maynard: 7 miles long rated Moderate
• 10:15am - 2:30pm Bus Tour to Cosby led by Cardwell via Bus (Easy)

Nothing better after a long hike than some private time in your cabins hot tub!

This weekend Cosby is the place to be in The Smoky Mountains!

Cosby in the Park will be taking place again this weekend in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and everyone big and small will have a great time with music, guided hikes, and entertainment, demonstrations and kids activities and the price for all of this can be beaten - it's all free!

Cosby is one of the quietest sections of the Great Smoky Mountains national park and is about 10 miles from the City of Gatlinburg off of 321 and boasts a large beautiful picnic area where most of the children's activates and demonstrations are taking place, an outdoor amphitheater, some of the best hiking trails in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and one of the prettiest cascades/waterfalls in the park: Hen Wallow Falls.

Listen to the live Appalachian music playing in the amphitheater against the backdrop of huge trees and a deep green forest bursting with spring wildflowers, babbling creeks and streams with old fashioned log footbridges and water splashing over moss covered boulders and forming small waterfalls and reflecting pools.

The free Cosby in the Park performances all take place in the outdoor amphitheater throughput the day and I can tell you have seen every one of these great musicians perform before and all of them are excellent.

Here is the schedule of musical events taking place at Cosby in the Park:

• 10:00 am - 11:00 am Lost Mill String Band
• 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm The Green Family Band
• 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm David McClary and Mountain Strings
• 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Boogertown Gap

One of the best wildflower walks is the 1 mile nature trail right behind the Cosby picnic areas and amphitheater. Walk past along deep lush growth, beautiful wildflowers some growing on moss covered logs, and the stone walls and foundations from the early settlers who one lived in what is now the Cosby section of the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

At 12:00 pm enjoy a guided 1 hour 1 mile stroll on this beautiful trail with Morgan Briggs and Matthew Briggs. To join this hike, meet at the Amphitheater. Miss the guided hike? feel free to explore it on your own.

Another guided moderate hike will take place from 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm and will conducted by Shane and Judy McGaha and Alma Williamson offering a walking tribute to one of the local heroes of Cosby Ella V. Costner which will end up at her grave. To join the hike, meet at Cosby picnic area pavilion.

To really get the most out of this hike you should attend the talk given by Sheila Evans from 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm in the Cosby picnic area on Ella V. Costner, known as the "The Poet Laureate of the Smokies".

If you don't want to go on the hike you can stay in the picnic are and attended an Introduction to Beekeeping given by Charlie Monday and the Art or Dowsing from 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm.

There will be plenty of ongoing demonstrations all day in the picnic area:

• Introduction to Beekeeping - Jon and Sherry Holt
• Blacksmithing - Clayton Sharp
• Quilting - Maria Holloway and Ellen Ogle
• Blacksmithing and Blade Making - Len Landrum
• "Old Timey Stuff" - Morgan and Matthew Briggs will display items of daily living from the past
• Cosby History Exhibit-Judy and Shane McGaha

The kid's activities will go on all day from 10 am to 4 pm in the picnic area as well. Children who come to Cosby in the park will enjoy fun activities such as sack races, old-timey toys, games and face painting thanks to Carolyn Templeton, Dianne Goss, Robin Goddard, and Gay Thompson.

For those who wish to listen to Mountain stories in words and music by Kathy and Mike Gwinn, attend the "Hills and Hollows" stories from 1 pm - 2 pm.

Other activities for Cosby in park will take place at the amphitheater stage

• 11:00 am - 11:30 am Introductions/Dedication of Event
• 11:30 am -12 pm Duay O'Neil "Under the Apple Trees" presentation
• 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Curtis and Lynn Osteen

For the best deal on family friendly entertainment in the Smoky Mountains be sure to attend the Cosby in the Park free celebration this Saturday May 16th from 10 am to 4 pm. Come early stay late - you will have fun!

Cosby is from 1/2 and hour to an hour for cabins rentals in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.