I keep saying that parks aren’t crowded, certainly not the trails.

A couple of days ago, I walked up to Rainbow Falls, one of the most popular waterfalls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

It was beautiful May day. The parking lot was crowded when I arrived about 9:45 am.

But where were the hikers?

What were all these people doing, if they weren’t on the trail? Yes, they could have chosen to walk to Grotto Falls, but still…

It took me 90 minutes to get to the falls, hardly a speed record, but I’m no speeder, just a plodder who talks to everyone. I  even stopped to look up to see a black snake on a tree. I think it was a black snake?

Rainbow Falls Trail is rocky and could be considered steep. Many folks were obviously not going to get to their destination. They were slow and stopped every ten steps.

With all the concerns about diversity in the national parks, I must mention that I saw a good cross-section of the US population. Hikers of every age and ethnic group were represented.

A group of Mennonite teenager girls with two middle-age female chaperones came down from the falls. They were wearing the traditional long, plain dresses, with good sneakers and high socks. I talked to them at length but didn’t take any photos. You can be sure that they reached the falls.

Two families with small children gave me great hope. Look at the picture of the family above. Their two-year old was carried by the dad in a sturdy, structured backpack. The mother carried the three-month old in a front pack and had a daypack with their equipment on her back. They were prepared.

But I saw a lot of diversity I could have done without. These hikers were going up as I came down the trail, so I don’t know if they made it to the top.

Lots of millenials with nothing – no water, pack, snacks, nothing but a phone in their hands.

I learned that a  group of young teens had been told by their leaders to leave their water bottles behind. “They were just going to forget them and litter”. What!@#$@

Several women wearing flip-flops on their manicured feet.

A couple with a large dog on a leash. When I pointed out that dogs aren’t allowed on the trail, they claimed that they didn’t see the sign and ignored me.

Rainbow Falls itself was thin and narrow. Not much rain this last couple of weeks, so a lot of the rock was dry.

But reaching the destination was great–and not crowded at all.

Where is Hyatt Ridge in Great Smoky Mountains National Park? That’s what some hikers wanted to know yesterday as they gathered at one of three places to car pool to the May Friends of the Smokies hike.

We had a sizable hiking crowd by the time we got to the Hyatt Ridge Trail on Straight Fork Road.  Holly Jones from the Tennessee office helped co-lead the hike. Thank you, Holly.

To get there, you need a map and a sense of adventure. You take Big Cove Road in Cherokee and turn right on Straight Fork  Road. Even driving on Big Cove Road gives you a sense of discovery, since it doesn’t lead to many places. You really need to want to be here!

Finally, the trailhead. We started a steep climb up to Hyatt Ridge, with 1,500 feet in less than two miles. That’s steep! Unfortunately several hikers didn’t realize what this hike entailed and had to turn back. Fortunately, Cherie, a park ranger, had come with us to be the sweep and took them back. Thank you, Cherie! This is not a service that you can count on. Other times, if hikers are out of their depth, they turn back by themselves.

At the top of the ridge, we took a long break waiting for everyone. No, I don’t jump up and start moving the minute the last person comes. I wait and give them a chance to breathe as well.

Towards the top, the trail was lined with spring flowers. It was like a second spring. Flowers that we saw at 2,000 feet in late March appeared here at 4,000 feet. A sea of trillium-nodding, white, sweet white (that’s with the dark center) and my favorite, painted trillium. Bloodroot leaves were still standing, though not the flower. Further up, we had may-apples and even some umbrella plants in bloom.

I hadn’t brought my flower book, so I couldn’t find the name for what turned out to be wild stonecrop, a three-spoke arrangement of the flowering stem.

We reached Campsite #44 for a late lunch. It’s a large, flat campsite with lots of logs to sit on. Two men on horseback visited the campsite as well. They were looking for water for their horses. I assured that there was a spring or creek somewhere and they found it.

Then down on Beech Gap Trail with more flowers.

Yes, it was a challenging hike in a remote area. You won’t find it in the Day Hikes of the Smokies. You can only find hikes like this by  staring at a National Geographic map of the park and wonder where you can get into the park. There’s much more to the park than the three main entrances – Cherokee, Gatlinburg and Townsend.

Friends of the Smokies will be leading the next hike on Tuesday, June 14. Right now is not too early to sign up at hike.friendsofthesmokies.org.