Cherokee National Forest: Greene Mountain Trail

It's Christmas Parade day in Greeneville. However, since the parade does not start until 2pm, I had the opportunity to go for a hike close to town today. I opted to hike the 3.7 mile long Greene Mountain Trail in Cherokee National Forest just outside the community of Camp Creek. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the hike today was the drive up Greene Mountain Road to the trailhead. It's very scenic country back there. I did make a short detour though, as the trailhead on Greene Mountain Road is difficult to find. There is no sign on the road, just a Carsonite post a few yards down the trail from the road.

The hike starts off with a pretty steep climb. The thick leaves littering the trail made for a slippery climb. Every now and then a view opened up through the trees.

Eventually the trail leveled out for a bit

before resuming a steep climb. The trail did eventually level off a bit again and soon enough made its way to an old road. I reached the eastern terminus of the trail after passing through some muddy areas that showed signs of ATV use.

Nearby is a the site of Kennedy Cabin. There are supposedly some stone remnants of the cabin and a spring, but I was unable to find any evidence of the cabin.

I ate a snack and turned around to retrace my steps back to the car.

While it had been cold earlier in the morning, the sun quickly warmed the atmosphere (and created some nice shadows)

and by noon the temperatures had to be in the upper 50s. Unusual weather for December. The return trip, being mostly downhill, went rather quickly and I was back to the car by 12:15.