Wear Cove Winter Walk.    Jan 2, 2010

What was supposed to be an overnight and eventual offtrail walk on the Bent Arm was thwarted due to the Park Service closing the roads to Elkmont and failing to post it on their website as that would take too much trouble.  After driving to Metcalf bottoms, seeing it closed, I headed to the Y only to find it closed as well.  Dave called the park on their perpetually busy line to discover that all roads to Elkmont were indeed closed.  So I parked at the top of the road to Metcalf and hoofed out Lil Brier to the Laurel Falls Junction.  I parked at the barricade along with several other cars and hiked for a couple of hours.  Upon my return, the gate was open and there sat my car in the middle of the road.  How they lifted the gate over my car is a mystery.  Oh well, guess it was meant for me to dayhike today.  The views were spectacular but my battery died so enjoy these I squeezed of at the beginning.