The Elk of Cataloochee

After a week at River Bend Campground, our Passport America half-price rate was over, so it was time to head to our next campground. Our next stop was just over the mountain, but we were advised not to drive the motor home on that shortest route. So we drove around Hendersonville and Asheville and arrived at our new camp site at Pride RV park--yet another half-price Passport America park. That yearly fee has definitely paid for itself for us!

We got settled into our new site, and checked out the swimming pool, miniature golf, bingo schedule, horse shoes, and washer hole games. We found that about half of the campers here come back every year and stay most of the summer. It's a fun family campground that hosts church services on Sunday morning and live singers on Saturday evening. We're glad to spend the 4th of July holiday here.

When looking for things to do in the area, we are amazed that the first thing that everyone mentions are the elks in the Cataloochee Valley. The only thing between us and those elk is one of the worst roads we have ever driven--and that's quite an accomplishment. The pavement turned to gravel, and narrowed to something less than two-lanes wide with no guard rails. The turns were blind, and meeting a car from the opposite direction was terrifying.

Denisa tried to take a picture of the crazy curves illustrated on the GPS. Sorry for the blur, but this road was too rough to get a clear photo.

So after about 15 miles of going up and up and then down and down, we finally arrived at Cataloochee Valley. It's an amazing sight to see flat fields of waving grass after so many miles of endless trees.

The reason we are here is for the herd of elk that was released into this area in 2001. Elk are normally found at high elevations in the western United States, but this was an experiment to reintroduce them in the southeast. It looks like the experiment is working out, as we saw our first elk cow appear in the forest in front of us. It sauntered closer, and teased us by crossing the road beside the car. It looks like we will be fortunate enough to see at least one elk this evening, wearing her stylish collar that allows the rangers to monitor her.

With the puffy white clouds and the green mountain tops peeping over the valley, this is a beautiful area even without any more elk sightings. It is also home to various buildings of the Cataloochee community that prospered here in the early 1900's. There were 1,200 people living in this isolated valley in 1910, before this became national forest land.

The ranger pointed out that we would probably see more elk when it got later in the evening. With the warm temperatures, they are staying in the thick forest until close to sun down. So we were excited to see a single elk cow emerge into the valley around 6:45.

We were even more amazed when we saw a young bear bound into that valley and then scamper again into the dark woods. No pictures, because we were both fumbling with the camera and yelling in delight at getting to see a bear. After we calmed down from our good fortune, we realized it was getting cooler. So we drove to a different view point in the valley. Denisa is scouting the edge of the forest with binoculars, mindful of the sign in front of her that reads, "Fields closed to all entry to protect elk and visitors, during the elk calving season."

When we got bored with no sign of movement around us, we decided a hike might be a good idea. There was a mowed path through the field to the Cataloochee cemetery in the forest. We got half-way to the opening of the trail into the woods when we saw some movement in the tall grass.

That unmistakable profile of a bear was enough to get us moving back towards our car. We got this shot of the bear crossing the trail we were on as it entered the forest again.

Our cameras were clicking as he gave us quite a show coming in and out of the tall grass of the prairie and the trees on the edge of the forest.

When this bear disappeared again into the forest, we headed down the road a little further where we had heard more elk had been spotted. There was a small group of hardy tourists that had braved that gravel road to get here, and we were sharing news of animal sightings freely. So we found the elk mother and her calf just as we had heard.

Now lit up by the lowering sun, in that same section of grass we saw another bear profile approaching the small herd of elk cows.

The rest of the females in the herd all perked up their ears and turned towards the movement of the bear. 

The only one with a calf made a quick exit as the rest of the herd and a few lucky tourists watched as the bear came closer and closer.

By this time we had moved to an area off the road for a better view point. We were standing with two other families, close to some of the abandoned buildings from the lost Cataloochee community. We were all grinning because we had front row seats for a bear hunt! That's when a sizable buck appeared from the forest, ready to protect his harem. Mark caught this picture of the buck in the grass, and the bear stalking in the edge of the forest on the right.

When we looked down, we realized that we were standing in the middle of a poison ivy patch. With all the excitement of seeing the elk and the bear, we had totally forgotten to look down where our feet were walking. Because the bear was also moving quickly towards our vicinity, Denisa and two other females thought it was time to head towards the safety of our cars.

This reminded Denisa of our strategies when the tornado sirens would go off back home in Weatherford, Oklahoma. Denisa would head to the safety of the basement, while Mark went outside with the neighbors to watch the storm unfold. These guys stayed in the woods, watching as the bear circled behind them and then they followed the bear.

That did allow Mark to catch this picture of the the bull elk and the bear in close proximity.

That was quite an animal encounter, and we can definitely recommend a trip to Cataloochee in the evening as the setting sun is lighting up the grassy valley.

As we drove out, we spotted another bull grazing. Even though we waited some minutes, he was so intent on eating that he never raised his head. This area is obviously a good habitat for elk, but they were completely hunted out in the 1700's. In 2001, 25 elk were reintroduced to this valley, with an additional 27 added in 2002. Now they number over 200, and seem to be thriving in this southeast section of the Great  Smoky Mountains National Park.

Now in the safety of the car, Mark thought it was fun to take a picture of Denisa taking pictures of the elk. 

The wildlife had put on quite a show for us this evening, but it was time to face that daunting drive back to civilization before it got any darker. We now see why so many people recommend this trip to Cataloochee Valley, but why so few will see it.