To begin, this trail, like all the Norris Dam trails, is a pretty quick drive from my apartment - only 30-35 minutes. That means I don't feel too bad if I do a shorter hike while I'm up there. Marine Railway Loop is on the order of 4.5 miles, depending on which options you take.
As you can see from the map, this trail is actually a double loop. I have to say that I've never done the western half of the southern loop - I didn't have a map with me this time, and wasn't sure the spur I was on was actually part of the trail. But that's OK, because the dang thing goes pretty much straight down the power line easement, and then straight back up the other side. So, it's not very pretty, and more challenging than it's worth just to hike under some high voltage lines.
Anyway, one thing I really appreciate about this trail is the amount of wildlife present. One downside to most of the Smokies trails is that they are pretty deficient in wildlife, unless you're somewhere like Cade's Cove. I just never seem to seem many birds or other creatures up that way. At Norris, however, there are always a bunch of birds and other things. For example, today I saw:
- Maybe as many as 8 bird species, including 2 different woodpeckers, bluebirds, and a hawk
- 3 deer crossing the trail less than a hundred feet in front of me
- another creature that I'll detail in a bit
Ok, back to the trail. From the trailhead, you start downhill almost immediately. This trail does not have many level areas of any great length, it's almost all either a shallow or steep slope. It keeps things interesting. If you follow the eastern sides of the loop, you get some nice views of Norris Lake off to the east. On today's particular hike, the trees were still leafless, but the water levels were also pretty low (I'm talking maybe 10-15 feet below the normal/high water mark!). Still, it was nice and calming.
When I reached the northern loop, I opted to take the western fork, reasoning that I'd appreciate the views on the eastern fork more on the way back. The western fork takes you up to the cabins at Norris Dam State Park, but I didn't bother wandering around - it was really cold!
Wait, what's this??
Today marked the first time I've ever met an opossum out in the wild - I think I've seen them from the car before, but never unprotected! I spotted this little guy (girl?) crossing the trail, but it took me a good chunk of time to de-trekking-pole my hands and pull my camera out of my pack. By then, it had gone 10 or 15 meters off the trail.
Remarkably, it didn't seem too afraid of me when I began following it...
I did sorta resent it pointing its tail though...
Goodbye opossum!
It did eventually scurry away when I was a few meters away.
So, the worst part of the Marine Railway Loop - the hike back to the car! Remember how I said the trail descends from the trailhead? Yeah, that means it back uphill to end the hike. Ugh. Thankfully it's a pretty short hike overall (right at 5 miles for me with a couple of detours).
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