David S.
07-31-2005, 22:26
I just returned from a weekend backpacking trip in the Citico Creek Wilderness area here in TN. Three friends and I did a 15 mile loop consisting of the North Citico Creek trail, to the Fodderstack at the TN/NC line and then back down the South Citico Creek trail to arrive back where we started.
One thing that we all noticed was how almost painfully silent the whole area was. Other than the sound of water near the creeks, up on top of the ridge, everything was just absolutely silent. Not any bird sounds or the scampering of rodents through the woods. No wind. Nothing. It was the oddest thing. Early this morning we did hear just a few birds in the distance...which we immediately noticed with a bit of novel enthusiasm. We did see a bunch of bear scat near some areas with lots of berries...but still, complete silence. We didn't see any wildlife whatsoever...other than some crawdads and salamanders in the creeks.
We weren't a rowdy bunch either...mostly quietly walking and not conversing as we walked.
It was a beautifull and enjoyable trip. But the dead silence of the place was just kind of odd to me. I expected the place to be teaming with all sorts of sounds of critters, birds, the scitter of rodents through the forest...but I felt like I was the only critter out there! Almost as if all the wildlife was on strike or something. Maybe I'm just not in touch with my surroundings yet. David S.
One thing that we all noticed was how almost painfully silent the whole area was. Other than the sound of water near the creeks, up on top of the ridge, everything was just absolutely silent. Not any bird sounds or the scampering of rodents through the woods. No wind. Nothing. It was the oddest thing. Early this morning we did hear just a few birds in the distance...which we immediately noticed with a bit of novel enthusiasm. We did see a bunch of bear scat near some areas with lots of berries...but still, complete silence. We didn't see any wildlife whatsoever...other than some crawdads and salamanders in the creeks.
We weren't a rowdy bunch either...mostly quietly walking and not conversing as we walked.
It was a beautifull and enjoyable trip. But the dead silence of the place was just kind of odd to me. I expected the place to be teaming with all sorts of sounds of critters, birds, the scitter of rodents through the forest...but I felt like I was the only critter out there! Almost as if all the wildlife was on strike or something. Maybe I'm just not in touch with my surroundings yet. David S.