Pics from a recent hike to Andrews Bald , which is always a favorite of mine. I took some friends visiting from Oregon.

The trail begins from the Clingmans Dome parking lot and drops elevation to get to Andrews Bald. After a large descent, it levels on a broad ridge, soon diverting to the right at mile 1.1. A final ascension through a forest will bring you to the grassy Andrews Bald, named for the cattle herder, Andres Thompson, who brought livestock up here in the 1840s.

Depending on the time of year, hikers can find patches of blackberries and raspberries, Fraser firs, and bluets, a small, blue wildflower sometimes called innocence or Quaker ladies.