Great Smoky Mountains

Well I managed to get three good days of hiking in at the Great Smoky Mountains. There are plenty of things I didn't get around to, and I could have easily spent two to three weeks hiking in the park, and exploring the nearby Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge areas.

My first day hiking I intended to do the Alum Cave trail and the Chimney Tops. I'm glad I started with the Alum Cave trail, because if I had tried to do that after doing Chimney Tops I'm not sure I would have made it to the top. Let me tell you, I was sick of seeing stairs on the side of a mountain by the time I got to the top. The NPS website lists the Alum trail as 5 miles out, but what they don't tell you is it's about 0.3 mile further to the LeConte lodge where the bathroom is, and 0.2 mile past that to the peak with the breathtaking view; so if you do this trail expect to hike about 11 miles total with about 3,000 feet of elevation gain. It was brutal and my knees hurt and I was exhausted when I finished. I might need to cut back on the pizza and Mac for a while... Nah.

In all seriousness this is a great trail. It'll kick your butt for a good workout and it has some really rewarding views all along the way as well as at the peak. I highly recommend trying to stay in LeConte lodge while you visit so you can make the quick trip to the top in the evening for sunset, then again in the morning for sunrise. The only place in the park I'd rather watch it from would be Charlies Bunion, and I'll talk about that more below.

Laurel Falls was my rest day hike. It's a short little 2.4 mile out and back hike with about 400 feet of elevation gain, but it's mostly paved so anyone who wants to do it should be able to complete this hike pretty easily. There were even a few families with strollers while I was there. The end of the trail gets a bit rough though so they probably had to carry the kids the last tenth of a mile or so.

Not too much to say about this trail. It's a popular one so there will always to other people around, but during the week it wasn't so crowded it wasn't enjoyable. There are a few flowering plants along the path that are pretty and a few decent views of the mountains from the side of the trail.

The waterfall at the end is pretty impressive as well so if you like sitting and listening to the sound of a waterfall then this is probably a good little hike for you.

Although with 400ft of elevation gain it was a bit taxing for a "rest" day 😜

Hiking Charlies Bunion was a bit easier than the Alum Cave trail. It's only 8 miles out and back with only about 2,000 ft of climbing, and starts at the New Found Gap which where there's plenty of parking, and great overlooks. If you're not making the trip all the way out to the Bunion you should at least park stop at New Found Gap briefly. If you get there later in the day the lot will probably be full with circling cars though as it's probably the best view you can get without going too far off pavement.

This was my favorite of the three hikes I did. It was still very taxing, especially as most of the elevation gain is in the first mile, but after that the trail settles in to smaller ups and downs as it winds its way out.

The trail itself has lots of beautiful flowers and wildlife. I stumbled into a pair of deer grazing along the trail side, and I saw something big a brown run off away from the trail at another point too -scared the crap out of me to the point I drew my knife and put my whistle in my mouth.

About 3 miles into the hike you'll come across the shelters. If you don't mind sleeping outside and packing all of your stuff in then I highly recommend figuring out how to overnight there for a nice short hike to and from Charlies Bunion for sunrise/sunset. I believe you just need a wilderness camping permit and that it's just first come first served.