We had a busy couple of days! We woke up early on Wednesday morning lured by rumors of pancakes at Newfound Gap. There were no pancakes, but there was trail magic! A local ladies hiking club had drinks, fruit, protein …
Day 21: On Top of Old Smoky
Today we hiked up Clingman’s Dome, the highest peak East of the Mississippi at 6667 feet. We had nice weather again and as we got into higher elevations we entered a Spruce-fir forest, which was a nice change and provided …
Day 20: Rocky Top
Today was another warm one, and we continued along the border. Visibility was really good today, and our first big climb of the day was up a mountain called Rocky top. It wasn’t the highest point of the day, but …
Day 19: Into the Smokies
Today was the first day that really felt like Spring. We started back at the dam sometime around 10 this morning. We had to walk over the dam and up a road for about a mile until the trail starts …
Day 18: Fontana Dam
Today we hiked just 7.1 miles down to Fontana Dam, the tallest dam in the Eastern US. Most of the way we had views of the reservoir through the trees. Although the higher elevations are still a little bare, spring …
Day 17: Jacob’s Ladder
Yesterday was the jump up, today was Jacobs’s Ladder, plus a lot of other ups and downs. Officially we hiked 15.2 miles, but actually hiked another half mile or so when we had to backtrack to get water. It was …
Day 16: The NOC and the jump up
Yesterday we went down a steep section of trail called “the jump off.” I forgot to post a picture of it so here it is: Which really doesn’t do it justice, but that’s how photos are. Last night we camped …
