Day 63: Pigeon Forge, TN (cont.)

Still at Pigeon Forge, TN:

Today was our day to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's beautiful but very crowded. Glad we got up there early.

Years ago, I read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods about his hiking the length of the Appalachian Trail (over a number of summers). He had a lot to say about this area where roads like Shenandoah's Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway and many of the roads in Great Smoky Mountains park are right on the ridge and practically on top of the Appalachian Trail. When he was trying to be alone with nature, he felt like he was hiking next to the freeway. On one of his summer trips, he accessed the trail through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. He mentioned that Great Smokey Mountains is the most visited National Park (something that I verified today) because it close to so many population centers. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are the (un)natural byproduct of having so many people looking for something to do.

After stopping at the visitors center, our first stop was a moderately strenuous 3/4 mile loop out of the Chimney Tops picnic area.

Then we headed on toward Clingmans Dome. This 6643ft peak is the highest in the Great Smokey Mountains and one of the highest in the Appalachians.

The last 7 miles to the peak were right along the ridge, the Appalachian Trail and the Tennessee / North Carolina border.

 

At the top of Clingmans Dome is an observation platform that has some magnificent views.

 

Unfortunately, there's a very steep 1/2 mile climb from the parking lot up to the peak. We saw a lot of people who looked like they were about to die.

 

Some beautiful views from the top.

Our next stop was Gatlinburg for lunch and a little moonshine tasting. When we passed through yesterday, we noticed a moonshine distillery that offered free tasting. Kristen tried the White Lightning and the peach flavored moonshine. She wasn't fond of either. I tried the White Lightning and the apple pie flavored and found the both to be OK. The apple pie was particularly good.

-J-