Michael Dunn's Blog

Smokey Mountain National Park

Trying to sum up this whole weekend in one blog post is going to be next to impossible but I am about to take a shot at it. I guess the best way to tell a story is to simply start from the beginning so here we go.

I was set to meet Kevin at his house, along with his brother-in-law, around 5:15 with the goal of making it to camp before dark. What was supposed to be an easy 3 and a half hour drive turned into over 5 hours of the most backwards, bizarre, and hilarious trips I have ever taken. It all started with a wrong turn(partly thanks to me), only about 45 minutes into the trip. It was all down hill from there. We eventually started making some progress toward our destination until we reached the mountains of  Tennessee. The directions that we had were absolute garbage at this point and the road signs were no help either. Just a little FYI for those of you traveling up to the Smokey Mountains via Hwy. 441. There are about 7 different Hwy. 441s and the signs up there do a horrible job of  letting you know which one you are on.  We ended up driving through the strangest towns I have ever seen. Keep in mind it is starting to get late at night and we are up in the mountains with no idea where we are going.  The stuff we were seeing was like something straight out of a horror movie. We passed hotels you couldn’t pay me enough to sleep in. We eventually pulled over and I got out to go into one of these local hotels to ask for directions. Much to my surprise there literally an indian chief (apparently we were in an Indian reservation at this point) who gave us directions to were we needed to go. He actually knew what he was talking about and we arrived about 45 minutes later to out camp. You have no idea how relieved we were to have finally arrived. Time to set up camp.

Ryan and Sam arrived shortly after us and we all ate dinner and set up for the night. I settled into the tent for the night but was quickly woken by Kevin who was calling us to come look at the Coyotes that were just yards outside our tent. Apparently they come into camps at night looking for food that people have left outside. I had never seen a Coyote in the wild so it was pretty cool. After the excitement from that died down I fell asleep thinking I was going to get a good nights rest. I was so wrong.

The weather was supposed to be in our favor this weekend but I guess it decided to change its mind. A couple hours into the night it started raining. This wasn’t just a little rain shower though, this was rain like you can’t even imagine. Our rain guard was no match for it and I found myself laying in a puddle in no time. My sleeping bag was soaked and it was still raining outside so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and just try to fall asleep soak and wet. Needless to say it was not my ideal sleeping conditions. I spent most of the night awake praying daylight would come so I could get up and put some dry clothes on. After what felt like an eternity the rain stopped and it was time to get up and eat a light breakfast before we started on our 16 mile hike up the to the Summit of Mt. Leconte and back down. When we all got up we discovered that we had left a bag full of condiments out that the coyotes had gotten into and destroyed. Not only that but Ryan had forgotten to roll one of his windows up that night and a Coyote had got into his truck and ate a bag of marshmallows. It was actually a pretty funny way to end what was a miserable night.

All our wet stuff hanging out to dry

After a short drive we arrived at the trail head to begin our 16 mile journey. We would take the Trillium Gap trail up to the summit of Mt. Leconte. It was a beautiful hike. We passed through the dense forest along rocky creeks until we arrived at Grotto Falls. This is the point where most people turn back and call it a day. We were only getting started. The fall was powerful due to the rain we had received the night before. After some pictures we passed behind the falls and continued our uphill climb. The sights along the way were plentiful. A bear sighting marked one of the highlights on the hike up Leconte. For most of us it was our first bear sighting out in the wild. We were only yards from it as it carried on with its daily tasks. The experience is hard to describe unless you see it first hand.

The way the vegetation visibly changed as you rose in elevation was incredible. What started as a trek through a temperate rain forest eventually morphed into an alpine setting as you neared the top. Right before you reach the actual summit of Mt. Leconte you arrive at the Leconte Lodge. An isolated group of log buildings and cabins. The lodge was some what surreal. We only saw a handful of people on the way up but now we were in the presents of around 50 people. These people were the only ones who could truly appreciate the hike we had just made to the top. From the lodge it was only about half a mile to reach the top of Leconte. The panoramic view from the top was one is the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It was complete silence at the top. Silence like you can’t even believe. We were all in awe of the beauty we were experiencing. The fresh mountain air blew the clouds away opening up a view to the ridges and valleys below. This was definitely an experience that I am sure all of us will remember.

View from Mt. Leconte

Forest on top of Leconte

After soaking it all in at the top we started our decent down the mountain. We decided to take the Rainbow Falls trail down. The trail passed over some very rocky terrain. Most of the trail had turned into a temporary creek from the storm the night before. We continued down the winding trail until we reached Rainbow Falls which marked the half way point of our decent down the mountain. The waterfall was more than any of us expected. Its 80 foot drop was a sight to behold.

Rainbow Falls

We still had over 3 miles of rough mountain terrain to cover before we reached the end of the trail. We met a random middle aged couple who were on their way down the mountain as well. It is kind of hard to explain but it was like a plot from a horror movie. Hikers meet a seemingly harmless couple in the middle of no where. It was actually kind of comical. Kevin and I exchanged remarks how much the paralleled some of the recent horror movies we had seen. I could hear Sam humming “dueling banjos” not too far ahead and I couldn’t help but laugh. By the time we reached the trail head they offered us a ride back to our car. We all looked at each other and made our decisions. I was pretty worn out from the 16 mile hike that had just taken place so I risked becoming a horror movie statistic and climbed into the back of this strange couples truck along with Evan and Sam. Kevin and Ryan decided they would walk back to the car. What none of us realized was that we were three miles downhill from our original starting point. Looks like Sam, Evan, and myself made the right choice. We arrived at the car and waited for Kevin and Ryan to finish their 3 mile uphill hike back to our position. They never admitted it but I know they wished they had gotten a ride too.

By the time Kevin and Ryan arrived night time was setting in. We all packed into the car and started the drive back to camp. About 15 minutes from camp it starts pouring.

Now, the weather was supposed to be clear all day Saturday and Sunday. After the soaking we received the night before we decided to hang all our sleeping gear up on a line to dry out while we were hiking all day. Not only that but we opened up all the tent windows to allow the interior to dry as well. Here we are, only 15 minutes from camp after a 16 mile hike, and the knowledge that all our stuff is outside being completely drenched. We were at a loss for words. There literally couldn’t have been a worse case scenario. We had no idea what we were going to do.

We arrived at camp to find the tent a mess and our sleeping bags soaked to the core. The rain was down to a drizzle by this point so we decided to push through and try to get a fire going. After getting the fire nice and hot we cooked out post-hike meal and set out to dry our sleeping bags as much as possible. My sleeping bag was the worst off and pretty much a lost cause. I opted to call it a night early and just sleep on my mat that I had brought. Big mistake. I woke up in the middle of the night freezing. I had no way to cover myself up so I struggled to find a position were I could keep myself warm. I started on my stomach with my arms tucked in like I was a sardine or something. I woke up and found myself in a modified fetal position. No matter what I tried I couldn’t find a comfortable position to keep warm. Much like the night before I spent most of the night waiting for the morning to come.

After night number 2 of hardly any sleep it was time to pack up camp. It went by without any problems with 5 of us there, all pitching in. Ryan and Sam got in their truck and started their journey back to Ohio while Kevin, Evan, and myself decided to go hang out in Gatlinburg for a few hours before heading home. We walked around to some of the shops, ate lunch at a local joint, and then took in some much deserved calories courtesy of  ice cream covered funnel cakes. We left Gatlinburg in the direction of home making a quick detour at Cligman’s Dome. Clingman’s Dome is Tennessee’s highest point but unfortunately for us the only view we had was the inside of a cloud. Clouds had been moving in and around the higher peaks all day. At the top of the mountain there was literally zero visibility. I felt bad for the people who had come to the park specifically to see the views from the top of Cligmans. The rest of the drive home went smoother than expected and we actually arrived ahead of schedule.

Amazing!

The “view” from Clingman’s Dome

It was a great weekend. One full of laughs and good times. Sights and memories that I will never forget. Even though there were some times were it looked like things couldn’t get worse it all added to the experience and I don’t think I would change a thing. In fact, I can’t wait to do it again.

View more pics from my trip HERE or visit the album on my facebook page.

Posted under Michael Dunn's News, Travels