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Home > Trip Reports > AT HIke in the Smokies
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Alum Cave Trail
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Foggy View
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I H8 Thunderhead Mtn
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Great Sunset
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Mt Leconte Lodge
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llama packers
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Ranger Steve shows us his piece
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Steep Drop
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Bear, oh my!
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Map - My hike highlighted in Orange
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Trip Report
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AT HIke in the Smokies
May 2008
Cades Cove, TN , TN
posted by Wade
I spent May 18-24 solo hiking a section of the Appalacian Trail in the Smokies. I started on Alum Cave Trail, took "The Boulevard" over to the AT, and followed it down until I reached Bote Mountain Trail and Anthony Creek Trail near Cades Cove.
The trip was great. I feel like May is a great time of year to do a long hike at these elevations in the southeast. The flowers were starting to bloom, the trails weren't too dusty, and the mercury and humidity haven't risen to insane levels yet.
I used A Walk in the Woods as my shuttle service to take me from Cades Cove, where I left my car, to the trail head. My first day was shot distance-wise. I just did the 5 mile trail up to the Mt Leconte Shelter. I stayed in shelters along the way. The Mt Leconte Lodge is a really neat place. They are rustic cabins perched near the top of the mountain. The only way up is by foot. They use Llamas to bring up the supplies they use to cook the food and run the place. Apparently they have great meals and hospitality. Once I settled in at the shelter which is a short distance away, I hopped over to the lodge and got some potable water and sat in a rocking chair on the deck reading a book. Mt Leconte is the second highest peak in the Smokies, but it has the greatest distance from base to summit... meaning it seems bigger when you look at it from one of the nearby towns like Pigeon Forge.
I stayed at the shelter that night, then took The Boulevard trail over to the AT the next morning. I stayed in the Icewater Springs shelter that night. A deer with a broken leg wandered up with a buddy and munched on the dandelions growing there. All the shelters I stayed at had a water source nearby. You had to filter, boil, or treat your water of course. But it was very convenient to have it so close.
Day 3 I hiked over Newfound Gap and stayed at the Mt Collins shelter, where a black bear had been the night before. Apparently it came into the shelter when the hikers were sleeping. That shelter is an old-style shelter with a cage on it, but someone had left the door open. They banged and yelled and the bear left. When I was there a ranger showed up with all his gear to dart and tag the bear if it showed up again. But it never did. He said some bears actually know what rangers look like, and stay away.
Day 4 I crossed Clingmans Dome. You can drive up there and there is an excellent observation tower from which you can see forever. I made a phone call and got on my way to the Silers Bald Shelter.
Day 5 was a tough one. I traveled about 12 miles that day, but it seemed like much further. The elevation gain and loss is dramatic. You are either hiking straight up or straight down, it was tough on my feet. At one point I spent an hour ascending Thunderhead Mountain only to get to the top and see that it was covered in Rhodadendran plants and there was no view. As you can see from the picture, I was a little frustrated.
I stayed in the Spence Field sheter that night. There was a family of 8! They seemed to be having a great time.
Day 6 I got up early and started hiking. I was back in Cades Cove by lunch. My parents had rented a cabin for the weekend in Townsend Tennessee. I went there and crashed. Picked up a Subway foot long for lunch and a 6 pack for the hot tub. If you're ever interested in going to the smokies and staying in a cabin, I'd reccomend the Townsend area. They have cabins, paddling opportunities, Cades Cove wildlife viewing, and are close to the Cades Cove trail heads. AND, not touristy Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, which is always a treat.
Oh, and if you get on the AT you have to come up with a "trail name". All the thru hikers had one, and some of the section hikers. I met some great people who were fulll of life. Can't wait to hop back on the AT for another week sometime soon.
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