| Date |
Distance |
Time |
Elevation Gain |
Average Moving Time |
Year to Date Miles |
|---|
| 9/17/2022 |
8.2 miles |
4 hours 2 minutes |
1,622' |
2.1 |
699.3 |
Parking:
Maps:- National Geographic, Great Smoky Mountains National Park East (for navigation)
- Gaia GPS app (for navigation, especially useful in the campground)
- 100 Favorite Trails of the Smokies and the Carolina Blue Ridge (for directions)
Directions:
- See 100 Favorite Trails map
- We also took a detour to see Chasteen Creek Cascade off of the Chasteen Creek Trail
I've signed up to be a hike leader for the Carolina Mountain Club. The first hike I'll lead will be the Smokemont Loop in the Smokies. Before I take a group out, I needed to scout the hike. The hike navigation is easy but figuring out where to park took some time. The trailhead parking within the campground was full. We asked at the campground entrance, where they said we could park next to the group camping area. We didn't quite do that, but I'm sure where we parked was fine.
We hiked the loop in a clockwise direction. It sounds like most people do it the other way. I figured this way we'd get the climb over with quickly. Leaving the campground, our first stop was to visit a cemetery. It was quite pretty, in a meadow of flowers. Then onto climbing. Both of us found the climbing difficult. It just never seemed to end. On paper it didn't look bad. But both of us struggled, needing to stop several times. I'm not sure if we were still tired from Wednesday's hike?
At around 2.3 miles, most of the climbing was done - 1,275' gain by then. Phew. After that, we reached the falls in around 3 hours (5.6 miles).
 |
| Lots of lobelia on this hike |
 |
| Brown eyed susans |
 |
| Herd path to cemetery |
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| Gentians |
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| Yellow-tipped coral fungus |
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| One of the longest log bridges in the Smokies |
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| Asters |
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| The trail becomes wider and easier |
 |
| More lobelia, popular with the butterflies |
 |
| Campground entrance, off the Chasteen Creek Trail |
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