Part 2: The Great Smoky Mountains
Cherokee sat just beyond the border of the park, it took us only a few minutes to reach the park's entrance. My first thought as we just drove into the national park unobstructed was a peculiar one; how immediately as if walking indoors the temperature had dropped. Not completely shaded, yet the canopy was thick and well spread out, only growing more dense with each mile driven. Or perhaps a change in geology, now fully engulfed in mountainsides, gave protection from the elements, resulting in the microclimate difference. Regardless I was quite content with the change. Our reserved campsite was much further into the park and at higher elevation, a good majority of the time spent driving was going uphill. At first it didn’t really bother me much, low streams and pleasant greenery with a mix of wildflowers, this was just a regular grassland with rolling hills, yet it didn’t stay like that for long. A few bends, tunnels and suddenly our dying SUV was summiting mountains, with nothing but a crash rail and my own driving to keep from plummeting downwards. Without a doubt, I had little experience to reference at this moment; usually slow and steady wins the race, but when one has to gun it or start rolling backwards that line to balance becomes quite thin. Despite my worries, the views were remarkable, and obviously I lived to tell the tale.
Steadily, we made our way through the mountainsides, stopping at a few notable vistas to take in the area. It wasn’t too much further in when I noticed a sign that piqued my interest, “Turn for Clingman’s Dome”. We still had a few hours left before the ranger station closed at our campsite to check in, and made a split decision. For those that don’t know, Clingman’s Dome is the tallest point in the entire park. An observation tower perched upon a mountaintop, with views of the horizon miles away. A legendary location that I knew I wouldn’t want to pass up with the limited time we had here. A detour for sure, but one worth the extra trip. Getting there however, turned out to be a little more exhilarating than I anticipated. Once we made the merge off onto another ridgeline, the road narrowed, still two lanes, but barely so. Not to mention the edge of the road was a more intimidating drop off than before, the lanes seemed to squeeze and become thinner once a turn came up. Steadily we made our way there, until we reached a parking lot carved into the summit, quite small for the amount of attention it had gotten. We circled around a few times before a spot opened up and we were able to park.
The tower was not a far hike from the parking lot, yet it was quite a steep one. One would like to say after being in a car for a few hours it would be nice to stretch your legs, but at a thirty degree constant incline, perhaps not. Not my first time in a difficult situation though, and we just trudged through. Ignoring all the rest stops, not that we could use them as almost every spot was full of people who looked like they were about to pass out from the brief climb. About fifteen minutes later we reached Clingman’s Dome. A striking sight, stone bricks stacked high up into the sky with a walkway that spiraled all around up until the peak. Slowly we began upwards again, walking round and trying to catch glimpses of the world around us. Yet an unfortunate cloud coverage had made its way around us as we hiked towards the top, much was veiled.
Eventually, we had reached our target, the tallest summit in all of the Smoky Mountains, beautiful to be sure, but not quite what I had imagined at that moment. Comedically so, almost nothing could be seen from the observation point. A gray hue that hung across the valley. If I gazed hard enough in a particular direction, there would be faint details of what lay beyond. Outlines of what would have been a glorious and monumental mountain range to lay eyes upon. However our spirits were not soured and our wills undeterred, maybe not picturesque, but special in its own right. Anything I can do in a natural playground such as this is a true gift. Besides, this location was just a side note from the major hike planned tomorrow. Wishing that we could stay and wait out the clouds, ultimately father time played his hand, we now had about an hour to reach the ranger station and have to back track until the turn off before we can even begin making progress towards the campsite. We make it back as quickly as possible to the car, running down the hill, careful so as not to slip and fall. Once driving again, we slow it down, slipping here would mean more than a skinned knee.
With minutes to spare, we arrive at the ranger station, are greeted by a nice woman who checks us in, hands us a map and gives some local advice on the wildlife and some nearby shortcuts into town. We jump back in the car and drive a short while down the road into our campsite. Nothing fancy, with the bathrooms and showers out of service, yet that didn’t bother us. In my mind, if you’re going camping, don’t expect such luxuries until back home. When in the dirt, expect to get dirty. We quickly turned this strange new spot into ours, filling up the fire ring, setting up the tent and getting supplies stocked up in the trunk as a secure makeshift closet for the few nights we are here. In no time, we had a fully operational camp, stocked firepit and plenty of dry wood for the night. With a few hours left until nightfall and everything set up for later, my girlfriend and I decide to explore the surrounding area, satiating our desire for discovery today. A riverbed and a nearby rounded trail were the obvious choices. However, with our own knowledge and the words of a ranger, riverbeds are not best to be fumbling around in. Not particularly due to danger but in respect of the scarcely available Hellbender habitat, any stone could be hosting this delicate creature and stepping around can be destructive to potential housing below. So we went down a lovely wooded trail, with a tight canopy of trees that quickly formed a tunnel around us. Roots and exposed stone were mixed along the bottoms of the path, barely carved out from the forest. Scattered around were displays of local wildflowers, a bright white or yellow in contrast to the deep and lush greenery. Water was abundant, with little creeks and miniature waterfalls upon boulders, sporting patches of wild mushrooms and the occasional salamander. Nowhere was a boring sight, and this trail was just the beginning.
