View Full Version : Clingmans Dome
Programbo
08-05-2006, 12:04
I haven`t been there in like 30 years so I have to ask..Is there currently a sign indicating the "highest point on the Appalachian Trail" at the appropriate point?
SGT Rock
08-05-2006, 12:07
Not that I remember. But you cannot miss that big ugly tower.
Programbo
08-05-2006, 12:55
Ah yes the tower...I had planned to visit a few select areas in the Smoky's in late October and would have gone to Clingmans Dome if I knew I could get a photo next to a sign showing that I was at that point.
RockyTrail
08-05-2006, 18:03
No, there isn't...at least last year there wasn't. In fact the trail does not go directly over the highest point of the mountain. The trail kind of skirts the mountain about 200-300 feet from the top and there is a side trail to the tower on top.
My son and I were there last year, and knowing that Clingman's Dome was the highest point on the AT we decided to find the exact "highest point on the AT." Walking up and down the trail it's quite easy to find, you can get a fix on it to the nearest 5 feet or so, it's just a little unassuming hump in the trail. It was kind of fun finding it, all the while knowing that it's a net downhill to both Springer and Katahdin!:) With all the interest on the AT today I wondered why there wasn't a marker there; of course now that I've mentioned it, I'm sure there will be a giant sign erected with flashing neon lights and dancing girls...You know, sometimes it pays to keep your mouth shut:D
NO sign, and not noted on the GSMNP Map.
Programbo
08-06-2006, 19:57
Hmmm...Well this is an outrage I say!..I`ve heard reports that the GSMNP staff seems remiss in caring for the AT in general..I think I shall start a campaign at higher levels to get this situation corrected
Tick-em-off and they might take the AT's dashed line off the map or try to get the Trail closed or something. They're pretty independent.
sliderule
08-07-2006, 12:51
I`ve heard reports that the GSMNP staff seems remiss in caring for the AT in general..I think I shall start a campaign at higher levels to get this situation corrected
You are barking up the wrong tree. The AT in the GSMNP is not maintained by the NPS. It is maintained by volunteers from the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club.
Certainly the "GSMNP staff" has no responsibility whatsover for maintaining the "AT in general."
RockyTrail
08-07-2006, 14:38
Hmmm...Well this is an outrage I say!..I`ve heard reports that the GSMNP staff seems remiss in caring for the AT in general..I think I shall start a campaign at higher levels to get this situation corrected
Why not let people just figure it out for themselves?
Nothing wrong with a little thinking required:D
It's a sublime kind of thing...
Of course, the AT could become like those old Batman TV shows, where everything is labeled with a big plastic label like "Light Switch", "Bat-phone" etc:D
The Solemates
08-07-2006, 16:28
no sign. was just there a couple weekends ago.
sliderule
08-07-2006, 17:30
Just what we need!!! More signs to enhance the "wilderness experience." Maybe every trail intersection should have a "You are Here" map like they have at Disneyland.
SGT Rock
08-07-2006, 17:44
Personally I would like to see less signs.
And less blazes.
And less shelters.
But hey, who am I to set AT policy :D
kyhiker1
08-07-2006, 17:49
I was just there this weekend,and I made a effort to find a sign or marker of some kind but eventually failed.It would be a great addition to the GSNP and to hikers to know there was a sign indicating the highest point.
TRAVEL THE UNBEATEN PATH...........;)
SGT Rock
08-07-2006, 17:56
How would it be great? There is no view from there LOL.
You may as well just go to the tower to get a picture to remember it by because it is only a few feet away. That way you know you are on the highest point and you may even get a view. Just go up to the tower and ask a tourist to take a picture of you with your own camera. I am sure it would be a full service, fulfilling side trip :D
sliderule
08-07-2006, 18:09
.It would be a great addition to the GSNP and to hikers to know there was a sign indicating the highest point.
TRAVEL THE UNBEATEN PATH...........;)
TRAVEL THE UNBEATEN PATH. Just make sure it has plenty of signs!!!!
"YOU ARE NOW AT THE TOP OF THE HILL."
Programbo
08-07-2006, 18:39
Just what we need!!! More signs to enhance the "wilderness experience." Maybe every trail intersection should have a "You are Here" map like they have at Disneyland.
Actually we need less signs but something like that deserves a sign..Just like the sign in the exact center of the trail showing the same distance N or S to the end of the trail..One at the beginning and end or end and beginning..There are just certain things where it makes sense to have a marker
>>>Certainly the "GSMNP staff" has no responsibility whatsover for maintaining the "AT in general."<<<
Actually when I said "caring" I was refering more to emotional attachment to it being there rather than actually caring/maintaining...I must wonder though how much authority the NPS staff gives the Hiking Club in general to do things given this seeming disinterest in the AT
SGT Rock
08-07-2006, 18:58
Well maybe it makse sense to you. BUT, it really doesn't when:
a) most markers end up a magnet for abuse and graphiti
b) there are more important tasks like clearing blow downs, hauling out trash, and fixing shelters or other trail structures like bridges, steps, and the like. For an idea of what a maintainer may have to haul out on a single trip check out this 40 pound pile of trash from one campsite.
Besides that, there is a big ol' tower beside the trail that hopefully will be a hint for the hiker they are there.
SGT Rock
08-07-2006, 19:05
In the immortal words of Bill Engvall: Here's your sign...
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/6/5/6/cdtower.jpg[/URL]
When you see that, your sign to tell you you have hit the top is on the tower. Go find it.
And as for the view: http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/8/1/9/8/FH000017_1.jpg (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=3134&catid=searchresults&searchid=4420) from the top,
but from the bottom: http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/5/1/9/6/gsmnp_at_sign_on_trail_between_double_spring_shelt er_and_clingman_dome_06oct04-med.jpg[URL="http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=6396&catid=searchresults&searchid=4421"]
Not much to look at is it?
sliderule
08-07-2006, 19:46
I must wonder though how much authority the NPS staff gives the Hiking Club in general to do things given this seeming disinterest in the AT
What is your basis for alledging "disinterest?"
Programbo
08-07-2006, 20:29
In the immortal words of Bill Engvall: Here's your sign...
It`s not quite the same thing..I see my point has been lost so I`ll move on
Nightwalker
08-08-2006, 13:41
It`s not quite the same thing..I see my point has been lost so I`ll move on
No, not lost. Just not agreed with very much. :)
kyhiker1
08-08-2006, 23:23
TRAVEL THE UNBEATEN PATH. Just make sure it has plenty of signs!!!!
"YOU ARE NOW AT THE TOP OF THE HILL."
Im so glad I have been quoted upon by the trail extremist.
Sgt. Rock: Your links do not work. Speaking of signs, in the Smokies last week, heading south, I missed the sign to the spur leading over Mt. Guyot, so I never got to the summit. Why doesn't the AT include that summit?
SGT Rock
08-10-2006, 21:43
I fixed the original post.