Taking to the trails - Knoxville News Sentinel

[WhiteBlaze]

<table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7><tr><td valign=top class=j><font style="font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br><div style="padding-top:0.8em;"><img alt="" height="1" width="1"></div><div class=lh><a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=T&ct=us/3-0&fd=R&url=http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/mar/30/taking-to-the-trails/&cid=1147563265&ei=DM3xR9izJY2KyQSWhazSBA&usg=AFrqEzdkBCXKxqd5_5MQZ4o7LZhxbWKEGw">Taking to the trails</a><br><font size=-1><font color=#6f6f6f>Knoxville News Sentinel,&nbsp;TN&nbsp;-</font> <nobr>Mar 29, 2008</nobr></font><br><font size=-1>The park&#39;s 500000 acres contain 900 miles of hiking trails, including 70 miles of the <b>Appalachian Trail</b>. For every crowded <b>trail</b> like the Alum Cave Bluff <b>...</b></font></div></font></td></tr></table>

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[chili36]

Even in the middle of summer, I can take a weekend hike up out of Cades Cove and not see more than two or three people in two days once I get more than a half mile from the trailhead.

The last couple of times I hiked up to Derricks Knob for the weekend, the only people I saw (in Summer) were section hikers. 9 Million visitors a year and the vast majority never get out of the car. I am always hearing people tell me how crowded the GSMNP is. However, I haven't found that to be the case once you get to the back country and away from the obvious "tourist hikes".