View Full Version : Smokie hikers! I need some advice.
Bearbait
02-05-2004, 08:00
I am planning on taking my son on his first Smokie Mountain hike. We want to do a 4 or 5 day trip. I would like to do a loop so we do not have to backtrack any of the trails. We want to incorporate some of the A.T. with maybe 1 or 2 nights in shelters. What do you guys recommend? We will be going the first week in August, 1 week before school starts back. What is the average temp up there at night?
If it is a loop you want, the Smokys has them in spades. August will probably be semi-crowded on the AT, but I haven't hiked there during that particular month, so can't say for sure. Some loop ideas that might get you away from crowds.
From Fontana, head north on the Eagle Creek trail up to Spence Field. Lots of stream fords, but nice enough. Somewhat overgrown at times. Then, along the AT, over Rocky Top, and down to Siler Bald. Divert south on the Welch Ridge trail (can be overgrown), merge onto the Bear Ridge Trail (I think) and head to High Rocks (wow!). Continue down Cold Spring gap and camp near one of the sites near the old Cabin (wild bears!). Then, back to Fontana on the _old_ Lakeshore trail (there are two now, the maps show the old one). This adds up to around 50 miles or so. I hiked this route back in September of this year and you can find a trip report in the Members section.
Another thought is to start at Smokemont and head north, then parallel to the AT, climbing ridge after ridge after ridge, before heading up to Laurel Gap Shelter. There is camping along the way, but Laurel Gap is about 20 miles from Smokemont this way. Head over to the AT at Triconer, then southbound on the AT all the way to Mt. Collins. Head south from Mt. Collins (across the highway) heading to Newton Bald. From Newton bald it is only a few more miles back to Smokemont. This one might be slightly longer than the other.
I can post more loops or more specific info if you wish.
smokymtnsteve
02-05-2004, 11:12
the first question will be how many miles a day do you want to walk???
the west end of the park can be dry during that time of year
hungryhowie
02-05-2004, 11:32
another observation is that the AT in the smokies is up on the ridge...everything else isn't. This means that in order to incorporate the AT into 1-2 days of the trip you'll spend one day climbin' and another one going right back down.
Park can be kind of dry by August (especially at higher elevations), but I've never noticed the backcountry trails to be too too busy then.
-Howie
Bearbait
02-05-2004, 12:33
We probabaly will target 6 to 8 miles a day. I'm looking for a 20 to 30 mile round trip. Pleasure and alot of sight seeing is our goal.
smokymtnsteve
02-05-2004, 13:16
Have you ever been to Mt leConte?
This is a hike I have done many times and have always enjoyed it. Start on the A.T. at Fontana Dam. A good place to begin if you are driving in from a distance cause you can park at the dam and stay at the Fontana Dam Shelter the first night. This will keep you from driving half a day and then hiking "x" number of miles to reach a campsite or shelter. Check out the dam and lake if you have the time after you get there and the shelter is top notch. Hike the A.T. to Mollies Ridge Shelter the second night (make sure you take the side trail to the Shuckstack Fire Tower, great views of Fontana Lake, Gregory Bald, Rocy Top/Thunderhead Mtns and Yellow Creek Range). Hike to Spence Field and stay at the Spence Field Shelter the third night. You should get to Spence Field Shelter early enough that you can hike up to Rocky Top to enjoy the views. Hike down Eagle Creek Trail and stay at Campsite 90 the fourth night. Beautiful campsite where Eagle and Pinnacle Creek comes together to run into Fontana Lake. Hike Lakeshore Trail back to Fontana Dam and home on the fifth night. If you do not have a map go to the NPS's Great Smoky Mts page to get a visual/mile representation of this hike. It should meet your requirements.
Bearbait
02-05-2004, 14:02
I know there are many possibilities for backcountry hiking and camping up there but that loop Hooty mentions sounds really good. It sounds exactly like what we are looking for. What about Eagle Creek trail. I heard it was a very steep and a rough trail to hike up or down?
P.S. I do have a map of G.S.M. to refer to all the trail names so keep the ideas coming.
Thanks
Barry
smokymtnsteve
02-05-2004, 14:28
how old is your son and how much hiking have you all done before?
for a real easy pleasure and sight walk that would be an easy intro to the smokies..park at newfound gap...walk into Ice h20 shelter..this would be a short first day, just over a mile north onthe AT from the shelter is Charlies Bunion.. go see the bunion eithier the evening you get there or the next morning...the next day walk over to the Mt LeConte shelter along the boulevard trail...possible side trip to the Jump off and mandatory side trip to Myrtle point..a great place for a sunrise, also Cliff tops for the sunset gathering with folks staying in the lodge at leconte...the leconte llamas my be up on llama lane. after the night on leconte...take the Alum cave bluff trail down mt leconte....this is hike is not exacatly a loop so you will need to hitch fromthe alum cave trailhead back to newfound ...but it should be NO problem getting a ride from the trailhead back to newfound, what with the lodge folks wanting to talk to real hikers....ok so this gets you back to your car at newfound ..where there is a bathroom where you can tidy up a little
get in your car ( re-supply with some extra goodies) and drive to clingmans dome parking area...see the tower on clingmans and then walk over and spend the night at eithier double springs or siler bald shelter...and back out the next day to clingmans ... and your car.. this hike would not be a lot of climbing the water sources at both ice water springs and leconte are dependable ....silers and double springs can be questionable in august but the NPS will have that info before you go in.
this is not exactly a loop but you did say "Pleasure and alot of sight seeing is our goal." and this trip could be that esp for a 1st time smokie hike
SkunkleberryFinn
02-05-2004, 16:19
Hey, my fellow hiker, Tread, and I went to the Smokies last summer and we did a loop similar to what I think your looking for. We drove up to the Clingman's Dome parking lot and parked our car there. Then.. went south east on a trail (not quite sure of the name) and we walked about 7 miles the first day.. pass 3 campsites so its flexible to go how long you desire. We ended up staying at campground "70" which is low in a valley and right neext to a nice stream. Then the next day.. we hiked north from camp 70. I believe the trail name is Forney Ridge ( I could be wrong) This hike is about 7-8 miles but it is mostly up hill. You will stop going uphill around lunch.. Then the views are spectacular once your up on the ridge. You have a great view on both sides of the ridge including Clingman's Dome. Then, after going on the ridge a while you meet up onto the AT. This is right about .2 miles east from Siler's Bald Shelter. We took a left and camped there for the night. The sunset there was amazing and good views b./c it is a bald :) Then the next day we hiked "north" along the AT up clingman's dome. I believe it was around 7 or 8 miles to the top. This is a good hike to end your short trip on and has more rewarding views at the top. Also its a good place to start and end your hike because the parking lot goes right up to the start and finish line and there is a bathhouse there to take a shower or something before you go home.
Anyways.. send me a message or something if you want more info.. I strongly suggest this trip!!
Skunkleberry Finn
There are some sections of Eagle Creek Trail just after leaving Spence Field Shelter that can be considered a little steep. Very short sections nothing more then you will find on most of the side creek trails in the Smokies. Its all downhill with many small steam crossings. The toughest day of this trip will be from Fontana Dam to Mollies Ridge Shelter if your son is real young/inexperienced. As long as you two pace yourself, have lunch in the firetower, etc, you should be fine. From Mollies Ridge to Spence Field is a nice hike. Great views from Little Bald. If you look just off the trail at Little Bald you may see some of the old A.T. metal diamond markers. They were there a couple of years ago, it was cool to see them. Hopefully no one has taken them. The Lakeshore Trail has very little lakeshore. There is not much climbing/decending on this section of the trail and views of Fontana Lake are sparse. One cool thing to see along this section is just prior to the trail meeting up with the A.T. you will come across an auto graveyard left by the pre-park? residents. Old vehicles with trees growing through them and such. I have hiked some of the other loops other posters have mentioned and you can't go wrong with any of them.
Bearbait
02-05-2004, 17:46
My son will be 16 by the time we make the Smokie trip. I did a short trip there last September. Started at Klingman's Dome and hiked to Mount Collins shelter the first night. The next day we went down Sugarland mountain trail to Rough Creek trail and spent the night. We then traveled up Goshen Pond trail back to the A.T. and stayed at Silers Bald shelter. It was a great trip but I would like to try another section of the park. We both have logged many miles and have many experiences at Alabama's Sipsey Wilderness in Bankhead National forest. Although there we are hiking hills not mountains. If we take a moderate pace I think he (we) will be o.k. Our packs will likely be 40+ pounds due to the 5 days we plan to stay. Endurance will be the main factor figuring our daily milage.
Gray Blazer
08-30-2005, 14:22
Hi, It's probably too late, but if you want to do a nice Smokies loop, then do what my son and I did.
Start at Big Creek (Near Davenport Gap) and climb Mount Sterling. You will gain 4,000 ft in about (I think) 6 miles. We camped by ourselves on Mount Sterling. There is a tower (It is a good place to see fall foilage). The next day we hiked Sterling Ridge to Balsam Ridge and stayed at Tri-corner Knob shelter that night (nice-no mice!). Next day, we hiked around Mt. Guyot to Camel Back Trail and down to Walnut Bottoms where we camped. The weather was so clear on Hell's Ridge, it made me cry. I could see everything! Amazing for the Smokies! The next day, on out to Big Creek. Perfect 4 day hike! The first day almost killed me because of the altitude gain, plus I was out of shape, but, the rest was easy.
Later, Bear Bait II
I am planning on taking my son on his first Smokie Mountain hike. We want to do a 4 or 5 day trip. I would like to do a loop so we do not have to backtrack any of the trails. We want to incorporate some of the A.T. with maybe 1 or 2 nights in shelters. What do you guys recommend? We will be going the first week in August, 1 week before school starts back. What is the average temp up there at night?
Yo BearBait:
i'd highly suggest a CADES COVE Trail (http://www.cadescove.net/hiking_cades_cove.html) in the SMOKIES!
here's a page FULL of trails (http://www.cadescove.net/hiking_cades_cove.html)...many of them LOOPS...most encompass a few miles on the A.T. & a few include shelters.
GOOD LUCK with your hike :D