Smokies Info

[bustedchucks]

I am planning on spending a week or so in the Smokies this spring. Right now, I am just looking to do some broad stroke planning and hope some of you more familiar with the park can offer some opinions.

When? I am thinking mid to late April. Wildflowers are good, temps below freezing at night are acceptable, but milder weather is preferred.

Where? My original idea was just to get a shuttle and hike the lenght of the AT through the park, but I see a lot of you feel that since it sticks to the ridgelines, it misses the lower elevation charms of the park. Can you rattle off some attractions, views, waterfalls, spooky sections of forest, old farms, what have you and especially why you like them and I''ll see what ways I can "connect the dots" on the map.

Speaking of maps, what do you reccommend? Any guidebooks you like? And general books on the area; natural history and such?

Thanks!

[Ox97GaMe]

April in the park is somewhat of a crap shoot when it comes to weather. It could be nice, it could be snowy. One just never knows. One thing is certain, there will be at least one snowstorm in the park in the month of April. Sometimes it is early in the month, sometimes late, but they always get at least one snowfall of 10 or more inches. If it isnt snowing, you can expect rain at least 3 days out of every week minimum. You might get lucky and have a solid week of good weather, but it is rare.

The AT in April will be absolutely NUTS. That is peak thru hiker season. Shelters will be overflowing. You are correct, the AT runs the ridgeline, so no waterfalls or streams to walk along. There are a couple of great views from the top, like Shuckstack, Spence Field, Silers Bald, Clingmans Dome, Charlies Bunyon, and Mt Cammerer. But you can get views like those on any of the balds in the park.

As for alternatives, it will depend on how much up and down you want to do. The nice thing about the AT is that once you get on the ridgeline, it is a gentle rolling ridgewalk. Other trails can be a constant up and down mountains. And you need to identify how many miles/day you want to hike and plan campsite reservations accordingly.

a) The Benton MacKaye Trail. Runs from 40 mile ranger station to Big Creek Ranger station. more ups and down, but it includes some stream crossings, some waterfalls, and a couple nice views.

b) From Big Creek Ranger station, you can make a loop of any length you like. It could include Walnut Bottoms, Mouse Creek Falls, Gunther Falls, Enloe Creek Falls, Cattaloochee Valley, and Mt Sterling.

[Mocs123]

I like the AT through the park, but then again I really like ridgetop hikes. Ox is right though, I would avoid the AT in April as it will be over run with thru hikers.

The best guidebook of the park is the "little brown book"
http://www.smokiesstore.org/browse.cfm/4,5.html

The best map of the park is the Nat Geo map #229
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/maps/travel-and-hiking-maps/trails-illustrated-hiking-and-recreation-maps/tennessee/229-great-smoky-mountains-national-park-trail-map

[bustedchucks]

Thanks for the info, I'll check out that book. Looks like I'd do well to push it back to the 2nd week of May.

[Ox97GaMe]

If you want to take the AT through the park, that is a better time. There will still be a lot of thru hikers at that time, but the shelters wont be as likely to be overflowing. May also gives you better weather patterns in the park. More sunny days and definitely more wildflowers at the higher elevations.

[Mocs123]

You will want to call and get reservations 30 days before the start of your trip. The shelters hold 12, but during that time of year 4 slots are reserved for thru hikers leaving only 8 for everyone else. As always unless you are thru hiking, no tenting is allowed at any of the shelters.

[Ashepabst]

the spookiest are the spruce-fir forests up in the high elevs. there are also really cool stunted beech forests in the upper gaps with little undergrowth... very cool place to be, especially in the fog. specifically, i'm thinking of the stretch from Russel Field to Spence Field, and on up to RockyTop (best view in the park IMO) and Thunderhead. also, on and around Gregory and Parson Bald. i'd also put Mt Sterling on the spooky forest list.

[ChinMusic]

I thru-hiked the Smokies last year (late April/early May) and did NOT find it over run with hikers. I saw just enough hikers to make it "interesting". The shelters were near full but not to over flow. Earlier in the month the shelter scene would be more packed.

[Kerosene]

What is the peak time for wildflowers in the Smokeys?

I'm hoping to backpack with my 20-year old non-athletic daughter from Newfound Gap to Davenport Gap or perhaps Max Patch sometime in May/June.

[Ox97GaMe]

The nice thing with the park is that there are several different growing 'zones' due to varying elevations. There is also a very wide variety of wildflowers in the park that bloom at varying times of the spring and summer.

At lower elevations, flowers like bloodroot, bluets, trillium will start blooming in late Mar-early April, depending on weather. From there, it is an almost steady array of varying flower types up through early summer. the zones in the park generally run between 1000-1500 ft in elevation change. Therefore, if you have a 2500-3000 ft climb along your hike, it is possible to see 3 different zones of flowers and varying types on the same hike.

you also get different variety of wildflowers depending on the type of trees you are hiking through. Hardwood forrests have different type of flowers than Hemlock or Spruce forests. You also get different types of flowers near the streams vs. along the ridgelines.

You really cant go wrong hiking in the park anytime between mid April and mid June. There will be flowers in bloom. If you are looking for specific types of flowers, you will need to consult a plant guide for the Smokies to identify areas of the park where they exist and their normal bloom times.

[Ashepabst]

What is the peak time for wildflowers in the Smokeys?

I'm hoping to backpack with my 20-year old non-athletic daughter from Newfound Gap to Davenport Gap or perhaps Max Patch sometime in May/June.

i would aim for mid-to-late june.... seems to be the best time to hit the catawba rhododendron (the pink ones) in the higher elevations. azaleas should be showing color, too.

[Cakon]

During college it was a tradition to go the Smokies for spring break. Usually March/April. We just got there and asked the ranger for the best hike. They are great. They will send you to the best spot for you. If you call ahead of time you can make reservations at shelters. We would just go and always had a great hike. Most of the time we stayed off the AT and left that to the through hikers, If we were going on the AT we usually brought treats like beer or booze. Later years we brought fruit, veggies, and meat. Then we would sit back and listen to through hiking stories.

[tarbender]

http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/gsmnp/
This site is the definitive guide to the Smokies. Instructions for site use-
Mine it.
Hike well.
Have good time.

[58starter]

Which Shelters are in the Great Smokie Mountains and how do I prove I have started 50miles before the GSMNP- Thank you for any help. I have plenty of maps but none of the say which are actually on or neart the AT in the GSMNP

[berkshirebirder]

Busted, there's good information at the Natl Park Service GSMNP website, including a detailed pdf map of the Park (all trails, including the AT).

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/upload/GSMNP%20Backcountry%20Map.pdf

The 60th Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage will be April 21-25 this year.

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/wildflowers.htm

and

http://www.springwildflowerpilgrimage.org/

[SGT Rock]

Which Shelters are in the Great Smokie Mountains and how do I prove I have started 50miles before the GSMNP- Thank you for any help. I have plenty of maps but none of the say which are actually on or neart the AT in the GSMNP

Get a thru-hiking guide to tell you most efficiently what you need to know about the shelters. It wouldn't even have to be a current years guide since they are mostly about what is available in towns. The shelters are pretty much the same as they have been for years. They just change stuff like front porches, cages, etc. You might find a copy of last years AP or Companion on sale at some outfitter.

There is no way to prove you started 50 miles outside the park or that you are going 50 miles past the park. But if you were ever questioned, it might help to know some information about the AT in the direction you say you are coming from. But I've never heard of it being an issue.

I plan to make myself a thru-hiker ID card ;).

[ChinMusic]

I plan to make myself a thru-hiker ID card ;).
That is hilarious. Please post in when done.

[aBRG2far]

Roaring Fork motor trail and Cades Cove loop road will be closed but you can still find some great wildflower spots. Porters Creek trail in the Greenbriar section is fantastic for wildflowers including carpets of dwarf iris, orchids and trillium. Theres even a waterfall, Fern Branch Falls and higher up towards a campsite theres trout lilies. Heres pics from 4/16/09
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/571131207CEwgHQ?start=0

Another great spot is White Oak Sink. Its not far off trail just past the intersection of TurkeyPen Ridge and Schoolhouse Gap trails. Its not marked but just 30 yards past the intersection and easy to spot. You follow a manway into a giant sinkhole the size of a valley and once in the floor is littered with flowers. Last April it looked like a carpet of blue. Heres pics from 4/24/09 http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/571387810WOFOKY

[Chaco Taco]

Do the Boulevard up Mt Leconte. One of the best hikes in the park and it adds a half day to your hike.

[Sassafras Lass]

I did Alum Cave Trail up LeConte April '09 when a quick snowstorm blew through - and boy, that was some snow! An hour and a half from the top, the snow was well past your shins and reaching for your knees - not actively falling, it fell the day before, but just accumulation. Beautiful day, though - bright and sunny, we hiked in T-shirts most of the way.

[restlesss]

Hey I am planning a trip in the Smokies in April.
Plan A Start at Davenport Gap... Hike The AT as far south As I can go then cut East on some trail then hike back on the Benton Mckaye Trail to Davenport Gap. I am going for 10 days so that is why I say cut back on "some trail" If you look at the map of the GSMNP you can make a great loop trail without relying on a shuttle AND you get some sort of diversity from the AT "ridgetop" to other landforms

Plan B depending on the amount of snow in GSMNP I am going to thruhike the foothills trail in South Carolina...

If you want a hiking partner for this let me know... OR if you wanted to meet up and park your car in one place and we could shuttle eachother from one side to the other...

Let me know... BTW my real name is Scott

[bustedchucks]

I haven't checked this thread in a bit, cool to see it got a second wind.

Tarbernder: Awesome! That's great stuff, thanks.

BerkshireBirder: Very cool link, thanks.

Restless: I am likely to push it back to mid May. I am still not commited to any plan just yet. If you want, I'll let you know what I come up with when I get some itinerary fleshed out.

Thruhiker card. I think my sister has a laminting machine. Think it'd get me out of a speeding ticket?

[gollwoods]

I did Alum Cave Trail up LeConte April '09 when a quick snowstorm blew through - and boy, that was some snow! An hour and a half from the top, the snow was well past your shins and reaching for your knees - not actively falling, it fell the day before, but just accumulation. Beautiful day, though - bright and sunny, we hiked in T-shirts most of the way.

hey i was there for that snowsorm also started the day before as rain then snow fell overnight.
for a nice flower trail kephart prong area has alot of variety in mid april.