Hello all! Would like to say how glad I am to have found this wonderful site! My family {Wife & Son} and I are planing a 5 day trip to the Smokies in mid June. We have returned to hiking in the past year after being away for many. It has been 20 years since I was last at GSMNP. Although we are not in awesome shape, we are not in the worst shape. I am wanting a route that is challenging without being too much so and that offers a nice selection of terrain and scenery. I am well aware of elevation gain and the fact that it can be a bigger factor then distance covered. With that said, here are the two routes I am considering:
1. Clingmans Dome ==> AT ==> Silers Bald: stay the night at Silers shelter
2. Silers ==> Welch Ridge Trail
3. Welch Ridge Trail ==> Jonas Creek Trail: stay the night at camp 70
4. 70 ==> Forney Creek Trail: stay a night or two at either camp 69 or 68
5. 69/68 ==> Forney Ridge Trail ==> Andrews Bald
6. Andrews ==> Back to Clingmans Dome
OR
1. Newfound Gap ==> AT ==> Sweat Heifer Creek Trail: stay the night at Kephart shelter
2. Kephart shelter ==> Kephart Prong Trail
3. Kephart Prong Trail ==> Dry Sluice Gap Trail ==> Charlies Bunion
4. Charlies Bunion ==> Icewater Spring shelter: stay the night
5. Icewater Spring ==> AT ==> Newfound Gap
** Maybe a run down the boulevard over to Le Conte if we could arrange for a shuttle.
Like I said before, we have 5 days and 4 nights to work with.
I would prefer the first route but I do have some concerns about the ft elevation gain when coming up Forney Creek. We could do that over a couple of days though. Any thoughts on these two routes or descriptions of the trails involved would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all so much in advance!