Old Dan Walking

[caption id="attachment_713" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunset at 35000 feet"]

[/caption] To skip the chatter and go right to the pics of this walk, click the link below: Wildcat Loop Trail – Rancho San Antonio, CA(Opens in new window) 5 mile loop walk on the Wildcat Loop Trail in Rancho San Antonio County Park, Los Altos, California – August 26, 2009 Work took me back to the left coast again this past week, but fortunately after some all-day meetings I was able to take advantage of the extended sunlight hours and get outside for a quick walk. Two of my co-workers joined me for a walk through busy Rancho San Antonio County Park in Los Altos, California. This day-use park is leased by Santa Clara County and combines with an adjacent Open Space Preserve to provide 2300 acres of forested trails and other recreational features just minutes from overcrowded Silicon Valley. Unlike our nearly deserted April walk a few miles away in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, this place was bustling in a big way with runners, walkers, bicyclists, and RC plane hobbyists. Wildcat Loop Trail [caption id="attachment_710" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The south Bay from Vista Point"] [/caption] After busting out of the office and changing into some more appropriate hiking attire we hit the crowded highway for the short trip southwest of the office to Rancho San Antonio. We arrived with about 2.5 hours of daylight to spare and quickly headed out along the road/trail after picking out a suitable trail on the large map at the entrance. The trail changes character several times along our route, changing from a road walk at first to a wide asphalt path and finally to a narrow ‘real’ trail once we turn for the ascent up and over the Santa Clara Mountains. I notice the ‘Mountain Lion Habitat’ signs at the trailhead, although my hiking partner Mike didn’t believe there are any left in this area. Wildlife was surprisingly abundant though, as we spotted several groups of black-tailed deer, several colonies of ground squirrels, a hawk, a cottontail rabbit, a couple different flocks of California quail, and one visitor that got a lot of attention, a Western rattlesnake slithering across the trail directly in front of us. He/she was just cruising from the grassy area to the right of the trail to the wooded area on the left, and didn’t seem too bothered by all the attention. [caption id="attachment_714" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A centuries old Bay tree at Rancho San Antonio"] [/caption] The trail passes beside open grasslands, now brown in the typically dry California Summer, before slipping into the dry oak forest. After a short while we pass the 160-year-old Deer Hollow farmstead that still houses barn animals and contains a nice garden where huge sunflowers and pumpkins grow as well as many other plants. This is a popular spot for local school field trips. Soon after the Wildcat Loop Trail turns left and up the side of the mountain, gaining a few hundred feet via many switchbacks in the next 0.9 miles. Climbing, West Coast style. Along the way we are passed by jogger after jogger after jogger. If it’s solitude you’re after, this is definitely not the place. We warm up considerably by the time we gain enough altitude to start to see the Valley and San Francisco Bay in the distance. The characteristic Bay Area fog is visible to our far left, but the southern end of the Bay is clear and we can see for miles. Across the ridge expensive houses dot the mountain ridges. We pause to watch a hawk sail along in the upslope winds. Not long after we crest the mountain, and enjoy a break at Vista Point, a flat open area on top of the mountain with a nearly 180 degree view spanning from Sunnyvale south to San Jose. I take my birthday phone call from my son Thomas at this nice spot. [caption id="attachment_711" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Older Dan from Vista Point"] [/caption] Soon after we return via the other side of the loop, a nice downhill jaunt through an enclosed forest along a dry creekbed. We cross the dry creek on several nice ‘Smoky’esc’ footlog bridges. The return trip features our only sighting of some relatively small Coastal Redwood trees, a huge eucalyptus tree, a 200+ year-old Bay tree (of Bay leaf fame), and more black-tailed deer. This time we get to see a small buck with his rack of antlers. As the sun drops below the ridge we reach the car, and stay a minute to watch the RC planes and helicopters fly around the open field beside the parking lot. Mission accomplished, I was able to get one outdoor walk on this most recent trip. Thanks Mike for the suggestion. It turned out to be a memorable birthday walk filled with an abundance of wildlife and good company. [caption id="attachment_712" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Black-tail buck"] [/caption] Low elevation on today’s 5 mile walk was around 600’ at the parking area and high elevation was around 900’ at Vista Point. For pics of this walk, click the link below: Wildcat Loop Trail – Rancho San Antonio, CA(Opens in new window)

[caption id="attachment_691" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Old Dan at the LeConte Lodge"]

[/caption] To skip the chatter and go right to the pics of this walk, click the link below: Mount LeConte Loop(Opens in new window) 13.8 mile loop walk to the Mount LeConte, traveling up Rainbow Falls Trail and returning via the Bull Head Trail and the Old Sugarlands Trail – August 15, 2009 I had a bit of problem this week. Imagine that last Saturday night you went to your favorite steak place and had the most incredible Filet Mignon you've ever tasted. Fast forward to this Saturday night and you're again at your favorite table getting ready to chow. You've thought about that Filet all week. "Sorry sir, we're all out of Filets. All we have left in the kitchen is grilled chicken." Now don't get me wrong, you have absolute faith that your favorite steak place can cook a mean grilled chicken....but grilled chicken ain't Filet Mignon. Ok, so what the heck does steak or chicken have to do with hiking in the Smokies? Well, not much, but last week I feasted on a Filet Mignon of Smoky Mountain destinations, the Mount Cammerer lookout. I was having a real hard time getting fired up for long drive up back to the Smokies to walk a grilled chicken trail. Like I said, the Smokies can cook a mean grilled chicken, but there's no substitute for Filet Mignon. Options...a) skip it this week and maybe by next week the Mount Cammerer high will fade, b) suck it up and indulge in some grilled chicken, or c) have another Filet. Option a was not ideal because I'll be traveling for work again and may not get an opportunity to walk for a while. Instead I chose option c, and my Filet of choice would be a return to the famous Smoky Mountain high-country showcase, Mount LeConte. I would reach Mount LeConte via a nearly 4000 foot climb up Rainbow Falls Trail, and return weary and worn many hours later by stumbling down the spectacular Bull Head Trail. This would be my second walk out the Cherokee Orchard Road area in Gatlinburg, so I was up early once again and over the mountain for an 8 AM start on the trail. On the way I was treated again to a sighting of Cherokee elk grazing beside 441. Another great start to another great day. Climbing up Rainbow Falls Trail [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A cascade on LeConte Creek"] [/caption] Rainbow Falls Trail is a popular destination for many of Gatlinburg's visitors, but I doubt that most of them realize that the walk up the falls is a real stiff climb. The trail starts climbing the second you leave the large parking area beside Cherokee Orchard Road. Bending around beside LeConte Creek, the rugged early portion of the walk is uphill but exceptionally scenic with many cascades, boulders, and large fallen trees making it impossible to walk through without stopping for scads of pictures. So I do. Before long I realize that the breakfast I had intended to take with me to enjoy at Rainbow Falls is tucked safely away on the front seat of my car, instead of being tucked safely in my loaded and overweight backpack. Rats! No, it wasn't a nut and oat Kashi bar...it was fine piece of golden brown deep-fried goodness slapped on a fat-filled biscuit. Oh the humanity! I shake off the disappointment of the unrealized fat and calories and enjoy a sighting of a wild turkey slowly crossing the trail a few feet in front of me. Although I would see lots of evidence of the Smoky Mountain wildlife along the trails today in the form of scat, other than a few junco this turkey would be my only live sighting today. Continuing up the trail I come to a very nice area of cascades and a high bridged crossing. I wonder how many folks turn around here because they think this area is the falls? Here I meet today's first walking partner, David Bowman of Pennsylvania. David is visiting with his family but today is dayhiking to the falls by himself, so I walk with him up to the falls and enjoy the conversation. We both notice the eroded cut-throughs beside the trail where walkers too lazy to stay on the switchbacks have devastated the sides of the ridge. After a hefty climb we reach Rainbow Falls and are both highly impressed by the scenic fall. While snapping pictures we're overrun by two boisterous red squirrels that are obviously well fed by falls visitors. We enjoy the company of these two bold and noisy residents, but part company as I continue up the climb. [caption id="attachment_689" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Rainbow Falls"] [/caption] Above the falls the trail climbs steadily up Rocky Spur and ridge views begin to appear to the left. At points it switches into dry areas of mountain laurel and rhododendron and along one ridge climb an impressive boulder appears. Boulders would be a theme for today, as we'll hear about later. Another abundant thing today was the red (pink) turtlehead and coneflower, which were everywhere. Further up the ridge views of the Bull Head Ridge I'll be returning on this afternoon are visible, but I also notice the clouds are beginning to roll in. After a seemingly endless climb I come to the Rocky Spur Overlook spur, which I decide to check out. This spur is known not just for the view but also for sand myrtle, but today I would strike out on both counts as there was no view to be had and also the sand myrtle would not be in bloom. Returning to the spur I meet walking partner #2 of the day, Susan from Lincolnton, NC. This pleasant lady is a real veteran outdoorswoman, having covered 11,000 miles by bike, kayak, and hiking trail since she started keeping track in the mid-1980's. She is also a former member of the Carolina Berg Wanderers hiking group and has experience hiking all over country and beyond. Although she hasn't finished all of the Smoky's trails, her trail map is well covered in blue highlighter. Susan and I would walk our remaining 8 or so miles together today and it was a special treat to have such good company. I learned a lot from her on this walk, including tips on photography which we all know I desperately need. [caption id="attachment_690" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Super outdoorswoman Susan - my hiking partner for today"] [/caption] We trudge on to the top and are both relieved to see the Bull Head Trail intersection, where we turn left and climb another 0.6 miles to our destination at the LeConte Lodge. At the Lodge there are no real views but it is in the pleasant low 60's and we enjoying resting and chatting with other hikers on the porch of the restaurant. Just this year the Lodge restaurant began serving cookies and bag-lunches for day-hikers. I pass on the lunch but enjoy the best $3 bottomless cup of hot chocolate I've ever had while rocking away my cares on the porch. After a while we realize we must get going, and after a quick look in the office we're back on our way down Bull Head Trail, today's return route. Downhill is easy, right? Returning via Bull Head Trail Quick answer, not always. Bull Head Trail is a long trail, but is supposed to be a nice easy downhill coast back to the parking lot at Cherokee Orchard Road. Unfortunately the combination of the rocky conditions near the top, the steepness in some spots, and the muggy west-facing path make this as tough a downhill as any I've done. The good news, nearly the entire trail has an absolutely spectacular display of huge Smoky Mountain Thunderhead sandstone formations of all shapes and sizes. There are caverns, rock outcrops, boulders hanging over the trail, boulder fields, high walls of rock...this trail is Filet Mignon all the way. But Susan and I don't see another soul the entire 6+ miles back to our cars. People, you are really missing out if you pass on this trail due to it's longer distance to or from the summit of Mount LeConte. You must see this trail! [caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Little Pigeon River drainage from the Bull Head Trail"] [/caption] Tired, achy feet, aching back, screaming knees...that sums up the last 2 miles today. That and the cell phone service in the middle of nowhere so Susan can call her husband and tell him we're way behind schedule. "Sorry Hon..no pizza today". Nearly 3 total miles less than last week's walk would take me about an hour more to cover. I blame Susan's photography tips....can't I just point and shoot?! 8) I appreciate Susan keeping me engaged in good conversation to keep my mind off of agony of the de'everything as we fight the downhill stumble. Relief comes around 6:30 PM in the form of the sign signifying the Old Sugarlands Trail. I was here in April on Smoky Scout's milestone 900 mile completion hike. An easy 0.4 road walk on Old Sugarlands Trail back to the parking lot is not so easy after this grueling walk, but we did in fact make it back alive. Exhausted, the sight of the car is oh so welcome after a 4000 foot climb and descent. Thanks Susan for taking a walk with me today and for sharing your experience and pointing out so many new things. Don't forget...little hand pointed toward the sun, halfway between there and 12 is south. 8) Low elevation on today’s 13.8 mile walk was around 2550’ at the parking area on Cherokee Orchard Road and high elevation was around 6400’ at the Mount LeConte Lodge. I have now covered 3 of the 5 trails that summit Mount LeConte, so I look forward to taking on the last two next year, good Lord willing. For pics of this walk, click the link below: Mount LeConte Loop(Opens in new window)

[caption id="attachment_638" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Old Dan at Mount Cammerer lookout"]

[/caption] To skip the chatter and go right to the pics of this walk, click the link below: Mount Cammerer Loop(Opens in new window) 16 mile loop walk to the Mount Cammerer lookout, traveling on Low Gap II Trail, the Appalachian Trail, the Mount Cammerer Trail, and the Lower Mount Cammerer Trail – August 8, 2009 With apologies to Mick and Keith, time was definitely not on my si-i-i-de on this cool, clear Saturday morning, so once again I was out the door from Cherokee base camp before sunrise. It was NFL Hall-of-Fame induction weekend, so I thought it only fitting to plan a walk to a see one of the Great Smoky Mountain's Hall-of-Fame destinations, the Mount Cammerer lookout. This would be a long day, with a 1.5 hour 60 mile drive to the trailhead at the Cosby campground, 16 miles of walking, and a 2 hour drive back to camp. A long day, yes, but I could already tell it would be a great day when I spotted a bull and cow elk grazing just a few off the road in the misty field beside Raven Fork. The early morning ride through the Smokies is always such a treat. I cruised through quiet and barely awake streets of Gatlinburg, knowing full well my return trip this afternoon would be much different. Today's starting point is the peaceful Cosby Campground in the northeast corner of the Park. Ever since my last trip here to hike up Snake Den Ridge Trail, I'd been looking forward to opportunity to return. I noticed that the hiker parking lot was pretty crowded already as I rolled into Cosby around 8 AM. Soon I was on my way to start the long climb up the Low Gap II Trail. Climbing up Low Gap II Trail [caption id="attachment_649" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cosby Creek"] [/caption] My one and only previous visit to Cosby included a kneebusting downhill trek on Low Gap II Trail, but today I would repeat the 2.9 mile section in the opposite direction. Low Gap II Trail starts out innocently enough, meandering through a hemlock forest that includes pleasant crossings of cascading Cosby Creek. But soon legs and lungs are straining up the grade, so I stop often to 'admire the big trees'. Before long a group of young gazelles from the campground whip past me while I’ve stopped to ‘take a picture’ – i.e. catch my breath. They don’t even look winded. I would meet up with my fast friends April, Kevin, and Matt twice again on up the trail, first at Low Gap and then at Mount Cammerer. I thought I would be getting better at this by now..but it seems I’m destined to average about 1.6 to 1.7 mph on my walks. I guess that’s ok with me, but the old athletic instinct buried deep inside still grumbles when I’m passed up so easily on the trail. Like always I deal with it and trudge slowly uphill and into Low Gap on the Appalachian Trail, which is covered in bee balm and coneflower and looks very different than my last visit. Uphill some more on the Appalachian Trail At Low Gap I rest up and meet the awesome bunch of gents of Troop 320, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. These great guys had been hiking the Appalachian Trail for four days out of Newfound Gap. They don’t look the least bit worn or weary, especially next to worn out Old Dan. They will meet others from their troop today that have hiked the opposite direction out of Davenport Gap. After some quick pics the boys bounce ahead like the young gazelles they are and I have the pleasure of walking the AT to the tower with Troop leaders Allen Hastings and Don Gantt. The boys stop every so often to allow us old timers to catch up, snickering at our slow pace. The 2.1 miles from Low Gap to the Mount Cammerer Trail intersection are another tough climb up Rocky Face Mountain, especially for Allen with his 43 pound backpack. About two-thirds of the way up the trail the view of the sides of Mount Cammerer open up to the left and make a nice spot to stop for a rest. The grasses of Sunup Knob become noticeable soon after. Before long we meet up with the whole gang at the Mount Cammerer Trail intersection. [caption id="attachment_636" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Trillium and berry on Mount Cammerer Trail"] [/caption] Mount Cammerer Trail – first glimpse at the Hall-of-Famer Access to the famous Mount Cammerer lookout is gained through a 0.6 mile spur trail that travels northeast from the AT. The trail rides up and down before switching back into a clearing at the top of the mountain. Here for a short while the trees are replaced with mountain laurel and rhododendron and I get a peek at the views that are in store for me at the tower. Large trillium and their striking red berries are beside the trail here. Near the tower the huge boulder fields begin, and the last section before the lookout I have to climb up over some tricky rocks and catch my first look at the beautiful lookout. It is as awesome as I imagined it would be, and to my great relief incredible views surrounded me. Although it wasn’t totally clear, the views were fantastic in most directions. Mount Guyot was clearly visible to the west, Mount Sterling Ridge and the Mount Sterling fire tower to the south, and Foothills Parkway area I-40 to the north and northeast. Oh yeah, and I almost forgot that I spotted a bear 50 yards or so away climbing around the rocks. It was about a two second view, but it counts. [caption id="attachment_640" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Views from the Mount Cammerer lookout"] [/caption] If I were a Ranger in the late 1930’s, fire watch duty on Mount Cammerer would be the assignment I would ask for. This is my kind of fire lookout…built directly on the ground instead of the tall rickety towers that are typical elsewhere, like Shuckstack or Mount Sterling. And the wood and rock face of the lookout make it seem to be part of the mountain unlike those ugly metal tower structures. Mount Cammerer was named for former Park Service Director Arno Cammerer, who among many things was instrumental in getting the Park formed in the early 20th century. This Hall-of-Fame structure is fitting for a Hall-of-Fame man. I had a terrible lunch at this terrific place while admiring the culinary courage of two young dayhikers from Alabama that were experimenting with some new hiker lunching fare. How does a wrap of beef jerky, sliced pepperoni, and Easy Cheese sound? Yumm…After lunch at the lookout I resumed my walk, retracing back to the AT and then following the Appalachian Trail 2.3 miles ‘north’ and thankfully downhill to the intersection with Lower Mount Cammerer Trail. One noticeable area well down the trail was a peaceful view spot atop an outcrop of rock from a large boulder field, the same field of block that follows the ridge all the way up to the summit of Mount Cammerer. The forest was noticeably different here as I was out of the spruce-fir and into a pine-oak forest. Lower Mount Cammerer Trail – It’s a bird, it’s a plane..oh crap it’s NOT a bird!! Lower Mount Cammerer Trail is mostly downhill but more than 7 miles long, so I was glad that I had a few diversions along the way. First were the many nice creek crossings, none of which were difficult at all but all were pleasant. The top of the trail has some obstructed views of distant ridges, and it seems this would be a nice trail in Fall or Winter. Later, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a military aircraft decided to light the afterburners directly above me. I didn’t get a glimpse of the plane but the entire eastern Tennessee area definitely heard it. Later I noticed a small side trail and checked it out. It turned out to be a very small cemetery, only about 8 graves. All were in very poor condition, with most headstones tilted or knocked over and only the stone of infant G. Estes Phillips being legible at all. Continuing along after the cemetery diversion I was fully into the downhill trance, cruising along checking out the trees and the views but mostly just thinking about one thing or another. Rounding a bend I was awakened from my trance by a LOUD sound that was somewhat recognizable. I took a few more steps happy that I would finally get an up close look at that bird I hear so often that sounds like a rattler. It was almost one step too many….Looking down..OH CRAP, IT’S NOT A BIRD!! Just a foot or so from my left foot was the head of good sized rattlesnake, who wasted no time coiling into attack position about a foot off the left side of the trail. A split second of terror. [caption id="attachment_646" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="RATTLER click to zoom"] [/caption] After the initial shock I stood a few feet away listening to the incredibly loud rattle of the coiled serpent and wondering how the heck I was going to get around this thing. I waited, but she was not going to move anytime this decade. Go around? The trail was too steep to the left and full of wood debris (i.e. more snakes) to the right. Two thought bubbles appeared above my head. On the left was the bubble of the late Steve Irwin. (In your best Australian accent) “WOW, SHE’S A BEAUTY…JUST LOOK AT HER ALL COILED UP THERE AND READY TO STRIKE!”. I miss your energy Steve. On the right, the bubble of Smoky Scout (Sharon McCarthy) “See, I told you to get those trekking poles”. Well, one thing the Smokies has a lot of besides snakes is sticks, so I grabbed a stick and held the cranky girl’s head down as I stepped around. For the next few tenths I was a bit more alert. Not too much later though and I was back in the trance until I finally reached backcountry campsite #35. A few spots later down the trail afforded good views of surrounding ridges. At the Sutton Ridge overlook spur I met Brian and Becky of Moosejaw.com. These nice folks were on their way to #35 and told me to pass on Sutton Ridge overlook, so I did. Thanks for the Moosejaw flag Brian. After that the trail finally leveled out and became gravel road walking through the hemlock forest that surrounds the campground. Home free..16 miles completed. I drove through the much more awake Gatlinburg and headed over the mountain to Cherokee thinking about what an awesome day it had been, and how glad I was that I didn't take another step. 8) Low elevation on today’s 16 mile walk was around 2200’ at the Cosby Campground and high elevation was around 5050’ cresting Rocky Face Mountain on the Appalachian Trail. For pics of this walk, click the link below: Mount Cammerer Loop(Opens in new window)

[caption id="attachment_607" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Getting ready to head out on the Juney Whank Trail"]

[/caption] To skip the chatter and go right to the pics of this walk, click the link below: Juney Whank Trail and Clingmans Dome Trail(Opens in new window) 1.8 mile inverted lollipop walk on Juney Whank Trail and Deep Creek Trail plus Thomas’ first visit to Clingmans Dome (1.0 mile R/T) – July 30 and 31, 2009 July would be a complete 180 from my recent breakneck weekend schedules that went something like this: drive to Cherokee – drive to trailhead -hike all day – drive back to Cherokee – drive back home. I racked up a grand total of only 8.4 miles of walking in July after posting nearly 43 in June and 47 in May. Different life events consumed most of the hiking weekends and when I did get some time to walk I was impacted by the monsoons that made a visit the Smokies during the past week. It rained, and it rained, and it rained some more. As I’ve said in previous posts, I don’t mind a little rain on my walks but if the entire day is going to be a deluge I’ll pass and wait for a better forecast. Even the toads were seeking higher ground. But all was not lost, because I did get to spend some time between rainstorms walking around with the boys on a couple of short Smoky trails. Juney Whank Trail and Deep Creek Trail [caption id="attachment_608" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The boys at Juney Whank Falls"] [/caption] We waited out the morning rains at camp Thursday and then drove over to the Deep Creek area for an afternoon stroll beside the creek. I had hiked Deep Creek Trail in February but the short Juney Whank Trail would be new to me. We made several loops around the parking area looking for a spot because the place was busting at the seams with folks enjoying tubing activities on rain-swollen Deep Creek. I’ll have to bring the boys back for that soon because it looked like a lot of fun. I finally found a spot in the overflow parking area and we set out on the short Juney Whank Trail. The trail passes beside what I believe is Juney Whank Creek and then switches back uphill for a short distance before intersecting with the Juney Whank Horse Trail. Here we take a sharp right and continue uphill along a well graded and wide roadbed. There isn’t much to report because the wildflowers are past peak and Thomas notices how the pine-oak forest is completely silent. No bears either despite the fact that Juney Whank roughly translates to “place where the bear passes” in Cherokee. Soon a short downhill spur leads us to the footbridge over Juney Whank Falls, and the boys are impressed with the small but scenic falls. We continue up the hill beyond the falls and re-connect with the horse trail. Just 50 feet to the right is the 0.3 mile unofficial “Juney Whank Loop Trail” that travels through a tunnel of mountain laurel and then connects us back with Deep Creek Trail. 0.1 miles to the right is the trailhead where we started, but we turn left and walk along Deep Creek Trail. We stroll up Deep Creek amongst the throngs carrying their tubes to drop points upstream. Thomas admires his namesake falls, Tom Branch Falls, just a short distance up Deep Creek Trail on the right. We continue on a few tenths up the trail before returning to Bryson City to enjoy lunch at Anthony’s Pizza, our favorite spot beside the train depot. Today, besides enjoying the usual excellent Brooklyn-style pizza on the outdoor patio at Anthony’s, we get the added bonus of watching the full-sized ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ coal-fired steam engine carry happy youngsters in and out of the depot during the yearly Thomas Festival. The Thomas Festival was a yearly event for us when the boys were younger, and we still enjoy seeing the life-sized version at work. You can’t help singing along with the happy tune as the train departs…”Thomas the Tank Engine rolling along…” 8) Thomas visits Clingmans Dome for the first time [caption id="attachment_611" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Views from the Clingmans Dome parking area"] [/caption] Next day…yep, it rained again. After the rains we headed over the mountains to Gatlinburg for lunch and a stroll around town doing the happy tourist thing. We stopped along the way to admire the swollen streams. Once we reached Gatlinburg the rains were gone and it was back to the normal steamy summer afternoon. Tip – if you go to Gatlinburg, make sure you stop at the Donut Friar. Located in the “The Village” on the end of the strip, the Friar has been in business for a long time and once you have one of their donuts you’ll know why. 8) But I digress…. [caption id="attachment_614" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Heading up the tower"] [/caption] On the way back from Gatlinburg we stopped for Thomas’ first hike up to the top of Clingmans Dome. This 0.5 mile paved trail is very familiar to most that come to the Smokies, being on everybody’s top-5 list of Smoky Mountain must-do’s. It’s only 0.5 miles, but it’s also very steep, so it will get your heart working. We nearly froze stepping out of the car in the crowded parking lot but the rains were gone and the spectacular view was opening up to the south. All other directions were still socked in with clouds. Thomas was skeptical about the steep trail but he went for it like a trooper. This would be Nick’s second visit to the Dome, having already climbed to the top via the Clingmans Dome Bypass Trail two years ago. Up we went, and as we reached the top the pink turtlehead wildflowers were in full bloom all over the top of the Dome. Thomas was impressed with this first look at the observation tower and happy he could now say he’s stood at the highest point in the Smokies. (Elevation 6643 feet) We climbed the tower and enjoyed some here-and-there views amidst the heavy clouds. On the way down we were treated to some unbelievable sunset views as July 2009 came to close. August means back to reality for the boys, with school starting in just a few weeks. But it was a real blessing to be able to spend this time with them enjoying the beauty of the Smoky Mountains. [caption id="attachment_616" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunset on July 2009"] [/caption] Low elevation for the Juney Whank Falls walk was around 1800’ with the falls being at the high elevation of around 1900’. For the Clingmans Dome walk low elevation was at the parking area around 6350’ and the high elevation was the Dome itself at 6643’. (higher if you count the tower) For pics of this walk, click the link below: Juney Whank Trail and Clingmans Dome Trail(Opens in new window)