Smoky Mountains (Clingman's Dome) - April 2018
Summary
In preparation for Machu Picchu a few of us decided to test extreme days and elevation changes in the Smoky Mountains. Being Michigan residents, this was the closest we could easily get to simulating the altitude and elevation changes we would be faced with in Peru. This trip did not go according to plan. Our intent was to break up the two days into a 10 mile day and a 20 mile day. Unfortunately, there were fires in the Smokies the year prior and the trail we intended to use was blocked. This forced us to return to base camp on day 1, knowing we would need to put in a 30 mile day to reach our goal of Clingman’s Dome in on day 2. None of us had done anything this challenging before, so it certainly made for it’s own adventure.
This AllTrails link shows the majority of the route we took to Clingman’s Dome. Once on the Appalachian Trail, we did not have far to hike to make it to Clingman’s Dome.
Where
The Smoky Mountains are in Tennessee and border North Carolina. Our base camp for this adventure was Elkmont Campground in the Smoky Mountains National Park. We had a great base camp and had very few other visitors to contend with, given we went so early in the season. This early in the year, we woke up to freezing temperatures and had midday high’s in the 60’s.
Logistics
We drove down to the Smoky Mountain National Park, which was about 9 hours from where we started. Getting to the park was relatively straightforward. From there our only challenge was the lack of available trails due to the past fires in the park.
Hiking
As mentioned previously, this was a monster of a day for us. It resulted in around 10,000 feet of elevation change over 30+ miles. We started before the sun rose and ended as the sun was setting. Thankfully we had a base camp with brats and beer waiting for us at the completion of this day. The trail was challenging outside of length and altitude. It was not a dirt single track, but rather very rocky terrain. In addition to this, it rained for the majority of the morning making for slippery rocks and wet conditions. Unfortunately our string of bad luck was not over, as when we made it to Clingman’s Dome, the fog was so thick, we could barely see 100 feet in front of us.
One of us decided to bring bear spray (not necessary) and this resulted in a few mishaps/stories. Note: do not leave bear spray attached to your backpack without properly securing the trigger! All in all, this was a huge effort for our group. It was a stretch for all of us, even though we had a decent level of experience and were in shape. If nothing less, it certainly showed us the beauty of this part of the country, as well as, prepared us well for our trip to Peru!
Photos
All photos below were taken with my phone at the time, the Google Pixel 3.
