Clingman's Dome and a Return to the Appalachian Trail

One of the popular destinations when visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the highest point in the park--Clingman's Dome. We had heard that the parking areas inside the park often fill up, so we left early in the morning to make the one-hour drive up the winding roads to the dome. As we wound higher into the Appalachians, our temperature gauge went lower. It was 57 degrees outside when we pulled into the parking lot with this view above the clouds. Yes! We love temperatures like that in July!

We found our jackets before we started up the half-mile steep trail to the summit of Clingman's Dome. We watched as the clouds rolled down the mountain to meet us. We are seeing more dead tree trunks standing in the forest here. These are Fraser firs, which grow only at the highest elevations in the Smokies. They are dying as a result of a tiny insect that was accidentally introduced here from Europe in the 1960's. About 70 percent of the mature Fraser firs are now dead.

Denisa has put on a second jacket and her gloves as we climbed higher. We're not used to these cold temperatures in July! Between the steep trail and the higher altitude, is it psychological that we had to stop to catch our breath? Here she is stopped at the point that the Appalachian Trail crossed our path. We'll talk more about that trail later.

When we finally made it to the top of the mountain, we could barely see the observation tower shrowded in fog. We are now at the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (and one of the tallest east of the Mississippi River) at Clingman's Dome at 6,643 feet.

There was no thermometer up there, but we have seen a noticeable dip in the temperature since we left the balmy 57 degrees in the parking area. Between the lower temps and the gusty winds, we were sure that the wind chills were in the 40's at the top. Mark is standing beside an information board that points out the mountain peaks we should be looking down on at this point. Considering that we could barely see the trees right in front of us, we will just have to take their word that this is an amazing overlook on a clear day.

After our amazing view point at the top, we made the much-easier hike downhill to the parking lot. From the highest point in the national park, we turned the car downhill to another popular overlook at Newfound Gap. Now we are below the heavy clouds, so we can see the beautiful ridges of the Smokies below us.

We had asked the ranger for a less crowded hike, and his recommendation was a section of the Appalachian Trail that winds through the national park near Newfound Gap.

The Appalachian Trail stretches over 2,100 miles from Georgia to Maine. We hiked a little section of it in Georgia a month ago. This day we hiked another section that meanders across the ridges of the Smoky Mountains. Because the ridge is the state line between North Carolina and Tennessee, we can now say we have hiked in two more states on the Appalachian Trail.

It was a nice cool weather day for a hike in the mountains in July. We also were canopied by the trees on the entire hike. Just like the Appalachian Trail that we hiked in Georgia, this was a green tunnel with few view points that let you see the surrounding mountains. We have now hiked about 4 of the 2,100 miles of the Appalachian Trail. We have officially decided that we won't plan to hike its entirety.

All that shade means that moss grows on everything that stands still. This fallen log looks like it has been decorated in green shag rug.

Mark took a close-up picture of the tiny plants that cover most of the forest around us.

We found a good rock with a tiny opening out to see the mountains that surround us. We sat there to eat the picnic lunch we had packed. Refueled, we hiked the 2.5 miles back to the parking lot. We prefer loop hikes instead of trails that you must return on the same path. But we are amazed at how different things look from the opposite direction. Because the path is rocky and steep, we must keep our heads down looking for a clear spot for each next step. So on the first trip by, we totally missed this beautiful boulder, covered with bright yellow and green lichen along the trail.

We are glad to see that there are beautiful hikes without huge crowds in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We have found that this is a very crowded section of the country during vacation season, but we understand why so many other people love to visit here as well.