Smokey Mountain National Park: July 2-5, 2013

Overview:

I will begin with a few disclaimers about this post. This whole trip was planner spur of the moment when our original trip planned to Rocky Mountain National Park was cancelled. We cancelled with ourselves after a painful-cancelled flight experience at the airport and then lost camping luggage. After we finally decided to drive down to SMNP for the remaining of the vacation days we already planned off.

Unfortunately, we weren't lucky with the weather at SMNP (rain, thunderstorms, and more rain) so I don't have any picture worth sharing. The second issue we rain into with with the torrential rain we experienced was the we weren't prepared. Not prepared for the gear that was going to get wet and not prepared for the train conditions (all washed out.) Overall we were not able to move at the rate we had planned, and I personally needed to have a much better system for keeping my sleeping gear dry. It was just too cold to sleep in all wet stuff.

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/maps.htm

Day 1: Elkmont Campground to Campsite #23

We took this 7 miles of trail to this campsite. The site was right along a creek and down in a more low ground. This backcountry site has nice space and even spots for campfires. Unfortunately, with the previous rain, there was no wood for fires. We did manage to use have enough dry twigs with the Backcountry Boiler, but that was it. Immediately after dinner, it rained for most of the day and night.

Day 2: Summit Hike AT to Campsite #84 #26

This next day was supposed to be a hike on and over the AT - a long day - something planned around 13 miles with some serious vertical climb too. The morning had no rain so we were glad to pack up camp and be on the way. By the time we reached the summit line (along the AT), there was fog everywhere and no views and no pictures. Instead will put on more rain gear as the temperature cooled and we just keep get wet. Soon after we left the AT for Hazel Creek Trail, I knew this was too much "wet" for me. I was cold and already concerned about how wet everything was going to be. Worst of all, we near that the weather was going to get more intense over the next 2 days. All rain without an opportunity to make a fire (we need to perfect the skill of making a fire in the rain) and no sun to dry out gear. We eventually decided that it was a better decision to back-track campsite #26 and plan to head out of the pack 2 days earlier. We weren't ready for this much of a wet trip. I had already learned I need a dry by for things like my wool clothes and my sleepbag.

At campsite #26 we discovered the drawback of the BackCountry Boiler and not having dry wood. We also learned what happened when you get all your lighters wet. (None worked.) After being cold and "enjoy" a cool dinner because we couldn't heat any water. I learned that we have have some skills to so acquire it we want to manage though conditions like these.

We managed through the night (it never stopped raining for the entire evening and night) since it wasn't too cold - just wet.

Day 3: Campsite #26 to Elkmont

In the morning we were ready to leave. We did have a conversation about staying out one more night, but that consideration was quickly closed when we realized there wasn't much to see since we would be encountering more thunderstorms. One key learning was that fact that the trails were so washed out with mud (in some place were like little streams), we moved at a slower rate than normal to keep good footing. We need to consider this time when planning trips in the future that may encounter these types of conditions.

The rest of the hike back to Elkmont was all in all a nice hike - mostly down. Of course, we had hope to see some wildlife - but didn't encounter much. Everything we had read reminder us that there was at least 1 bear for every sq. mile in the park. As one could imagine we didn't see anyone else on the trail that day until we got much closed to the Elkmont Campground. There we saw a few people running day hikes out from there. I was secretly jealous of how their campsites were probably better protected from the wet rain.

Although we had to shorten the trip, I was the right and safer choice. We learned alot about our comfort zone and capabilities. This stretched me and taught me, that I need to manage the rain better - and plan for that better. We definitely are looking forward to going back and re-doing this trip. We did learn alot about the park and where we would like to go next, so that was also a plus.

I only wish that I had more positive and insightful knowledge to share on this trip (like my other posts.) The other final comment I would share is that although there is higher altitude in the park, the ruggedness and incline/steepness of the trails themselves are not to the challenging level we encountered out east in the White Mountains. That still ranks as the hardest hiking I'd had yet.

Once we reached the car, we stopped to eat in Gaitlinburg (it was July 4th), and drove the 8 hours back home enjoying fireworks we would see in nearby towns along the drive.