I reserved my campsite for this adventure the week before, when the weather was forecast to be good. However, as I got closer to the day, the forecast continued to worsen. On the drive to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), I was driving through occasional rain. My plan for day #1 was to do a few short hikes with waterfalls. I felt silly to be going hiking and camping in this weather, but I was hopeful that the rain would clear up by the time I got to the park.
Stopped past Asheville for gas and lunch. The Pilot truck stop with the Subway restaurant was my first choice. But, their computer system was down, so I couldn’t get gas or lunch. So, I drove to the other side of the interstate exit to the Shell station. Bought gas and noticed the Haywood Cafe . Lots of local pickup trucks and a county sheriff car in the parking lot, so I thought that it must be good. I went in and sat at the counter and ordered lunch. Double smash burger was the special, which sounded good to me. It was okay, but nothing special. The waitress gave me a free apple turnover, which was nice. I didn’t talk to anyone else there, as the other customers were all hitting on the waitresses. It was fun to listen to the local banter.
Driving through the Appalachian mountains is usually very beautiful, but this time it was too cloudy to see much of the mountains. The rain mostly stopped by the time I reached Tennessee.
GSMNP recently instituted a parking pass system for the park. I had forgot to purchase one online, so I stopped at the visitor center to purchase one. $15 for a week.
I drove to the trailhead for my first hike. 2.5 miles to Rainbow Falls. I checked the weather when I got there and it looked bad, with a big band of rain approaching. I tried to wait out the rain for a while. But the weather continued to look bad. So, I bailed, since I needed at least two hours for the hike, and it didn’t look like I’d have that much dry weather.
I drove 45 minutes to my campsite at Cades Cove. I sat in my car, played chess and read until almost 5:00. By then it had stopped raining, but was still dripping from the trees. I set up camp and made dinner (ham sandwich and fruit).
When I reserved this campsite last week, it was the last one available. It was nearest to the RV/trailer dump stations. There was a lot of use in the afternoon. Also, there were lots of other campers around – mostly with trailers.
After dinner, I crawled into my tent to lay down. At 8:00, a heavy rain storm rolled through, which quieted the campground.
Day #2
Woke up at 7:00. Didn’t sleep well, but slept long. Laid in bed until 8:00. Then did some stretching and made some granola cereal for breakfast. Today was a biking day. On Wednesdays, GSMNP closes off the 11 mile Cades Cove loop road to cars and it is only accessible by bike and pedestrians. I was on the bike by 9:00. I did two hours of biking on the Cades Cove road and some gravel roads that cut across the loop. It was 60 degrees and humid to start. There was misty rain on the first 12 miles, then it cleared up for the last 15 miles. I rode the paved 11 mile road first, then incorporated the two gravel roads that cut across the loop the second time around.
I was back at my campsite at 11:00. Had to change my shirt, because it was sweaty. I made lunch and chilled out for a while.
I got back on the bike before 1:00. On the afternoon ride, I did two out and back rides on the two gravel fire roads that connect to the loop road. These fire roads climb up into the mountains around Cades Cove. Another two hour ride, but only 23 miles because of all the climbing. Also took some pictures during this ride, because the weather was clearing up a little. Had to take shelter from a brief rain storm in an old Methodist church, but the weather was okay for the rest of the ride.
I saw four black bears in the afternoon, which delayed me a little.
There are several old homesteads around the loop that have been preserved. I didn’t check any of them out in detail, but I did obtain a guidebook from the visitor center about them. Next time, I’ll go through them all.
I got back at my campsite at 3:00. I cooled off then used wipes to clean up before putting clean clothes on. Unfortunately, there aren’t any showers in the campgrounds in GSMNP.
I had an early dinner. Then, I did some prep for making an early exit in the morning, so I could get a hike in before lunch.
Had a peanut butter sandwich at 6:00 (second dinner) and then crawled into my tent.
I was hoping to get to sleep early, but my neighbors were pretty loud. I need to remember earplugs for next time. I was able to finish my book, since I couldn’t sleep.
It’s kind of boring without internet and no computer or notebook. It was weird not talking to Elizabeth every day. And no communication with anyone. At least the Kindle app worked so I could read.
Day #3
I woke up at 7:00. I made breakfast then broke down my campsite. The weather was nice. Partly cloudy and 60 degrees, but humid from the rain of the last two days.
I drove away from my campsite and went about half a mile to the parking lot near the trailhead of the hike I had planned. There were a few wild turkeys in the parking lot.
The hike was just over 9 miles. There was supposed to be a waterfall after the first mile, but it was dry. The hike then climbed up into the mountains surrounding Cades Cove. It was strenuous. I broke through several spiders webs. Lots of good views of the valleys on both sides of the mountains.
The trails were in great shape, and there was a lot of solitude. I didn’t see another hiker until I was over seven miles into my hike.
I got back to my car just before noon. I cooled down, dried off, and changed my clothes before hitting the road back home. I was back home by 5:00. Overall, it was a good plan. The weather wasn’t great. But I plan to do it again – next time with better weather.
