my day in the Smokies

Thursday October 22

Having learned my Biltmore lesson, I took the ranger's advice at the campground office who suggested Clingman’s Dome and Andrew’s Bald as an alternative to the highly congested Cade’s Cove. Clingman’s parking lot was crowded despite the surprisingly steep climb up to the observation tower, and I admit to being impressed with the range of the visitors' physical condition making their way up to the observation tower.

 

Ground control to Clingman's Dome: 6,644 feet up (that's 2,025 meters)

The observation tower has very 70s spaceship styling and some pretty good views, but the highlight for me was the walk back down along 0.05% of the Appalachian Trail, which was winding and charming, and had a Sierra Club group on it, including an older couple from Cambridge, with whom I walked and talked a while.

(Stupidly) ambitious, I chose to undertake the additional 1.7 mi hike onward to Andrew’s Bald, which had a worthwhile view at its end, but wasn’t a loop. So back up I came, wishing for the parking lot trail the whole way. I met the nice Cambridge couple again, and rested with them while they waited for the rest of their party to make their return from the Bald. Then, with a 5 hour drive ahead of me I wrapped up my visit to the Smokies.

It's impossible to take bad pictures in GSNM

Already on the road, I booked an expensive ($180) Airbnb apartment near downtown Nashville, then managed to snag a seat at the bar at Silo, a GF-friendly resto 5 minutes away in Germantown. The food was great and I gave into a glass of wine, which was a mistake: my legs were now deaf to any appeal to go out for live music.