Days 16-17 - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

[Kalon] From Decatur, Alabama we drove to Cherokee, North Carolina (touching Tennessee briefly).  Cherokee is at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  During this drive Karen delighted in substituting her navigational directions for those of our GPS lady who we affectionately (?) refer to as "Mrs. Know-It-All".  When Mrs. Know-It-All would tell me to turn right at the next intersection Karen would chime in, "Sorry, that isn't the way we're going" and give me different directions.  Preferring the wrath of the GPS lady to that of Karen, I always followed Karen's advice.

As we entered North Carolina we drove through some river gorges with more rafters and kayakers per square inch than anyplace I've seen.

Today I was going to explore a little bit of the Appalachian Trail (the AT) and drove to Newfound Gap on the ridgeline dividing North Carolina from Tennessee.

From there I headed north hiking on the AT.  I was surprised by two things: the absence of backpackers (I guess those doing a through-hike from Georgia to Maine are, in general, further north) and the absence of mosquitoes!  The trail is very different from those in the Sierra Nevada mainly because it is generally not above timber line and so one is usually hiking through forest with very limited views. 

                                                   Typical trail through the forest

After a few miles of climbing I came to Icewater Spring, a hut on the AT for overnight backpackers.

The hut can accommodate perhaps 15 people on two wooden frames.  Not luxurious but undoubtedly appreciated particularly when it is raining.

Continuing along a few miles I reached "Charlie's Bunion ", a small rock outcropping that you could sit on with views into Tennessee.

After lunch on the Bunion I retraced my steps and returned home.  I was glad to see a bit of the southern AT and am planning a day hike to its terminus in Maine about three weeks from now.

[Karen] It was a relief to once more get off a busy truck filled driveway onto Highwys 19 & 64 headed toward the Great Smoky National Park and the town of Cherokee in particular. We traveled alongside the Tuckasegee River where for miles there was river raft after river raft waiting a turn to float down the mild, for the most part, rapids.

             
        Warning - Kudzu Crossing!

Kudzu on the march!

At Ela we proceeded along 19 to Hwy 441 which runs along the Oconaluftee River  toward the town of Cherokee where we are staying for two days just outside the Park. On our way we saw Kudzu covered trees that seemed to cover everything in its way. Would it attempt to grow over us if we stopped?

Near Cherokee

 

We found our hotel/motel which has so far escaped the tentacles of the Kudzu. After venturing out to find dinner I regretfully did not resist the temptation of (oh horrors!) Chicken  Fried Steak.
For the uninitiated - those born after 1940's probably - that is Round Steak pounded with a mallet to tenderize it and then with more flour pounded into it with the same mallet until it gives up and endures being fried to a fair-thee-well in grease of some sort - lard, bacon fat, vegetable oil - your choice. We ate strange things in those days.  But my mother did NOT serve canned green beans! at least she did not once frozen vegetables appeared in the markets.

Today I reverted to my favorite hobby of taking over the washer-dryer room of the hotel and becoming Laundry Mom. We WILL WEAR CLEAN CLOTHES on this trip. It's dinner time again but not a lot of choices of where to eat in Cherokee. Although, Kalon did have fresh trout last night and one can always get Fried Chicken. Maybe, the salad bar would be a good choice come to think of it.