Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Clingmans Dome to Silers Bald - October 9, 2010 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Clingmans Dome to Silers Bald |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | North Carolina |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | October 9, 2010 |
| Duration: | 4 hours, 20 minutes |
| Trail Conditions: | Excellent |
| Trail Traffic: | Light |
| Trip Weather: | Sunny |
| Trip Winds: | Light to Moderate |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 61-70, Low: 31-40 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | I slept in the car at the Clingmans Dome parking area to make sure I was there for a pre-dawn start. At 6AM I started up the paved trail to the observation tower on Clingmans Dome. The trail is only 0.5 mi and climbs 330 feet. I was on top in 11 minutes, with a whole hour to kill before the sunrise. I explored around and found the connector trail to the Appalachian Trail and at 6:20AM I fulfilled a lifelong dream by stepping onto the great AT for the first time. Up on the observation tower the wind was uncomfortably strong and chilly. Before the sun rose quite a crowd had gathered on the tower. I left the tower at 7:20AM, shortly before the sun actually broke the horizon, because it was becoming obvious that there would be many great views on the trail, and considerably less crowded. I was right about the views -- they just never quit. The North Carolina valleys were full of fog giving a marvelous sight with the sun rising over the far ridges. I met no other hikers as I hiked up and over Mt. Buckley and the four other little knobs between there and Double Spring Gap. At the shelter at Double Spring Gap I encountered several backpackers having a meal. After the shelter, the trail climbed briefly over Jenkins Knob before descending 250 feet to the Narrows -- an appropriately named ridge that is in reality little wider on the top than the trail itself. Finally, I forged ahead up the final 300 feet to the top of Silers Bald. It had taken me 2 hours exactly but that was because I had stopped for about 10 minutes for breakfast, and I had also taken 130 photographs. On the return trip, mostly uphill, of course, I took only a few photos (since I was just retracing my tracks), had only a 10 minute break while I visited with a couple of guys from Florida trying to do the same hike as me, and took the Clingmans Dome Bypass trail to avoid the inevitable crowds on the Dome. With all of that, it took me 20 minutes longer to make the return hike. I ran into a through-hiker just east of Double Spring Gap. He looked strong but ragged, and he was exultant that he was only a matter of days from reaching trail's end in Georgia. The trailhead was packed, of course, with a line of cars almost 2 miles long waiting to get a parking place, so I was glad that I had decided to endure a little discomfort and sleep in the car at the trailhead. |
Trail Map For This Area
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