After a lengthy break, we decided to take a hike. I've been planning to hike the Appalachian Trail from Newfound Gap to Clingman's Dome while Clingman's Dome road is closed for the season for the past couple of years, but never seemed to get around to it. This past Saturday presented a great opportunity with clear skies and a bit of snow to make it interesting. The Appalachian Trail from Newfound Gap to Clingman's dome covers 7.9 miles with approximately 1500 ft of net elevation gain. There are several gains and losses that add to the amount of climbing that is actually required to reach Clingman's Dome. The return trip includes a half mile "hike" along the Clingman's Dome trail followed by 7 miles of walking along Clingman's Dome Road.
We left the parking lot at Newfound Gap at 9:00 am. We found a bit of snow and ice along the trail, but not enough to keep us from proceeding. We found this icicle near the beginning of the trail. I think I will pass on licking that one.
Along the trail is an exclosure designed to keep feral hogs out of a beech forest. Access to the exclosure is via a ramp.
There are occasional gaps along the trail that provide views into North Carolina and Tennessee.
Near the end of the trail a spring had completely covered the trail in ice. We had to do a bit of maneuvering to safely make it past this section.
Blue skies and cold wind awaited us when we finally made it to the tower. The 7.9 miles took us roughly 4 hours to hike,
The cold wind atop the tower kept us from staying too long. We stopped for a quick lunch along the access trail to the tower out of the wind. We started walking along the road at 1:45.
Seeps along the road made for some awesome icicle displays as we walked out. They also made for some slick spots on the road that we had to watch out for.
We made it back to Newfound Gap at 4:00 for 7 hours of hiking to cover approximately 16 miles, give or take a tenth.
No comments:
Post a Comment