Smokies in March?

alecto73 · Post by **alecto73** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 10:20 pm

Thinking of kicking off 2012 with a long weekend trip to the Smokies in March. Never been. I was looking at parking at Big Creek ranger station and hiking a two night loop I read about made up of CS36 and CS38. Anyone familiar with the area (Ingo?)? I'm wondering if I might be better off burning more vacation and going in the middle of the week to avoid crowds, if that is a decent choice for a quick trip, and what else I should know about that maybe isn't so obvious about backpacking in the park.

Post by **Ingo** » Thu Feb 16, 2012 1:59 pm

Not any help, Jess. Haven't made it there yet, despite the family cabin being only an hr or so away. Hope to get up for at least a day hike this summer.

alecto73 · Post by **alecto73** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 1:24 pm

FYI - this turned out to be a great (albeit leg-burning, knee aching) trip. Just stay away from Pigeon Forge. You will die a little inside if you drive through it.

Post by **Ingo** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 1:38 pm

alecto73 wrote:Just stay away from Pigeon Forge. You will die a little inside if you drive through it.

[like] and Gatlinburg...

alecto73 · Post by **alecto73** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:17 pm

Ingo wrote:
alecto73 wrote:Just stay away from Pigeon Forge. You will die a little inside if you drive through it.
[like] and Gatlinburg...

Gatlinburg might have bothered me more had I not already witnessed Pigeon Forge. At least Gatlinburg has a slight bight of quaintness to it, even if it wasn't my kind of place. The park itself on the other hand is wonderful. Even just driving through it was something to behold.

Lucky Chicken · Post by **Lucky Chicken** » Tue Apr 29, 2014 4:07 pm

just looking back at old threads... this made me chuckel... my parents live over by there (Seymour). There are some great hikes in the Smokies I grew up on those trails, and there are quite a few leg/ knee burners! Brier Knob comes to mind...

Trip planning down there for anyone else who is intrested I can help. Generally the NC side trails are a lot more isolated with Fontana blocking access making them a lot less traveled.

alecto73 · Post by **alecto73** » Tue Apr 29, 2014 4:21 pm

I did Mt. Sterling back then and may be doing it again this fall.

Lucky Chicken · Post by **Lucky Chicken** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:13 am

a one night out and back? In that area I would recomend doing the Cosby loop if you just have one night. There is a shelter so you can drop tent weight and no backtracking. It is also very scenic getting up on the ridge! The other attraction if you like historical/ military artifacts in the Inadu Knob area there are remnants of a fighter... I can't remember the details off the top of my head but it crashed there in the early 80s while doing manauvers.

alecto73 · Post by **alecto73** » Thu May 01, 2014 11:03 am

Nah I did two nights. That's a hell of a drive for me to do one night... although I would be tempted by a tear-and-go just the same.

Isle Royale Forums

Isle Royale Forums

Smokies in March?

Smokies in March?

Re: Smokies in March?

Re: Smokies in March?

Re: Smokies in March?

Re: Smokies in March?

Re: Smokies in March?

Re: Smokies in March?

Re: Smokies in March?

Re: Smokies in March?