Finding the Quiet Side of the Smokies

We couldn't leave Kingsport after a three-month (plus) stay without having seen the Great Smoky Mountain NP at least once!  That would've been a crime!  But one of the reasons we had kept putting it off was because the one thing we kept hearing over and over again was how crowded this park can be...that you sit in traffic...it's bumper-to-bumper...and so on.  This holds no appeal to us.

But we had to see for ourselves.  We decided on a quick getaway on our days off this past week to see if we could find a quiet side of this National Park that sees over 9 million visitors per year.  And we found it - the Cosby area, which sits in the northeast corner of the park.  Luckily for us this was also the closest corner to us and took just about 1 1/2 hours to reach by car.

View The Smokies - Cosby Trailheads in a larger map

We stayed two nights in a hotel in Newport (just 12 miles from the Cosby park entrance).  I had created a short list of possible hikes to do in the area, plus two others that looked appealing off of Newfound Gap road (but that's the busy, Gatlinburg area).  Unfortunately we only tackled two of them, but they were pretty and quiet.  If you look at the map above, the two blue pins show the two hikes we did while the pink pins show the others on my list (a quick reminder in case we come back to the Park).

Hen Wallow Falls rained down a rock face.  The best part about this hike was that, even though it was near the campground, we only saw six people and had the waterfalls all to ourselves.  And when we say it was a quiet hike, we do indeed mean quiet.  No outside noises at all.  Just wonderful.

The only damper on this hike was that I lost my sole about a quarter of a mile from the end of the trail.  No, not my SOUL, my SOLE!  Seven years ago my boot sole separated on a hike in New Mexico.  These boots were the replacements.  I had them surgically sewn in 2007 to buy me more time (because they were sooooo comfortable).  Guess I couldn't ask for more from them.

So the next morning I had to wear my trail running shoes on our long hike.  Twelve miles round trip to the Mount Cammerer Lookout Tower (built by the CCC in 1937-39).  We were a little nervous without ankle and good foot protection, but all went well on this rocky, steep trail.  This hike put us on the Appalachian Trail - we've now hiked parts of the trail in GA, VA, NC, and TN.  This hike also put us in the clouds.  Literally...

This is why they call it The Smokies!

We were able to use the Lookout as shelter while another rainstorm passed over us.

And, by waiting out the rains, we got awfully lucky.  We got about five minutes of views.  Awesome!  The mist and clouds add to the character and the ambiance, so we were happy with our hike no matter what - but getting the views was an added bonus.

Knowing that the Smokies got it's name from the mist and clouds that blanket the hills, why we didn't think we were about to enter a rainforest is beyond me!  Sometimes you just don't think about things, I guess.  We could've sworn we were in the Pacific Northwest...the wet earth, ferns, snails, mushrooms, a Jordan's Salamander...

On this hike we passed a whopping 8 people (in 3 groups) in the 7 hours it took us to go out and back.  So, I do indeed think we found the Quiet Side of the Smokies.  Ssshhhh.....the sound of silence is a powerful thing.

See more photos of our Smokies trip (and driving tour home).