Hiking today in Great Smoky Mountains National Park! After stopping to get Sam's first official National Park Stamp of the trip, we drove into the park. We were going to hike the Alum Cave Bluffs trail, which is about 5 miles roundtrip, but Jim was getting worried that we didn't bring enough supplies, so we switched gears and drove further into the park to hike somewhere else.
We drove to Cades Cove Loop, which is an 11 mile one-way loop through an historic section of the park. A couple of times we saw some white-tailed deer munching on some field hay or walking through the woods, but no other wildlife, aside from some wild turkeys. Butterflies were everywhere in clumps, so they must have been emerging from their cocoons in the area. We stopped at a trailhead for the Abrams Falls Trail, which is a 5 mile roundtrip hike, but a little more moderate.
It was a nice hike through the woods, along a stream, with three climbs and descents, but not too bad. At the end was Abrams Falls, a nice waterfall with lots of big rocks to take a seat while eating a snack. It rained lightly during most of the hike, which actually felt nice to help keep it cooler.
After a long drive back to Pigeon Forge, we ate at Sonic - Sam's pick! :) Then back to the camper for showers and swims before snooze time.
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