still fuckin with climb cuz climb pays: the ILX hiking thread

Depends on what sorts of things you want to see - are waterfalls more important or valley/mountain views from up high?

My favorite hikes are Charlie's Bunion further into the park near Newfound Gap with a wonderful view when you reach it, Abrahm's Falls in Cades Cove - gorgeous and easy with swimming at the top and maybe Alum Cave Bluffs which are part of the hike to Mt Leconte, but you can stop at the bluffs.

Stay tuned for pictures of these hikes.

Valley/mtn views! Waterfalls are great, too, but I think they're less urgent. We live in flat old Chicago, so any sort of elevation change is pretty exciting.

CHARLIES BUNION:
You can sit up there and have lunch before heading back. It is round trip 8 miles but I did it once with 15 adolescent boys who had been in treatment for 6 weeks and totally out of shape and they all made it with no problems.
Charlie's Bunion has an AMAZING pay off when you get there - this view:
http://www.matzkoscottage.com/wp-content/images/framed_pics/charlies_bunion_20.jpg

ALUM CAVE BLUFFS:
I once weathered a storm underneath this bluff and didn't get wet at all. Another great place for a picnic. It is 4.6 miles round trip and has some awesome views along the way.
http://image26.webshots.com/26/4/48/93/371944893GmtfHT_ph.jpg

ABRAHMS FALLS:
5 miles round trip and really cool. The fall is 20 feet but there are usually TONS of people on this trail and at the top, just fyi
http://faculty.ucmo.edu/myxo/images/abrams_falls.jpg

Wow. Swimming! Thank you so much -- the pictures are beautiful and I am muy excited about this. You're #1 awesome!

The one with swimming at the top is a fairly easy hike to do and is a nice way to spend a whole day up at the top. Also, the trailhead is on the Cades Cove Loop drive - an 11 mile loop road that shows off the valleys that people once lived in. Some of the cabins are there and you can go walk around in them. There is an old mill that is functioning and they sometimes are selling corn flour they are making if you are there on the right day.

Here is info on the loop:
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/cadescove.htm

and here is a map of the loop so you can see where the abrahams falls trailhead is:
http://www.cadescove.net/images/ccmap.jpg

A model ranger, you are, Nijoli! Now my husband wants to know if you are able to make it not rain the entire time we're there ;) That's probably asking too much, I realize.

I guess if it does we might have to go into Knoxville to go record shopping or something. Thanks again.

If you do that, be sure you go to the store where I work, which is Lost and Found Records.

Will do! (My name is Amanda btw -- would hate to introduce myself as "la lechera")
this is what it would be like if i were your neighbor at mesa verde
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3354/3638217365_0626531e61.jpg

aw. i love mesa verde! my sister is headed that way and can't wait.

and my name is heather, by the way!

ok, i will try to visit you if (who am i kidding, WHEN) we have a rainy day

aw

Yeah, you don't need Roaring Fork at all. It's only (? from memory) like 11 miles long, and it's a loop. I've walked it a few times to get to trails when it was closed to traffic. Newfound Gap Rd. will get you everywhere you want to be.

FYI Abrams Falls IS easy, but incredibly rocky and considered one of the 10 most dangerous hikes in America for this reason (and also the fact that people die swimming there). The NPS discourages getting in the water at Abrams. That aside, it is one of my favorite hikes. Skip: Clingman's Dome, unless you are fetishistic about reaching "highest point(s) in _______." It is ugly this time of year, and way too crowded, but it is the highest point in TN. Something I would really recommend is going up to the Mt. Sterling shelter and camping there. It is the only shelter camping experience you can get without hiking a lot, or really, at all. It's close via car to Newfound Gap which is worth a stop for the view (you'll be there anyway if you do Charlie's Bunion, IMO the 2nd best hike in the Smokies, and awesome this time of year). Of course, the jewel in the crown of the Smokies is Mt. Leconte and I can't advise anyone to skip it ever. If you only come here once, you really must do it. Only 5 miles up from the Alum Cave trailhead. A tough 5, but not too tough, and more worth it than anything you'll ever do.

I would recommend the Boulevard as the trail up Mt. Leconte. It's longer, but a lot less (I won't say strenuous, it probably evens out) constantly uphill. It's 8 miles of incredible beauty and surprises. For real. It is THE Smoky Mountain experience.

Also cool and really easy is Kephart Prong (named after ultimate bro Horace Kephart), only 2 miles, and there is a beautiful shelter to camp in. It's great this time of year. Lots of stream crossings (w/ footbridges) and covered in wildflowers. Perfect forest hiking, perfect backwoods camping.

(Should have said "though" after my sentence about the Boulevard. Basically just don't take the Bullhead)

oh phew, it's a relief that roaring fork isn't 100% necessary -- i was worried that it would be the only way that we can access the places we want to go.

i do want to visit the jewel in the crown of the smokies, though -- will not skip. whee forest hiking wildflowers ultimate smoky mtn experience! i am c/p-ing all of this into a doc that i will print and bring along. otherwise i am likely to forget all of your advice.

!!muchisimas gracias!!

seriously, when the SMA was trying to get the feds to make the smokies a national park...they took them to Mt. Leconte.

<3 I hope you love the Smokies. It is my favorite place on earth and I have devoted my life to it.

well, i certainly feel fortunate to have your advice on my visit :)

have fun on tour! sorry i'm missing you in chicago. i will tell mt leconte you said wuzzup/luv.

i loved the smokies! pics forthcoming as soon as i get my shit organized and pick up my (other) dog from the dude who was taking care of him. we took the puppy with us, which interfered with hiking a little bit but mostly interfered because she got her first period while we were there :-/

the short story is that
* hiking in the early morning is MY JAM. so quiet, so spooky.
* charlie's bunion hike was my favorite because it was SO foggy and SO quiet and there was no one there but us. lots of awesome gnarly trees. we saw some people on the way down, but no one on the way up.
* boots were ok, but can anyone explain why my feet felt numb and then extremely painful in the toe area on the way down any steep incline? is it my feet or the boots, you think?
* smokies rule

many thanks to nij/rox for their valuable expertise.

boots too big imo

if they felt numb, probably too tight

i had a pair of amazing ecco gor-tex hiking boots that i couldn't wear bc they did the same thing after 30mins or so - i think it was bc altho the leather would have stretched after wearing them in, the gor-tex wouldn't.

TREES

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4812014025_3b7f02c0fe.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4812648290_75d8dd4126.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4812649230_e499fa6cc2_b.jpg

VIEW
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4812031209_fcbdf59e61.jpg

daaaaaang

so are my boots too big (gbx, doctor) or too small (justin3, shoe expert)?

it is a mystery

i mean if the pain/numbness happens only when going downhill, it might be because your toes are sliding forward and banging the end of yr boots. this has been my experience, at least. you could try some insoles, they usually do a good job of holding yr feet in the same place while you move around

i had some insoles and i removed them because it seemed like they were crowding my toes. it got a little better, but still happened on the final day of hiking. as soon as i took my boots off and rubbed my feet a little, the pain was totally gone. this makes me think it's the boot and not a deformed/fucked up foot.

in my opinion, most numbness, toe-banging, and blister issues arise when boots are too stiff. i really don't think it's necessary to have a traditional leather hiking boot unless you're carrying a pack that's 25 - 30% of your weight. once i finally switched to trail runners as my hiking (and backpacking shoes), i stopped getting problems similar to what you've described.

if you want to stick with boots, i second gbx's recommendation for insoles - get a pair that is advertised as low profile. superfeet insoles are probably best at holding your feet in place, because they have a lot of arch support and a really deep heel cup, or you can get customizable ones from montrail or sole that are a little less extreme.

yeah i am 100% of trail runners---i haven't used a "real" hiking boot in like ten years

~in favor~

huh

mine aren't leather, but they are boots. will take into consideration. i like the sturdiness of boots, and the very solid sole, and the fact that i can wear them in the snow, but i always find myself wanting a pair of hiking shoes BUT i don't want to ruin my running shoes. so many shoes.

gahhh need car miss hikes ;_;

I just got back from approx two weeks of hiking in NE Oregon, where I calculate I hiked about 110 miles and 20,000 ft. of elevation gain and loss in 12 days of hikes. I may post a few pics later. I feel great btw. It's my form of periodic rejuvenation.

However, I drove 350 miles today to get home, and boy are my arms tired (no, uh, wait a sec; dammit; wrong joke).

welcome back! that sounds great. i love oregon.

Wallowas? Steens? or somewhere else?

my wife is camping on the headwaters of the Metolius near Bend OR right now, she goes camping with some of her girlfriends every summer.

I want to go hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains! I need to see when my Knoxville friend will be in Knoxville again, maybe she will come with me if I don't mention the bears.

I was in the Wallowas. That place is starting to become my second home. I would have branched out this year and done a long section of the PCT for a change, but the late melt-out for this year's snow buggered those plans but good.

BTW, the Metolius area is OUTSTANDING! My wife and I will go backpacking together near there next week, in the Mt. Jefferson wilderness. This is a big trip for us, because my wife hasn't done such an ambitious hike for almost a decade.

Not sure what size this will come out. Sorry if it is huge. Flickr has been monkeying with how this is done and I am in strange territory.

This pic is the headwaters of the South Fork of the Imnaha River at dusk.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29988498@N05/4885396201

eh. Let me work on this later.

I want to go hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains! I need to see when my Knoxville friend will be in Knoxville again, maybe she will come with me if I don't mention the bears.

― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Wednesday, August 11, 2010 4:58 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Surely any Knoxvillian knows there are bears! Haw

We apologize for unavoidable delays caused by YACT (Yet Another Camping Trip).

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4885396201_11a9b153d1_z.jpg
S. Imnaha R. at dusk

Technology Gets Hikers Into Trouble

mmm love that photo, aimless!
i miss pnw!

getting car this weekend - need to start planning virginia/w virginia hikes now :)

mt rogers. ill meet you there. wild miniature horses that won't leave you alone. beautiful views.

wild miniature horses that won't leave you alone.
omg seriously?

yes, yes 1000x yes