In our last post, we made our way up to the edge of Smoky Mountain National Park with the intention of backpacking around the center of the park. Along the way we stopped in Savannah, GA, Ashville, NC and just as we reached the park learned of the road closing that gave us access to the trailhead, so we spent the night as the sole guests of Smokemont Campground.
Day 4. We woke up late - around 9am. It was chilly sleeping inside the truck but luckily Alex had the forethought of putting boiling water inside a Nalgene bottle and placed it inside our double sleeping bag, so we were able to sleep comfortably for most of the night. Although we had spotty cellphone reception, I was able to pull up the temperature readings from the night. It had gotten down to nine degrees Fahrenheit and it was currently snowing! We swung open the back flap of the truck soft topper to see. The buffering of the falling snow created a beautiful but eerie silence in the unoccupied campground. The stillness brought us back to childhood, when we would wake up, check for wintery weather and pray for a snow day! I had the same giddy feeling inside.
During the first hours of our day we spent getting an early lunch, touring the town of Cherokee (almost everything was either closed for the season or closed due to the snow but it was still fun), and of course we found ourselves back at the GSMNP Visitor's Center. With the sun not being able to pierce the clouds and melt the ice the had built up on the road over the past couple weeks, we were once again denied access to the road that would lead us to the trailhead.
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| Smokemont Campground - unoccupied and snowy |
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| Entering downtown Cherokee |
There was a quick debate on what we should do - stay at the unoccupied Smokemont Campground, lease a room for the night in downtown Cherokee, or find a cabin somewhere. We decided to splurge on a cabin!
It was snowing harder now and the roads were becoming a concern. We called around to a few vacation rental companies in the area and landed on a little cabin called Squirrel Run just outside a neighboring town. We needed to get to the cabin before dark so we left immediately, met with the rental company and got on our way through the mountains. Warning us of the dangers of the roads leading outside town, we put on the snow chains Alex had bought as an 'extraordinary precaution' and made sure to drive as conservatively as we could.
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| Learning to put on ice chains |
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| Snowy road to Squirrel Run cabin |
When we finally reached the cabin, I couldn't contain my joy! We had rented the perfect little cabin (we were in such a hurry to find shelter before sundown we got very little details about the location and the state of the cabin)! It was a small log cabin set atop a steep ridge overlooking a small and quiet valley. The cabin was studio set up with a full kitchen, a comfy cozy king-size bed, a large leather couch and a small cast-iron fireplace for additional heating. A small wraparound porch sat on stilts extending from the cabin which held two rocking chairs, a swinging bench, and a hot tub! We quickly unloaded the truck and spent the sunset relaxing in the hot tub with a bottle of wine the owners of the cabin had supplied.
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| Squirrel Run Cabin! |
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| Inside Squirrel Run Cabin |
Day 5. We woke up to a bluebird sky and a strong appetite to spend the day outdoors. After a quick breakfast and a soak in the jacuzzi, we pulled out a map and located the nearest hiking trail. To our delight there was a six mile hike that featured three waterfalls! We stuffed our day packs with water, snacks, fleece and a first aid kit and got on our way.
The beginning of the hike was chilly, but we quickly warmed up as we climbed the trail. The silence the snow had brought, and the fact we were the only ones out exploring that early made the hike a memorable experience. Crunching fresh footprints in the snow, hearing the flapping of birds wings amongst the frozen trees, I had realized it wasn't just the hiking I had been missing the past two years - it was the solitude and the chance for the ability to listen to nature in its purest form and not through the hustle and bustle of town. There was a truth in the loud silence that was so beautiful to feel and hear and I just wanted to cry tears of joy.
We approached the first waterfall. Because of the terrain, the ground caught some of the cascading water and formed incredible ice formations on its banks. We couldn't resist stopping to take pictures!
There were many other beautiful sights as we hiked through the snow and the mountains - most of the unique wonders came from the different ways water worked its way through the landscape, as it transformed from water to ice then to water again, the way it fell from trees in the form of snow, the way it grew with the help of minerals from the ground.
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| Ice crystal growth amongst red clay |
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| Pausing at waterfall #2 (Indian Falls) |
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| Waterfall #3 |
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| Me standing in front of waterfall #3 |
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| My daypack setup |
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| Sun ray-nbows |
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| Capturing the light |
It was hard accept the hike was over, but it was great to know we could go back to our wonderful little cabin, hang out for the rest of the evening with wine in the hot tub overlooking a quiet snow-covered valley then spend the night next to the fire.
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| Post-hike soak |
