Hiking Newfound Gap to Clingmans Dome (Great Smoky Mountains, TN NC State Line)

The conditions this past weekend to trek from Newfound Gap to Clingmans Dome were perfect. A week before, a huge snow storm hit the upper elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains making passage nearly impossible if you didn't have the right gear. While I set off to reach Clingmans Dome with eight inches of snow on the ground the week before, I am glad I had the sense to turn around within the first mile. This is a challenging hike.

For me, there was a mystique about Clingmans Dome. It's the highest point on the Appalachian Trail and it has the lookout tower at top. On a clear day, you can see about 100 miles away. So it was the first place I wanted to hike to to get a taste of what the Appalachian Trail offers. It's fitting that on my 40th birthday, I finally get a real chance of hiking this amazing trail, part of the American legend.

(me describing about a half mile of the trail as I hike)

We started about 9:00 AM. The hike was supposed to be about seven miles to the top, but I learned quickly the mile markers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park appeared to be off based on GPS readings. By the time I hiked up the spiral, it was about 8.5 miles. Trust me, when your feet hurt and the muscles are tired from hiking up mountains, that extra mile and half counts.

From Newfound Gap, you actually climb two mountains with an elevation of 6,000 feet or more. These are the high mountains of the Appalachians. The first mountain is a long climb from Newfound Gap before descending onto a ridge that puts you on to Clingmans Dome for the final hike. Any time you lose elevation, it's disappointing because you know you are going to have to make it up. By the time we started the descent, our feet and legs were tired.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail in this area gives you a great appreciation for the hikers they call through hikers. Trough hikers are hikers that set out to hike the entire 2,181 miles of the Appalchian Trail before the weather gets bad in Maine. The trail starts at Springer Mountain in Georgia and finishes at Mount Katahdin in Maine. Some through hikers start in Maine to avoid not completing the hike before the weather turns in the fall in Maine.

We met a number of through hikers who began their trek around the first of March. Many of them were willing to talk for a few minutes like Alwaysfine. (Through hikers usually acquire a trail name during their journey.) Alwaysfine is John Miksit, who has attempted to hike the entire trail twice, but has had to quit because of things outside of his control, including getting to the halfway point at Harper's Ferry, WV. Miksit has hiked every mile of the Appalachian Trail as a section hiker, which is what we were doing on my 40th birthday.

There was still snow in some places on the trail, including a section of deep snow, which I feel into. Not fun. The trail was also muddy because of the melting snow.

Overall, while not the most scenic section of trail in the Smokies, it did offer a hike to a beautiful view at the top. The trail has heavy tree cover, so you are limited to the views. Once you get to the top, providing you get a rare clear day, which we did, the views are beautiful. The elevation of Clingmans Dome is 6,642 ft with a prominence of 4,513 feet.

(360 degree view from Clingmans Dome lookout tower)

Michelle went with me on the hike, and her knee was bothering her as we approached the summit, so we hiked down Clingman's Dome Road, which many people use, driving in their cars, to reach the summit. That's cheating. Fortunately, the road is closed until the end of March, which means we owned the road for a brief moment in time, even stopping to rest, lying in the middle of it.