As the flight tickets get expensive around holidays, I try to pick destinations within reasonable driving distance from Chicago. Given the geolocation of Chicago, my options in terms of outdoor adventures are always limited. As I zoom in and out of Chicago on Google Maps, I take a quick glance at Great Smoky Mountains on the map. I was filled with joy when I realize that it is not far from Chicago if I take a long weekend. It was decided then, I shall meet with mountains again at Great Smoky Mountains, the most visited national park in the US.
Mountains are deeply rooted in my childhood memories. I used to spend a good chunk of my summers up on the mountains. My grandmother has a house on Toros Mountains in Antalya, which is my hometown, that she stays at in summers due to hot and humid weather in Antalya. I visited my grandmother weekends, or sometimes stayed with her for weeks. She has a garden with cherry, plum, and pine trees. Fruit picking was our daily activity up there as well as hiking the mountains. I was called Heidi up there as I got pink cheeks due to the altitude. There will be always a part in me longing for the mountain.
Back to Great Smoky Mountains, the park consists of numerous trails, waterfalls, and diverse fauna in addition to its rich history. With a couple of friends, we hit the road to experience the ancient mountains right before Thanksgiving. We left the cold Chicago behind us, and welcomed the mild weather up on the mountains, I guess we were lucky. We booked a cabin, a must-do on the mountains, for two nights in Gatlinburg and used it as our hub to explore the nearby nature wonders. Nothing beats soaking in a hot tub looking over the mountains with a glass of local wine (from cellar) after a long hiking day, which we did as our small cabin had a hot tub on the porch! We reserved Asheville, a cool/hip mountain town as we were told, as our last stop on this trip.
It is hard to explore the beauty of the park in a few days, so my only regret is not hiking all the trails. Our first hike in the park was Chimney Tops Trail, 2-mile strenuous trail and mostly upward hiking. We were breathless when we reached to the top of the mountain, but scenic views were worth for all the trouble. Since we underestimated the temperature in these areas, we carried our thick coats with us to the top, which made things even harder. We aimed hard that day, the next stop was Alum Cave. It is a 2.3-mile trail again with a steep grade that takes you to the naturally formed caves, or rather a concave bluff, at the top. The final stop of the day was the famous Clingmans Dome, which has an observation tower accessible by a 0.5-mile paved trail. We were lucky to visit this place on a clear day, and witnessed the majestic panorama of Appalachians, which is the highlight of this trip for me. I could just sit and watch the blue mountains all day. This was our grand finale for the day, and we head back to our cabin, where we soaked in hot hub to flex the muscles from a long hike day.
We woke up to a stunning view that morning at our own cabin. Apparently, our cabin was looking over the mountains, and there were still traces of fall foliage even in November. We had our breakfast on the porch, enjoying the sun and views. Our second day was reserved for waterfalls, and our first stop was Laurel Falls. It is indeed the most popular waterfall in the area, and gets crowded, some people climbing up to the parts of the fall where they are not allowed to, posing a danger to the ecosystem of the fall, unfortunately. The nature has an immense power to heal herself, if we just give enough space to her. The next stop was Grotto Falls, 1.3-mile hike that offers scenic reward. I had so much fun at this place, jumping from one rock to another and getting my shoes completely wet in the river, not on purpose though. Tired from previous day, we ended our hiking here, and went back to Gatlinburg to explore the town a little bit.
Our last day was mostly driving back to Chicago, but we squeezed in a small visit to Asheville that day. Our main purpose was to see the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, but after learning that it costs a fortune to visit the estate (at the time, it was $80/person), we only explored the free but limited parts (gardens) of the estate. We had our breakfast at Biscuit Head, which serves delicious biscuits with a wide variety of jams. Even though we did not visit the Biltmore Estate, Biscuit Head was worth visiting Asheville. Fueled by the amazing biscuits, we hit the road this time to go back home, Chicago.
Great Smoky Mountains served my purpose well; a connection with my childhood, recreating new and happy memories, and recharging and energizing with the mother nature.
Mountains are calling me, and I gotta leave now.
Cheers,
Gokce
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