by Danny Bernstein
Rain is a constant factor in the Smokies weather forecast. After all, the park is considered a temperate rainforest. Much of the time, it doesn’t bother most hikers, certainly not Friends of the Smokies ‘Trails Forever’ hikers. Rain is why we have such great biodiversity of trees, flowers, and critters.
The July Trails Forever scheduled hike was planned to be a shuttle hike with transportation provided by Rocky Top Shuttles. We were going to meet at the Chimney Tops Trailhead where the shuttle would pick us up and take us to the Road Prong Trailhead to begin our hike. What a great plan! I was not surprised to see online that the hike was sold out. I was the sweep, so I had a guaranteed spot.
I was excited to hike Road Prong Trail again. The top of the trail is on the Kuwohi Road; I had only hiked it once as part of the Smokies 900M challenge. The trail promised waterfalls, water crossings, and generally rugged conditions. But, hey, we were going downhill.
Then we would climb Chimney Tops Trail and back. This is a trail I have done numerous times.
But the weather forecast intervened.
Rain, thunderstorms, calamity were predicted. Hikers, especially those from Tennessee, canceled almost as a group. Olivia decided wisely that maybe Road Prong Trail was too rugged for the forecast. So, she quickly made other plans; we would just go up and down Chimney Tops Trail.
On the day of the hike, six hikers meet at the Chimney Rock Trailhead: Olivia, Outreach Coordinator who organizes and schedules the hikes and hikers; Krista, the development Manager from the Tennessee office acting as the second staff member on the hike; Beth, the volunteer hike leader; two hikers from Tennessee; and me, acting as sweep.
At 9 a.m., there are still several parking spots, a rare occurrence. We start up Chimney Tops Trail with three bridged water crossings of the Little Pigeon River. These are good, sturdy, wooden bridges.
Then the climb begins. The Trails Forever crew rehabilitated the trail in 2012, putting in stone and wooden steps. It is an arduous ascent, but the trail is sturdy underfoot and feels like it will last forever. Some call the Chimney Tops Trail the steepest trail in the park. Others call it “the staircase to heaven.”
The Chimney Tops Trail will forever be connected with the 2016 fires. In late November 2016, two boys walked up Chimney Tops Trail throwing lit matches. The wind carried the fire everywhere, creating devastation and several deaths in Gatlinburg. The trail work was not significantly affected by the fires, yet the trail was closed for quite a while. The Smokies management decided to close off the rocky top of the trail permanently.
Still, the view at the top of the trail is outstanding. The trees, mountain ridges, and the light are worth the climb. The trail continues for a short while to a gate and a clear sign. “Do not enter.”
When we get back down to the bridges across the Little Pigeon River, I detect that something is missing. While others are taking their last selfies and photos of the river, I note a significant improvement. The rock “sculptures” have disappeared and so have the park signs asking visitors not to move rocks. The creatures in the river use these rocks as their homes.
Maybe visitors listened to this common-sense request or maybe the fad is over. Either way, there are no rocks and no signs; that’s the way the river should be.
And the rain? Not a drop as we got into our cars.
Danny Bernstein is an avid hiker and outdoor author from Asheville who has written several hiking guides for the Carolinas and National Parks throughout the South. She is a longtime volunteer hike leader and blog contributor for Friends of the Smokies.