by Danny Bernstein (March 11, 2026)
It was like the first day of school. I woke up extremely early and couldn’t get back to sleep. It was the first Trails Forever hike in 2026.
Today I was going to lead the first hike of the season on the Smokemont Loop; maybe for some people, it would be their first Friends of the Smokies hike as well.
We had just switched to daylight saving time. So, I started my drive in the dark from Asheville listening to the news and more importantly to the weather forecast. At this point, the forecast didn’t matter; we were going to have a hike.
Apparently, I was not the only eager hiker. When I got to the Smokemont parking lot, there was already a hiker who had come from Dandridge, Tennessee. Soon two women showed up from Nashville; they were on one of their regular multi-day visits to the Smokies.
Olivia, Outreach Coordinator for Friends of the Smokies, started the introductions. Besides facilitating all the hikes, Olivia scouts the hikes with the volunteer leaders. She’s so much fun to spend time with. We hiked the Smokemont loop a couple of weeks ago. Even after spending hours together, our conversation kept flowing.
Amy Marshall, Special Events Manager, also came. For this, the first hike of the season, Dana Soehn, President of Friends of the Smokies, and her husband, Heath Soehn, were there. What Friends royalty! Each had spent their whole careers working for the park and could give us a great perspective on issues in the Smokies.
Before we started the hike, I pointed out that the Smokemont Campground area had been a logging camp run by Champion Fibre. In fact, most campgrounds in the park had sawmill operations because they were flat and conducive to attracting settlers.
Sixteen hikers all together started on the trail including several first timers with Friends of the Smokies. We stopped at Bradley cemetery where there were three engraved headstones but plenty of stone stumps as well. Then up, up, up. The trail climbed steadily. By then, it was also raining steadily. We shed our raincoats because they were just too hot. Steve Pierce, who was the sweep, kept everyone moving and cheerful.
Finally, we got to the top where I had promised a rest and time for a leisurely snack. But no one was really interested in lounging around in the rain. A quick drink and a snack in our pocket and we started down. There was a lot less rain on the other side of the hill.
At the bottom we reached Bradley Fork where we crossed a long bridge. I asked that we only have three people on the bridge at a time. Once on Bradley Fork Trail, we could have meandered down to our cars. Instead, we turned left on the Chasteen Creek Trail. At this point, the rain had almost let up. Keeping left, we found our way to Chasteen Creek Cascade, a destination for horse riders.
At lunch by the river, we learned that it was Dana’s birthday today. How did we go the whole day without knowing this? Of course, we sang “Happy Birthday.” Olivia described the next hike. See the Trails Forever schedule for details.
We reached our cars at 2 p.m. when the rain finally stopped and we said our goodbyes.
P.S. As I was changing my shoes, I was stopped by a small group of Millennials who wanted to know where the Smokemont loop started. “It’s a little late for starting an eight-mile hike,” I said. “Go up Bradley Fork Trail for great views of the river and cascades. Go up as far as you want and turn around.” They seemed happy with that plan.