[Illustration: Bear]
Many admire the bear above all other park animals, associating it
intimately with wilderness scenery. Not seeing a bear can be a
disappointment. But bears are shy and secretive; about 95 percent
never come near the roads here. You might be surprised that bears,
classed as carnivores, are about 80 percent vegetarian. But they will
eat almost anything.
The sow will usually have two cubs every two years. They are born
blind and hairless, no bigger than a young rabbit. In two months they
will leave the den under the watchful, if indulgent, eye of a fiercely
protective mother who is a stern disciplinarian. It is good training,
for bears live by stealth and cunning as much as brute strength.
(Scientists think bears may be almost as bright as primates.) Bears
feed in summer on berries. In autumn they forage on hickory nuts and
acorns to build fat reserves for the long winter they spend in the
den.
Bears are tree climbers (see note on denning below), especially if
climbing brings food within reach. Bears have been observed bending
small trees double. Many they will break to get at the fruit. They may
climb out on branches to get at fruit, or break the branches off and
consume the fruit on the ground.
[Illustration: The relationship of a mother bear and her cubs can be
fascinating to watch. Even hard-nosed biologists must quell the urge
to describe this relationship in purely human terms! The
relationship is best watched at a distance, however, because the
mother is fiercely protective of her young. That protective instinct
can prove dangerous for the unwary hiker or backpacker. Generally,
however, bears will sense you first and avoid you entirely.]
[Illustration: Cubs develop their strength and coordination in
tumbling games of tag and wrestling. A cub is full grown at age 4. A
bear is old by age 12. The park's bear population varies from about
400 to 600.]
[Illustration: A few years ago it was discovered here in the Smokies
that bear denning sites are frequently in hollow trees 6 to 15
meters (20 to 50 feet) above the ground. Holes near the ground
(photo) are not commonly used.]
[Illustration: The intelligence of bears is often underrated. They
seem to walk awkwardly, because their hindquarters are longer than
their forelimbs, but they are agile and move rapidly.]
[Illustration: _Imagine hewing your own home out of the surrounding
woodlands with just a few hand tools. Such was the life of Smokies
pioneers. Today you can peer into the past at the Pioneer Farmstead
beside the Oconaluftee Visitor Center._]
The Tracks of Our Predecessors
Rocks rose out of the sea and became mountains. Plants clothed them and
animals lived among the plants, all evolving and changing over the
millions of years. A few thousand years ago, a dense green mantle of
giant trees covered the Smokies. Bears roamed the forest and bison
followed their ages-old trails across the mountains. Beavers built dams
across lowland streams, and meadows followed when the beavers moved on.
Elk and deer came out of the forest to feed in the meadows and cougars
and wolves hunted the elk and deer. It might have gone on this way for
even more thousands of years.
But then people came. First Indians, then settlers, then the lumber
companies. What was the impact of this new element, this two-legged
animal? How did the forest and its life change? Is it now returning to
its former state? In trying to answer these questions we may learn
something about the ecological role of people not only in the Smokies
but also in much of eastern North America, most of which resembled the
Smokies in its forest cover when people first arrived on the scene.
For at least several thousand years groups of humans have lived in the
lowlands around the Great Smokies. Use of the highlands themselves by
these earlier groups was probably limited, however. Our history of
peoples in the mountains begins with reports of explorers who visited
the Cherokees in the late 17th and 18th centuries. They found this
tribe, which is thought to have left the ancestral Iroquoian territory
and moved southward about the year 1000, dispersed in small villages
along foothill streams in a great arc around the Southern Appalachians.
Primarily an agricultural people, the Cherokees tended fields of corn,
squash, beans, melons, and tobacco around their thatched log cabins. But
they also hunted and fished, and gathered wild plant materials for both
food and trade. Although the mountains harbored spirits that were not
entirely friendly, the Cherokees camped in coves and gaps to hunt bear
and deer, to gather nuts and berries, and to gather stone for
implements. Early reports from the Smokies noted the large numbers of
deer, bear, and beaver skins being traded by the Cherokees. Quite
possibly, they set fire to attract game and promote the growth of berry
bushes, thus creating some of the mysterious grass balds atop the
Smokies. For purposes of trade and warfare they established trails
through the mountains. Such a trail across Indian Gap remained the
principal cross-mountain route until early this century.
What effect did all this have on the tapestry of life in the mountains?
Undoubtedly the Cherokees increased the area of open land, although some
of their cropland might have been established on old beaver meadows.
They may also have reduced the numbers of game and fur animals, although
18th-century travelers in the region still could be amazed at the
abundance of deer, bison, beaver, cougars, and other animals. No species
except the bison is known to have disappeared during the years the
Cherokees had sole dominion over the land, and they may have contributed
in some way to this one loss. With relatively small numbers in the
Smokies, and a lack of highly destructive implements, especially guns,
the Cherokees apparently changed the ecological picture only slightly in
the days before contact with Europeans.
In the 1790s settlers, legally or illegally, began taking over former
Cherokee land in the Smokies, beginning with two of the broader lowland
valleys, the Oconaluftee and Cades Cove. As the Cherokees yielded more
and more land, by treaty or to theft, settlement by the new Americans
proceeded up other valleys, until by 1826 almost every watershed was
occupied by at least a few families. Clearing and occupation of land
continued through the 19th century, the largest concentrations
developing in the Sugarlands (along the West Prong of Little Pigeon
River), Greenbrier Cove, and Cataloochee, in addition to the earliest
areas of settlement. In 1926, when land buying for the newly authorized
park began, there were 1,200 farms and 7,300 people within the park
boundaries. By this time, however, farming in the Smokies had passed its
peak.
By contrast with earlier Indian inhabitants, the farmers had
considerable impact on the land. Most obvious was the removal of forest
to make homesites, cropland, and pastures. By 1902, eight percent of the
land on the Tennessee side of the Smokies and seven percent on the North
Carolina side had been cleared. As settlement proceeded up a hollow
farmers were confronted with steeper and steeper slopes. The inevitable
results of trying to raise corn on the sides of mountains were rapid
loss of fertility and then of the soil itself, as the heavy rains
leached out nutrients and washed away first the humus and then the
mineral soil beneath. In this wilderness where virgin land was still
abundant, many mountaineers simply cleared a new patch when the old one
gave out. Horace Kephart, a midwesterner who lived among such farmers on
the North Carolina side early in the 20th century, recorded their
approach to cultivation. They would clear land and get out two or three
crops of corn.
"When corn won't grow no more I can turn the field into grass a couple
of years," Kephart's informant says.
"Then you'll rotate, and grow corn again?" Kephart asks, a bit
ingenuously.
"La, no! By that time the land will be so poor hit wouldn't raise a
cuss-fight."
"But then you must move, and begin all over again." Kephart counters.
"This continual moving must be a great nuisance."
Kephart overstates the case, however, because most stayed in one house
for two to three generations, or about 50 to 75 years.
Clearing and the erosion that sometimes followed were relatively local
and distinct effects of settlement. Uses of uncleared forest land had
widespread, but more subtle, effects. Selected white pines and
yellow-poplars were cut for lumber; oaks for shingles; and hickories
mostly for firewood. Other species were put to less important,
miscellaneous uses. Many plants were collected for food and dyes or for
medicinal purposes. Ginseng, which has a forked root highly prized in
China for its supposed medicinal and aphrodisiac values, was nearly
eliminated by eager "sang" diggers who sold the roots for export.
Probably even more pervasive was the influence of livestock. Hogs, and
sometimes cattle and sheep, were allowed to roam the forests, grazing,
browsing, and rooting for a living. Mast--acorns, chestnuts, and
beechnuts--formed an important part of the diet of hogs, but these
omnivorous creatures ate all sorts of plants and small animals. As
anyone knows who has observed a grazed woodlot, livestock can quickly
impoverish the ground and shrub layers of a forest. Grazing and
browsing, along with use of fire, prevented the return of forest to the
grass balds. All these uses of the forest undoubtedly changed the
proportions of many tree and lesser plant species in the total forest
composition. Precisely how much they did so cannot now be determined.
The impact of settlement on certain wildlife species is more easily
seen. Elk disappeared about the time the earliest pioneers moved in. The
beaver, an easily trapped animal, was nearly gone by the end of the 19th
century. Wolves and cougars, hunted because they sometimes killed
livestock--and uncomfortable in the presence of people--followed soon
after. Deer, bear, and turkey persisted but in much-reduced numbers,
with the bears retreating to rough, wild country in the central heights.
Smaller animals fared better, although such hunted species as raccoon,
opossum, and gray squirrel perhaps suffered some reduction.
About 1900 a new era began, bringing the greatest shock yet to Great
Smokies ecosystems. Large lumber companies, having logged off the big
timber of New England and the Great lakes states, turned their attention
to the virgin stands of the Southern Appalachians. Setting up sawmills
at the fringes of the mountains, they rapidly worked their way up the
coves, just as Cherokees and settlers had done before them. Railroads,
built to carry logs to the mills, were extended upstream as cutting
progressed. In some watersheds, such as those of the Little River, Big
Creek, and the Oconaluftee, nearly all species of trees were taken. In
others, such as Abrams Creek, West Prong of the Little Pigeon, and
Cataloochee, cutting was selective. By the late 1920s, logging, added to
settlement practices, had at least partially cleared more than 60
percent of the land in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Though for a time it proved an economic boon, logging was easily the
most destructive form of land use the region was ever subjected to. The
removal of forest cover and the skidding of logs down steep
mountainsides caused widespread erosion. This weakened the foundation
for regrowth and clogged streams with sediment, thereby reducing their
quality for sustaining aquatic life. In the wake of logging came forest
fires, probably the worst these mountains have seen. Heaps of dried
branches trimmed from logs made perfect tinder for fires started by
engine sparks, careless matches, or lightning strikes. In the 1920s
disastrous fires roared up the East Prong of Little River, up Forney
Creek to Clingmans Dome, and over the slopes around Charlies Bunion.
Scars from some of these fires have still not healed today.
What was the net biological effect of the presence of people in the
mountains in 1926, the year Congress authorized Great Smoky Mountains
National Park? Broadly speaking, the forest and its animals had been
diminished but the plants and animals of grassland and brush had
increased. The gray wolf was gone but the meadowlark had arrived. In
1930 the American people inherited lands that were still about 40
percent virgin forest, the largest such chunk of forest left in the
East. The rest of the park was a patchwork of uncut forest, young second
growth, and openings dotted with houses and barns and fringed with stone
walls and fences. The park therefore preserved much of the primeval
splendor of the Smokies, but the activities of people would long remain
visible in it, and some of these would deliberately be maintained as
part of the region's historical heritage.
Today most of the former fields, except those such as Cades Cove that
are purposely kept open, have returned to forest. But it is still easy
to recognize these grown-over fields by the types of trees on them. Many
bear a nearly solid stand of straight-stemmed yellow-poplars. Others are
marked by a dense growth of pines. Dr. Randolph Shields, who grew up in
Cades Cove and became chairman of the biology department at nearby
Maryville College, has watched the plant succession on old fields in the
Cove since about 1930. He has found there that pines usually are the
first trees to spring up among the grasses, herbs, and blackberries and
other shrubs that follow field abandonment. On moist ground,
yellow-poplars usually come up under the pines, but sometimes hemlock
and white pine form a second tree stage under the pioneering Virginia or
pitch pines. Where yellow-poplars come in, they usually shade out the
light-loving pines in about 40 years. Gradually the many species of the
cove forest become established under the yellow-poplars, presaging the
mixed stand of big trees that will complete the cycle initiated by
clearing the land. On the drier slopes it may take about 100 years for
the pines to be shaded out by the red maples, oaks, and hickories that
eventually become dominant in such areas.
As you might expect, animal life changes with the progression of plant
succession. Meadowlarks, bobwhites, woodchucks, and cottontails are
replaced by red-eyed vireos, wood thrushes, chipmunks, and white-footed
mice as grassland and shrubs give way to forest. With age and woodpecker
activity, tree cavities develop in the forest, providing homes for an
additional complement of animals such as screech owls, flying squirrels,
raccoons, bears, and opossums.
Under the protection accorded by its designation as a national park
several animals have made a dramatic comeback in the Smokies. Bears once
again roam the entire mountain area. Turkeys are frequently seen in such
places as Cades Cove, where openings break the mantle of forest. In
recent years sporadic beaver activity has been noted in the park. Even
cougars are occasionally reported, although their presence has not been
conclusively established. But wolves, elk, and bison--animals that
symbolize the Indian's America--probably cannot be brought back.
Nature again reigns supreme in the Smokies. We may never see here the
numbers of wildlife that surprised the first explorers, but we can see
remnants of the giant-treed forests that greeted them, and we can marvel
at the undulating expanse of green, a beautiful suggestion of the vast
hardwood forest that once cloaked eastern America.
Mountain Lifeways
[Illustration: Milas Messer dresses or curries a hide in the drying
shed at his farm on Cove Creek.]
A great part of the Great Smokies story is the story of men and women
making their homes in these wooded eastern mountains. With few tools
and even fewer manufactured fixtures and fasteners, pioneers settled
in and became mountaineers.
Industry--hard work, that is--and ingenuity came in handy. Many
aspects of these traits are illustrated in this section through
historic photographs of men and women going about their business in
the Smokies. It was not all hard work, but even the play often
exhibited these folk's ingenuity in turning the things of field and
forest into implements of recreation.
For more insight into the lives of Smokies people, see the National
Park Service book, _Highland Homeland: The People of the Great
Smokies_, by Wilma Dykeman and Jim Stokely. It is sold in the park
visitor centers and by mail (see "Armchair Explorations" on page 125).
[Illustration: Fitting barrel to stock]
[Illustration: _Chiseling a tub mill wheel_]
[Illustration: _Coopering_]
[Illustration: Interior of a mill]
[Illustration: Hauling wood]
[Illustration: Beekeeping]
[Illustration: Rolling sorghum cane]
[Illustration: Repairing a hauling sled]
[Illustration: Splitting shingles]
[Illustration: Hog butchering]
[Illustration: Scrubbing a hide]
[Illustration: Shaving barrel staves]
[Illustration: Gunsmithing]
[Illustration: Basket weaving]
[Illustration: Blacksmithing]
[Illustration: Mountain laundry]
[Illustration: Churning butter]
[Illustration: Carding wool]
[Illustration: Weaving yarn into cloth]
[Illustration: Ginning cotton]
[Illustration: Making baskets]
[Illustration: Wash day]
Oconaluftee
[Illustration: Pioneer Farmstead]
What kind of people were the Smokies pioneers? Part of the answer
awaits you at the Pioneer Farmstead next to the Oconaluftee Visitor
Center on the North Carolina side of the park. The farmstead buildings
suggest an independent people who were hardworking, laboring spring,
summer, and fall to prepare for the coming winter.
This is a typical Southern Appalachian pioneer farm. The life style of
earlier years is demonstrated by people in period dress here from May
through October. A few animals roam the farm-yard and the garden
produces traditional crops. In the fall sorghum cane may be pressed to
make sorghum molasses. Inside the cabin--you can poke your head
through its open doors and windows--traditional breads may be baking,
or a quilt be patching, or wool a-spinning. And don't forget to notice
the fieldstone chimneys, the squared logs' careful notchings, and the
handsplit wooden "shakes" up on the roof.
[Illustration: Field work]
Just up the road is Mingus Mill, an excellent example of a
turbine-powered gristmill. A miller is often on hand May through October
to answer your questions about how waterpower was used to produce
cornmeal and flour. You might even be able to purchase some of the
cornmeal or the flour ground right at the mill. Wheat is harder than
corn and requires harder stone to grind it. Millstones for grinding
wheat in this area were imported from France. The stones used for
grinding corn were cut domestically.
[Illustration: Wheelwright]
[Illustration: Chicken]
A commercial mill the size of Mingus Mill would generally be built by a
specially skilled carpenter known as a millwright, a term which has
taken broader meaning today.
Cades Cove
[Illustration: Cades Cove]
Cades Cove preserves the image of the early settlers' self-sufficient
life style in the Smokies. It was not all romance. Cades Cove itself
is expansive, level, idyllic farmland, which hardly describes most of
the Smokies. Cades Cove is today an open air museum. Here are the
beautifully restored and picturesque Elijah Oliver cabin; the
still-operated Cable Mill grinding flour with water power; and
numerous churches, houses, and cabins. At Cable Mill are many
artifacts of past agricultural practices from throughout the Smokies.
The largely self-sufficient agricultural economy here came to an end
with the advent of logging about 1900.
[Illustration: Spinning]
[Illustration: Church building and graveyard]
By 1920, most Smokies residents were linked to a cash economy, to
manufactured items and store-bought foods. But Cades Cove preserves
glimpses of the pioneer ingenuity that wrested a living from the
landscape. Preserved with the cabins here are many ingenious devices
such as effective door latches simply fashioned from local wood.
In 1850 Cades Cove supported 685 people in 132 families. Most originally
came from Virginia via routes followed today by Interstate 81 and U.S.
411. A treaty in 1819 transferred the Cades Cove from Cherokee to State
of Tennessee ownership. Settlers traded in what is now Townsend, and in
Maryville and Knoxville.
A delightful 18-kilometer (11-mile) one-way loop road unfolds the quiet
pleasures of Cades Cove to you. This is a popular route with bikers
because it is so scenic--and not so arduous. Periodically the loop road
is closed to motor vehicles for the sake of bicyclists. Early farmers
were quick to appreciate the same level aspect of the cove that appeals
to today's cyclist.
[Illustration: Barn and wagon]
Cherokee Indians
[Illustration: Lacrosse field]
The Cherokee nation was settled in the shadow of the Smokies. "The
place of the blue smoke," they called the mountains in their
heartland, and so the Smokies have become named. Myth, ritual, and
religion bound the Cherokees closely to the land. Ironically, they
enjoyed a sophisticated culture very similar to the white culture that
would so cruelly supplant them. They were agrarian and democratic, and
they believed in one god. They lived in mud-and-log cabins, women
sharing tribal governance, and men sharing household duties.
[Illustration: Family and cabin]
[Illustration: Basketmaking]
The Cherokees rapidly adopted governmental features of the invading
culture. They adopted a written legal code in 1808. Within a dozen years
they had divided their nation into judicial districts with designated
judges. Two years later they had established the Supreme Court of the
feat. Within just two years of its adoption, _The Cherokee Phoenix_
newspaper was published and most Cherokee-speakers could read and write!
But the white people had an insatiable appetite for land. Treaty after
treaty was made and broken. The fatal blow was the discovery of gold in
1828 near the Cherokee villages in northern Georgia. Within a few years
all their land was confiscated. The infamous "Trail of Tears" came with
passage of the 1830 Removal Act.
[Illustration: Woman]
Some 13,000 Cherokees were forced to march to Oklahoma: 25 percent died
en route. Not all left, however, and some soon returned. Today the
eastern band of Cherokees lives on the Cherokee Reservation on the
park's North Carolina side.
3 Guide and Adviser
[Illustration: _The Cades Cove loop drive is reserved for bicyclists
certain hours each week. Its level demeanor looks like heaven if you
have biked across the mountains._]
[Illustration: _A low sun casts fencepost shadows on a Cades Cove
road. The relatively flat cove was premium farmland. Geologically,
the cove floor is limestone, younger than the rocks forming
surrounding ridges. The Rich Mountain mass skidded across what is
now the cove as the Smokies range was being formed._]
Guide and Adviser Topical Reference
Going to the Great Smokies 101
Map 102
Visitor Centers 104
The Smokies by Car 107
Wildflowers and Fall Colors 110
Activities 112
Hiking and Backpacking 114
Accommodations 118
For Your Safety 120
Nearby Attractions 122
Books to Read 125
Index 126
Going to the Great Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles the North
Carolina-Tennessee boundary for about 110 kilometers (70 miles). It is
accessible by car from the Interstate highways encircling it as they
connect the Tennessee cities of Knoxville and Chattanooga with
Asheville, North Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; and Atlanta,
Georgia. The Blue Ridge Parkway reaches its southern terminus here on
the park's North Carolina side. Major gateways to the park are Cherokee
and Bryson City, North Carolina, and the cities of Pigeon Forge,
Gatlinburg, Townsend, and Cosby, in Tennessee. These urban areas with
their tourist services are connected by Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441),
the only park road that crosses the mountains. It is closed to
commercial vehicles.
The National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, is
responsible for the management of the park. The superintendent's address
is Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738. Telephone (615) 436-5615. Park
headquarters is located 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) south of Gatlinburg, on
the Newfound Gap Road.
Maps, guides, and information on routes, points of interest,
accommodations, and services are available from several sources. For a
Tennessee highway map write to the Department of Transportation,
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0349, or telephone (615) 741-2331. For
Tennessee vacation information write to Department of Tourist
Development, P.O. Box 23170, Nashville, Tennessee 37202, or telephone
(615) 741-2158.
For a North Carolina highway map write to Travel and Tourism Division,
430 No. Salisbury, Raleigh, North Carolina 27603, or telephone (919)
733-4171. The division distributes several brochures on North Carolina
vacations, recreation, and special events; specify your interest in the
Smokies. The _North Carolina Outdoors_ booklet lists areas and
facilities, including private campgrounds, keyed to the official highway
map.
Park Map
[Illustration: Great Smoky Mountains National Park]
Chambers of commerce offer trip information:
Pigeon Forge Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 1390
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee 37868
800-251-9100 or (615) 453-8574.
Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 527
Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738
800-822-1998 or (615) 436-4178.
Townsend Chamber of Commerce
Townsend, Tennessee 37882.
Cosby Chamber of Commerce
Cosby, Tennessee 37722.
Cherokee Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 460
Cherokee, North Carolina 28719
(704) 497-9195.
Bryson City Chamber of Commerce
Bryson City, North Carolina 28713
(704) 488-3681.
Lodging and supplies are available in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg,
Sevierville, Townsend, Maryville, Bryson City, Cherokee, and other
Tennessee and North Carolina towns surrounding the park. No public
transportation serves the national park. Major airlines serve Knoxville,
Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina, where cars may be rented.
Visitor Centers
National Park Service Visitor Centers are located just inside the park
on both the North Carolina and Tennessee sides. On the Tennessee side
the Sugarlands Visitor Center is 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) south of
Gatlinburg. The Cades Cove Visitor Center (closed in winter) is located
in the Cable Mill area of the Cades Cove Loop Road. On the North
Carolina side the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is 3.2 kilometers (2 miles)
north of Cherokee.
If you plan to be in the park just a few hours or up to several days,
you will do yourself a favor by checking out a visitor center. Museum
displays give you a quick and interesting insight into both nature and
history in the park. At Sugarlands there is a free movie. Books, maps,
and other publications are offered for sale in the visitor centers and
free park folders are available. These resources--and the people working
the information desks--can help you plan your stay in the park within
the time limits you must meet.
The Great Smokies is a large park whose diverse features are separated
by significant driving times. Park employees can help you use your time
to best advantage.
Visitor centers also offer restroom facilities, drinking water, and a
mail drop and they sell film for your convenience. Here you can get
backpacking information and apply for a backcountry use permit. (See
section on Backcountry Use.) Visitor center bulletin boards carry
information on road conditions, urgent contact requests, and
interpretive programs.
Visitor centers are open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the winter, with
extended hours of operation in the spring, summer, and fall. The Cades
Cove Visitor Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from mid-April to late
November.
Interpretive Programs
Guided walks and evening programs are conducted by the National Park
Service throughout the park. Most of these start or take place at the
visitor centers and at campground amphitheaters. The uniformed park
employees who render these services are trained in the natural history
and/or history of the Great Smokies. They give you excellent vignettes
of the park's nature and its historical period of Indian and mountaineer
life and the opportunity to ask questions. You, for instance, might
enjoy a short nature walk up a burbling Smokies stream and so learn
about the more than 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) of streams in the park.
Schedules of these activities and programs are posted at the visitor
centers and on campground bulletin boards. A copy of the schedule is in
_Guide to Great Smoky Mountains National Park_, which is available free
at any visitor center, ranger station, or campground.
[Illustration: _Sugarlands Visitor Center (above) in Tennessee and
Oconaluftee Visitor Center in North Carolina (below), are the best
places to begin your park trip. Exhibits explain the natural and
human history of the Great Smokies. A free park folder is available,
books and maps are sold, and you can check the posted schedule of
activities being offered._]
[Illustration: Oconaluftee Visitor Center]
Live demonstrations of mountain life skills and folkways are also
provided periodically (spring through October) at places such as the
Pioneer Farmstead beside the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the nearby
Mingus Mill, or at the Cable Mill in Cades Cove. You even might be able
to buy cornmeal freshly ground just as it was a century or more ago.
Self-guiding nature trails have been laid out throughout the park. Look
for these marked trails near campgrounds, visitor centers, and picnic
areas. Most are easy walks of 1.5 kilometers (a mile) or less which take
you through former farmsteads now returning to forest, groves of the
world-famous cove hardwoods, reclaimed logged-over lands, or other
aspects of the park. Trails are well marked and seldom difficult. At the
trail's start look for a container offering a descriptive brochure for
sale on the honor system.
Two self-guiding motor nature trails lead you through impressive areas
of the park in the comfort and convenience of your own vehicle. Near
Gatlinburg, off the Cherokee Orchard Road, is the Roaring Fork Motor
Nature Trail. Its scenic route takes you by several restored pioneer
buildings. The Cades Cove Loop Road is an 18-kilometer (11-mile) drive
through the pleasant scenery of Cades Cove. Here you get pleasant vistas
out across the cove where you may well see deer grazing against a
mountain backdrop. The fields recall the rural scene of many years ago.
A brochure available at the start of the loop describes points along the
way that are designated by numbered signs. At several points you can
park your car and visit preserved farm structures, both log and frame,
and churches and cemeteries. Partway through the loop is a small visitor
center and the restored Cable Mill. Associated restored buildings here
display farm implements once used for valley and mountain farming in
this region.
Guided interpretive programs are offered largely in summer. Check the
current schedule at the visitor centers or on campground bulletin
boards.
Evening campground programs offer interesting free family entertainment.
Try the many interpretive programs offered at park campgrounds in the
evenings throughout the week. Check bulletin boards for the schedules.
The three most often asked questions in the park are: Where can I fish?
Where can I camp? and What about the bears? Some evening programs cover
the bears in detail and you will learn about unusual denning habits in
the Smokies. All evening programs are offered for the general public by
trained National Park Service interpreters. You will enjoy them no
matter how much, or how little, you know about the topic. And you are
free to ask questions, knowing they will be taken seriously.
Evening programs cover such topics as the pioneer life, wildlife,
hiking, and the incredible botanical story of the Smokies. There are
programs on the "preserve and protect" philosophy of how the park is
managed, and exploring the park. For the adventurous there are "night
prowls," guided experiences after dark to sample the sights, sounds, and
odors of the night forest.
Quiet walkways provide short walks on easy grades. They usually begin at
parking areas that accommodate no more than two cars, so crowds are
excluded. This is a nice way to experience the naturalness of the
Smokies in walks not exceeding 0.5 kilometers (0.3 miles).
The Smokies by Car
[Illustration: _They still grind corn sometimes by the old
water-driven methods at the restored Mingus Mill, just up the road
from the Oconaluftee Visitor Center._]
[Illustration: _But school's in session at Little Greenbrier only
for the sake of people who come to the park to see what life was
like in the Smokies a couple of generations back. These living
history demonstrations are sometimes offered in summer at various
parts of the park. Check schedules at a visitor center or
campground._]
A few comments may save time and open new vistas for your driving in the
Smokies. Within just an hour's drive of each other here are climatic
differences created by elevation. You can drive through the spruce-fir
forests typical of Maine up near Clingmans Dome in late morning and be
driving through lush southern hardwoods back near Sugarlands or
Oconaluftee in early afternoon.
The roads are designed for scenic driving. There are numerous turnouts
and parking areas at viewpoints or historic sites.
Traffic, winding roads, and the scenery conspire to making driving time
more important than distance here in the park. Figure about twice the
time to drive a given distance that you would for normal highways. Be on
the alert for unexpected driving behavior from others--they may be under
the influence of the scenery! Gasoline is not sold in the park, so check
your gauge. Remember that winter storms may close the Newfound Gap and
Little River Roads.
The main road in the park is the Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441) between
Gatlinburg and Cherokee. It is the only road across the mountains. Along
it and at the Newfound Gap Parking Area you will get some of the best
scenic high-mountain vistas in the park--and on the East Coast, for that
matter. If you want to go still higher you can drive up the Clingmans
Dome Road from Newfound Gap and walk up to the observation tower. Here
you are at the highest point in the national park, and the third highest
east of the Rockies. The reward is a 360-degree panorama of the sea of
peaks for which the Smokies (and Natahalas and Unakas and ...) are
famous. Clingmans Dome Road is a deadend spur off the Newfound Gap Road
at the crest of the Smokies.
If you want to sample the Blue Ridge Parkway and also enjoy some
beautiful mountain scenery from right up in it, try the Balsam Mountain
Road, which leaves the parkway between Oconaluftee and Soco Gap. It
winds for 14.5 kilometers (9 miles) back into the national park's Balsam
Mountain Campground. Incredible azalea displays will dazzle you here in
season. If you are adventurous and want to try a mountain dirt road,
continue past the campground to the Heintooga Picnic Area and the start
of the Round Bottom Road (closed during winter). This is a
22.5-kilometer (14-mile), partially one-way, unpaved road that descends
the mountain to the river valley below and joins the Big Cove Road in
the Cherokee Indian Reservation. You come out right below Oconaluftee at
the edge of the park.
Another view of the Smokies awaits you along the Little River Road
leading from Sugarlands to Cades Cove. The road lies on the old logging
railroad bed for a distance along the Little River. (The curves suggest
these were not fast trains!) Spur roads lead off to Elkmont and Tremont
deeper in the park, and to Townsend and Wear Cove, towns outside the
park. Little River Road becomes the Laurel Creek Road and takes you on
into Cades Cove where you can take the one-way 18-kilometer (11-mile)
loop drive and observe the historic mountain setting of early settlers.
If you are returning to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge from Cades Cove, try
exiting the park toward Townsend and driving the beautiful Wear Cove
Road back to U.S. 441 at the north end of Pigeon Forge.
Perhaps the most bucolic scenes in the Smokies are to be seen from the
Foothills Parkway between Interstate 40 and Route 32 near Cosby, around
the northeast tip of the park. Here you look out across beautiful
farmland with the whole mass of the Smokies rising as its backdrop.
Other interesting drives in the park are the Rich Mountain Road, Parsons
Branch Road (both closed in winter), and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature
Trail. At the west end of the park there is another section of the
Foothills Parkway between Chilhowee and Walland. The parkway is
administered by the National Park Service. A small leaflet, "Auto
Touring," is available for a small charge at any of the three visitor
centers.
Mountain People and Folkways
Right beside the Oconaluftee Visitor Center as you enter the North
Carolina side of the park is the Pioneer Farmstead, a restored small
farm along the Oconaluftee River. As you leave the visitor center headed
toward the mountains, Mingus Mill Parking Area soon appears on your
left. The turbine-powered gristmill used water power to grind cornmeal
and flour. Its millrace leaves a lively creek and spills toward the mill
under arching mountain-laurel. Stones used to grind wheat came from
France. Cornmeal stones were of local origin. Mingus Mill is open from
May through October and a miller is usually on hand to answer your
questions.
On the North Carolina side of the park limited restored structures are
also found at Cataloochee.
The Cable Mill area in Cades Cove presents the largest group of restored
structures on the Tennessee side of the park. Farming is still permitted
in Cades Cove itself to preserve the open fields of the rural scene
there. The 18-kilometer (11-mile) loop drive through Cades Cove takes
you by numerous log and frame structures. The Elijah Oliver place is a
particularly beautiful log structure with outbuildings in a cozy, shaded
setting. The stream flowing through Elijah Oliver's springhouse once
kept his milk supply cool.
[Illustration: _Ranger-led walks and evening campfire programs can
be highlights of your park trip._]
Other pioneer structures include the Little Greenbrier School off Little
River Road and cabins and houses along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature
Trail. Close scrutiny of the many log structures shows subtle variations
in notching and other details.
Living history demonstrations are offered in season at Cades Cove,
Mingus Mill, and the Pioneer Farmstead. Check the visitor center and
campground bulletin boards for schedules. These may include craft
demonstrations and concerts of traditional mountain music. A "Mountain
People" leaflet is available for a small charge at any of the park's
visitor centers.
Wildflowers and Fall Colors
With abundant warm sunshine and frequent rainfall it is no surprise that
about 200 species of showy wildflowers bloom in the Smokies. They begin
in March and last until about November. Spring comes to mind when most
of us think about flowers, but practically the whole year has something
to offer. Spring seems to burst with flowers as they take advantage of
good conditions for a short period between the cold of winter and the
shade of summer, when full foliage blocks sunlight from the forest
floor.
Bloom dates depend on the weather and can vary from year to year. Here
are recommended dates to guide you: Dogwood and redbud, mid- to
late-April; spring flowers, late March to mid-May; mountain-laurel and
flame azalea, May and June; Catawba rhododendron, mid-June; and rosebay
rhododendron, June and July.
Springtime flowers are trilliums, phacelia, violets, lady's-slippers,
jack-in-the-pulpits, and showy orchis. There are familiar exotic
(non-native) species too, such as the dandelion. (In the Smokies exotics
are generally flowers of field and not of forest.) Goldenrod, ironweed,
and asters bloom in late September to early October.
In August you may see wild clematis, yellow-fringed orchis, bee-balm,
cardinal-flower, monkshood, and blue gentian.
Many flowers grow along park roadsides. Other good locations to see them
are along quiet walkways and on designated nature trails throughout the
park. See photographs of flowering shrubs and wildflowers on pages
58-61.
Fall colors generally peak between October 15 and 25. The presence of
hardwood species usually associated with more northerly climes makes the
autumn leaves here the more spectacular. Up and down the mountain the
brilliant reds of maples, the golden yellow of beech, and the deeper
hues of oaks and more southerly species blend spectacularly. Fall color
is the result of the breakdown of green chlorophyll in deciduous leaves.
Yellow and brown pigments present all summer now become prominent. Red
colors are produced when sugars are trapped in the sap of the leaves.
[Illustration: _Spring and fall bursts of color are annual drawing
cards in the Smokies. As the seasons progress, fall colors descend
the mountains and spring colors "climb" upwards._]
[Illustration: Dogwood in bloom]
If you don't mind chilly nights this can be great camping weather, and a
generally pleasant time of year here. Keep in mind that the traffic is
particularly heavy in the park during the fall foliage season,
especially on weekends.
A leaflet "Forests and Wildflowers" is available from any park visitor
center for a small charge.
Activities
Horseback Riding
The park has many kilometers of horse trails and this is considered some
of the finest riding country in the East. If you have your own horses
and want to use them in the Smokies, write to the superintendent and
request the "Great Smoky Mountains Trail Map" folder and other current
information on horse use in the park. The folder provides basic
information on sites and regulations and indicates horse trails. The
regulations are designed to minimize the environmental impact of stock.
If you don't own a horse, don't worry. You can rent one from a
concessioner by the hour, half day, day, or overnight at five locations
in the park: Cades Cove, Cosby, Dudley Creek, Smokemont, and Sugarlands.
The National Park Service requires the concessioner to send a guide with
all horse parties; this service is included in the basic rental rate.
For overnight trips you must bring your own food. Saddlebags and shelter
are provided.
If you want to experience a more traditional "outfitted" horseback trip,
write to area chambers of commerce for names of commercial outfitters.
Bicycling
The best place to bike in the Smokies is Cades Cove. If you don't arrive
on your own bike or carry it on your car, you can rent one from the
concessioner there, except in winter. The 18-kilometer (11-mile) loop
road is a paved, generally level-to-rolling one-way country road around
the cove. It takes you by restored pioneer and settlers' structures,
both log and frame.
[Illustration: Fishing Smokies streams and rivers and the nearby TVA
lakes is a popular pastime. Most sought after in the park are
rainbow and brown trout.]
[Illustration: Pictured here is the brook trout. Please take a good
look because possession of any brook trout is prohibited in the
park.]
Along the way are many pleasant streams, hiking trail access points,
wooded stretches, and the Cable Mill area with a small visitor center.
The scenery is nothing if not glorious. You look out across the rolling,
open meadow to the mountains. And you may see herds of deer grazing. In
summer bikers have the loop road to themselves--no cars allowed--on
Saturday mornings until 10 a.m.
Biking conditions elsewhere in the park are not generally good. The
Newfound Gap Road is steep, winding, crushingly long, and can be full of
traffic. Other park roads tend to be winding and narrow as well.
The Cades Cove bicycle concession is located at the campground.
Fishing
The Smokies offer a chance to fish in rushing mountain streams and
rivers. Of the 70 or so kinds of fish in the park, those that can be
fished for are smallmouth bass, rock bass, and rainbow and brown trout.
The native brook trout is protected and its waters are closed to
fishing. Rainbows and brown trout are non-native species and are managed
to provide sustained-yield fishing.
With a valid Tennessee or North Carolina license you may fish open park
waters from sunrise to sunset. A license is required for all persons 13
years of age and older in Tennessee and 16 years of age and older in
North Carolina. Buy licenses in nearby towns. Fishing with bait is
prohibited. Only single-hook artificial lures may be used. Possession
and size limits may vary with stream and species of fish, so check
before you fish. In general, _the possession of any brook trout is
prohibited_. The National Park Service hopes to restore some native
brook trout waters encroached upon by introduced brown and rainbow
trout.
Local regulations are posted on streams and can be obtained at any park
ranger station or visitor center. Or write to the park superintendent in
advance of your trip.
Birding the Smokies
The variety of birds here is striking. A one-day count throughout the
park and vicinity in winter will net more than 50 species even in a bad
year. More than 20 warblers are considered to breed within the park, and
nearly 30 members of the finch family have been reported here. Geese and
ducks number nearly 20 species, but are not often seen. Craggy mountain
heights provide ideal habitat for ravens, some hawks, and occasional
migrating peregrine falcons. Eagles and falcons are only occasionally,
or rarely, seen, but the mere possibility is exciting. If you are
interested in finding a particular bird or good birding places, check at
a visitor center. Some birds are only seasonal residents or visitors of
the park.
Serious birders will want to see a copy of the bird checklist. Free
copies are available at visitor centers.
Hiking and Backpacking
A Hiker's Paradise
The fact that the National Park Service maintains 1,450 kilometers (900
miles) of trails says something about the Smokies and hiking: it's an
East Coast hiker's paradise. Trails come in all lengths and levels of
difficulty, for the handicapped, children, super-athletes, old folks,
day hikers, and long-distance backpackers. The latter of course means
the Appalachian Trail, which threads the Smokies crest on its way from
Maine to Georgia. More on the AT below.
The intimacy of the Smokies wilderness surprises many who are attracted
by the stunning mountain scenery. This intimacy, best seen afoot, is all
but missed from your vehicle. So is the mood set by wildflowers,
cascading streams, birdsong, and the fragrance of fir trees so startling
in the Southeast. Hiking trails give access to waterfalls such as
Juneywhank, Abrams, Hen Wallow, and Ramsay Cascades. A leaflet, "Streams
and Waterfalls," is available at visitor centers for a small charge.
On sale at visitor centers you will find copies of the National Park
Service's "Great Smoky Mountains Trail Map" folder. It has up-to-date
information and a shaded relief map of trails and popular trailheads in
the park. Detailed trail descriptions are found in the Sierra Club
Totebook, _Hiker's Guide to the Smokies_, sold at visitor centers and in
area book and outdoor equipment stores.
[Illustration: _From mountain balds (above) to rocky canyon ledges
(below), Smokies trails introduce you to aspects of the park
invisible to motorists. Afoot, you experience the intimacy of
natural detail that makes the Smokies internationally renowned._]
[Illustration: Hiker on mountain ledge]
You will want to wear comfortable, non-slip shoes whether you go out for
a half-hour or a day. And you must expect variable weather,
characteristic of the Smokies. Abundant rainfall can materialize quickly
on a day which began so clear just hours ago. A light poncho or other
rain gear is handy. Make sure you will be warm enough, too. (See
"Hypothermia and Winter Warnings.") Days that are warm at Sugarlands or
Oconaluftee can be very cold if rain and wind catch you at higher
elevations.
[Illustration: _All overnight camping except in established park
campgrounds requires a free backcountry use permit. The permit
system assures you and your party an appropriate measure of solitude
in the backcountry._]
[Illustration: _No matter where you camp in the park, you must be
fully prepared for rainy weather._]
Attractions shift with the seasons in the Smokies. The best way to meld
your own interests with current attractions for a pleasant hike is to
seek advice at a visitor center. Describing your interests and asking
"What's best to see this time of year?" may well produce custom-tailored
hiking advice. You will notice hikes are described in time as well as
distance because steeper trails make simple distance a deceptive
measure. A leaflet, "Walks and Hikes," describes over 50 popular day
hikes and is available from park visitor centers for a small charge.
Backcountry Use Permits
All overnight hiking in the park requires a backcountry use permit
available free at visitor centers, and the Cades Cove campground kiosk.
The permit system has as its purpose to protect the unspoiled character
of the Smokies backcountry for the enjoyment of present and future
users. Permits distribute use so that impact is not disproportionate in
popular areas, and thus they provide backcountry users with an
opportunity for increased solitude. You do not need a backcountry use
permit for day hiking, only for overnight use. The "Great Smoky
Mountains Trail Map" folder (see above) explains the permit system and
its use. Information is also available at ranger stations or visitor
centers. Or write: Backcountry Permit, in care of the park address;
telephone (615) 436-1231 and ask for "Backcountry." You can reserve a
specific backcountry campsite for one to three specific nights up to 30
days in advance under this permit system. You can do this in person, by
telephone, or by mail. The permit itself must be picked up in person no
earlier than 24 hours before the beginning of the trip. _Note_:
Reservations for the entire trip are automatically canceled if your
permit is not picked up by 12:00 noon on the first day of the scheduled
trip. Permits will not be issued to groups larger than eight persons.
Competition for use of trail shelters along popular trails is great in
the peak season. But you can pick and choose from among many uncrowded
trails that offer trailside campsites. All water obtained in the
backcountry should be boiled or chemically treated.
The Appalachian Trail
Of all the distance the Appalachian Trail spans between Maine and
Georgia, perhaps no sustained portion is as virtually untouched by
humanity as the 110 kilometers (70 miles) threading the crest of the
Smokies. And this despite the fact that the overall trail is 3,244
kilometers (2,015 miles) long. You can park your car in the Newfound Gap
Parking Area and walk the AT north or south for a pleasant walk--or
day-long hike--along the Smokies crest. A popular destination to the
north is Charlies Bunion. There, because of unrecovered fire openings on
extremely steep mountain slopes, you achieve a real alpine sense and
literal "peak" experience. You can also park below Clingmans Dome, a
short spur drive south of Newfound Gap, and experience the AT.
About every 10-16 kilometers (8 to 10 miles) there are overnight
shelters providing primitive bunks. These three-sided shelters are
closed in on the fourth side with chainlink fence as bear-proofing. To
stay in these shelters requires a backcountry use permit/reservation.
Stays are limited to one night at a given shelter.
[Illustration: _The Appalachian Trail traces 110 kilometers (70
miles) along the crest of the range. Overnight shelters are screened
against bears. Shelter use requires a backcountry use permit (see
text). Through-hikers on the Appalachian Trail must also write ahead
for permit information._]
[Illustration: _Most park trails are well defined and well marked.
They offer backpackers ready--if not easy--access to some of the
East's finest wildlands._]
If you are hiking the Appalachian Trail from outside the park you can
stop at the Twentymile Ranger Station (on the south) or the Big Creek
Ranger Station (on the north) to get your permit and reserve shelter
space. You can also write ahead for a permit and reservation up to 30
days in advance (see above). For through-hikers--those hiking the entire
AT between Maine and Georgia--the situation is different. You can obtain
a "through permit" in advance of your trip. Write to Backcountry Permits
at the park address and explain your trip.
Because it follows the Smokies crest the AT acts as backbone to a
network of trails within the park. With such spur trails, many with
their own pleasant waterfall, creek, or other natural feature as an
attraction, you have access to the AT from numerous trailheads. Such AT
sections are much less crowded than those near Newfound Gap and
Clingmans Dome. You get the same sense of walking the crest of eastern
America and participating in the trail experience that began as a dream
of a pioneering land-use planner, Benton MacKaye, early in this century.
For information about the complete Appalachian Trail write The
Appalachian Trail Conference, P.O. Box 236, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
25425.
Backcountry Basics
While you need a backcountry use permit only for overnight backcountry
travel, it would be remiss not to say something about backcountry basics
for casual trail walkers and day hikers. Once you leave a parking area
or campground in the Smokies, you are in the wilderness. This is the
nature of the place. The National Park Service advises against solo
camping or hiking in the backcountry. Even experienced hikers can get
into trouble and, if alone, may not be able to obtain help. This
information is not offered to scare or offend you, but just to make you
realize where you are and to make you concerned about your safety.
Stream crossings can be dangerous if the streams are swollen after a
rainstorm. Don't attempt to ford a swollen stream. Return to the
trailhead and plan another trip. It's worth the extra effort and
precaution.
Sudden weather changes are characteristic of the Great Smokies. Be
prepared to get wet and either hotter or colder. Rain, wind, and cold
can become a deadly combination before you recognize your own symptoms
of hypothermia. Rainstorms are typical of warmer weather, so always
carry raingear in late spring and summer.
Stay on park trails. If you become lost, do not leave the trail.
Particularly, _do not follow a stream_ because dense undergrowth will
rapidly tire you. Most trails intersect others within a few kilometers
and signs at the junctions can put you back on course. If you find
yourself lost late in the day, find a protected spot and spend the
night. After-dark travel is dangerous. Try to stay warm and dry. Show
some sign if possible, such as a fire.
Do not climb on cliff faces and waterfalls. The fine spray mist off
waterfalls makes surrounding rocks treacherous footing and increases
safety hazards.
If you intend to try winter camping, write to the superintendent for
information about the equipment you should have, a backcountry permit,
and conditions you may encounter. At higher elevations winter conditions
can differ radically from the popular image of winter in the mid-South.
Accommodations
Camping
Camping is a good way to get into the spirit of the Great Smoky
Mountains. The National Park Service maintains ten developed campgrounds
in the park: at Smokemont, Elkmont, Cades Cove, Cosby, Deep Creek, Look
Rock, Balsam Mountain, Cataloochee, Big Creek, and Abrams Creek. Fees
are charged. Campgrounds offer water, fireplaces, tables, comfort
stations, tent sites, and limited trailer space. No shelters are
provided; bring your own and other camping equipment. There are no
showers or trailer hookups. Disposal stations for trailer holding tanks
are found at Smokemont, Deep Creek, Cades Cove, and Cosby Campgrounds
and across the road from the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Primitive
campgrounds have pit toilets.
Camping is limited to seven days at all campgrounds during the peak
season. You may reserve campsites at Elkmont and Cades Cove in Tennessee
and Smokemont in North Carolina by writing to Ticketron Reservations,
P.O. Box 617516, Chicago, Illinois 60661-7516. Telephone reservations
may be made by calling 1-800-452-1111. For prompt service call the
national park (see page 101) for the current per-night camping fee and
Ticketron's reservation handling fee. Then mail Ticketron a money order,
not a personal check, to cover the reservation plus handling for the
entire period you request. General tips: Avoid mid-summer's peak camping
season. Spring and autumn can be pleasant and offer dazzling flower and
leaf-coloration shows. Arrive early in the day and seek your campsite on
arrival. Look for a campground off the beaten path, generally away from
the Newfound Gap Road (see map).
Chambers of commerce can supply you with commercial camping information.
Regional lists of campgrounds are maintained by tourist offices in both
Tennessee and North Carolina. For Tennessee write: "Fishing and Camping
in East Tennessee," Knoxville Tourist Bureau, 500 Henley St., Knoxville,
Tennessee 37901, or telephone (615) 523-2316. For North Carolina write:
"North Carolina Outdoors," Travel and Tourism Division, 430 No.
Salisbury, Raleigh, North Carolina 27603, or telephone (919) 733-4171.
LeConte Lodge lies atop Mount LeConte, third highest Appalachian peak.
You must hike a half-day up mountain trails to get there. Make
reservations several months in advance. The lodge sits amidst spruce and
fir trees. You can hike in via Alum Caves Bluffs; the lodge sits at
trail junctions to Rainbow Falls, Grotto Falls, and the Appalachian
Trail. You need bring only personal articles. For information and
reservations, write: LeConte Lodge, 250 Lonesome Valley Rd.,
Sevierville, Tennessee 37862, (615) 429-5704. The only other park
accommodations besides campgrounds are the Wonderland Hotel, a small
turn-of-the-century hotel in Elkmont. For information or reservations
call (615) 436-5490. Closed in winter.
[Illustration: _A new breed often encountered on today's trails is
called backpackee!_]
For Your Safety
Bears, Bears, Bears
Tales could be told that would curdle your blood ... but not about the
black bear's aggressiveness. These stories would be about the stupidity
of some human beings. For reasons of pride in our own species--and so as
not to demean bears--we will not recount these tales here. Just this:
The black bear is the largest wild animal in these parts. It can weigh
225 kilograms (500 pounds) or more, but is capable of incredibly fast
sprints on rough terrain. It is a wild animal, and protected as such it
sometimes loses its normal fear of people. This makes the bear appear
tame, but it is then actually more dangerous than its truly wild
counterparts. If you come upon a bear while you are in your car, keep
the windows shut. Do not attempt to feed, tease, molest, or get close to
a bear. Do not try to take a closeup portrait photograph of a bear;
either use a telephoto lens or be satisfied with a distant shot.
Avoid and steer clear of a sow bear with cubs. She will do anything to
protect them if she thinks they are threatened. Keep in mind that, even
if you don't see her, she is seldom far away. Cubs are cute, but you
approach or show interest in them at your peril.
Bear feeding is prohibited. It is dangerous to you and those who come
after you. It also establishes habits that may lead to the death of the
bear. Roadside bears are frequently hit by cars, killed by poachers, or
fed harmful substances. Don't be guilty of killing a bear with kindness.
Campers and backpackers must observe certain regulations designed to
minimize the extent to which bears are attracted to human pursuits in
the park. If you plan to camp or backpack, make sure you are familiar
with these regulations on food storage, etc. For example, food cannot be
left unattended. If you are backpacking, it must be hung out of reach of
bears. If you are camping in a campground, food must be stored in the
trunk of your car. Ask for additional information when you obtain your
backcountry use permit or when you check into a campground. Failure to
observe these regulations may bring a fine.
Theories abound about how to act if you should confront a bear. All such
theories assume the bear isn't just as startled as you, and that "bear
behavior" is predictable. It is not. As many as 600 bears may inhabit
the park. This many individuals of any highly evolved species are
unlikely to act--much less to react--with any great predictability.
Hypothermia and Winter Warnings
In the Smokies you must always be prepared for sudden changes in
weather, especially as you go from one elevation to another. Know how to
take care of yourself in extremes of cold, heat, and wetness. Always
carry rain gear because storms arise quickly. In mid-summer at higher
elevations a wet hiker can succumb to hypothermia, an all-weather
killer. Hypothermia is a condition in which the body loses heat faster
than it can generate it. You cannot imagine how rapidly hypothermia
symptoms can appear even in mild weather--until they strike you. Then it
may be too late. Know how to recognize hypothermia's symptoms:
uncontrolled shivering, slurred speech, memory lapse, fumbling hands,
stumbling, drowsiness, and inability to get up after a nap.
Prepare yourself against the possibility of hypothermia by keeping a
warm, dry layer of clothing next to the body, topped with a layer to
ward off wind and precipitation. Snack often on high-energy foods and
take ample liquids. In winter wear multiple layers of insulating
clothing under your top layer of rain and wind protection.
[Illustration: _There is a saying that high boots will protect you
from poisonous snakes, but that common sense is needed to keep you
out of trouble with bears._]
[Illustration: _The timber rattlesnake (above) and the copperhead
are the only poisonous snakes in these mountains._]
Remember that hypothermia strikes in any season, not just winter. Winter
hazards include frostbite; icy trails and deep snow; and trails obscured
by deep snow.
Management Regulations
Drive safely, observing posted speed limits, and pull off the road or
park only at designated areas. Do not leave valuables inside a locked
car where they can be seen. Leave them home, take them with you when you
leave your car, or lock them in the trunk.
Hunting is prohibited in the park. Firearms must be broken down so they
cannot be used. The use of archery equipment, game calls, and spotlights
is also prohibited.
All plants, animals, and artifacts are protected by Federal law here. Do
not disturb them in any way. Fishing is permitted subject to State and
Federal regulation and licensing.
All overnight camping in the backcountry requires a backcountry permit.
Otherwise, camp and build fires only in designated campground sites.
A Word About Pets. It is best not to bring pets. They are permitted in
the park but only if on a leash or under other physical control at all
times. They may not be taken on trails or cross-country hikes.
Veterinary services are found in nearby towns. If you want to board your
pet during your stay here, check with the chambers of commerce in nearby
cities.
Nearby Attractions
To describe the many attractions near the Smokies would require an
encyclopedic guidebook. Nearby are TVA's "Great Lakes of the South,"
Biltmore House and Gardens, large national forests, Oak Ridge's American
Museum of Science and Energy, and other features too numerous to
mention. Here are just a few features often associated with a Smokies
vacation.
The Blue Ridge Parkway. From the northeast the Blue Ridge Parkway makes
a delightful highway approach to the Smokies on the North Carolina side.
The parkway is administered by the National Park Service and connects
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, with the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park. It meticulously follows the southern Appalachians for 755
kilometers (469 miles). It is a roadway designed for motor recreation
and so provides leisurely travel free of commercial development. All
along it are trails and scenic viewpoints. In season, wildflowers and
fall colors can be stupendous. Just before the parkway reaches the
Smokies it enters the Balsam Mountains, from which you look directly
across at the Smokies. Just after Soco Gap on the parkway you can turn
almost due north onto a spur road into the national park's Balsam
Mountain Campground and its Heintooga Overlook area.
[Illustration: _Several lakes created by Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA) dams provide open water recreation opportunities, including
excellent bass fishing, adjacent to or near the park._]
For a free map and folder detailing services, lodging and
accommodations, and points of interest, write: Superintendent, Blue
Ridge Parkway, 200 BB and T Building, One Pack Square, Asheville, North
Carolina 28801.
The Gateway Cities. For many people a trip to the Smokies is not
complete without taking in the sights of Pigeon Forge, Townsend, and/or
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, or Bryson City or Cherokee, North Carolina. At
either end of U.S. 441 these municipalities go all-out to serve the
tourist trade. Restaurants and motels are major industries along with
curio shops, art galleries, and the theme villages that characterize our
American tourist scene.
[Illustration: _The Blue Ridge Parkway has its southern terminus at
the North Carolina entrance to the park. This is Craggy Gardens,
near Milepost 364, famous for its Catawba rhododendron displays._]
Taken together these surrounding municipalities offer most facilities
and services you might need during your stay in the Smokies. Cameras and
photographic supplies, groceries, pharmacies, local literature and
guides, banks, and countless other services are available.
Cherokee Indian Heritage. The Cherokee Indian Reservation abuts the park
boundary on the southeast. In Cherokee there are museums and shops where
the art and crafts of these eastern woodlands Indians, thought to be of
original Iroquoian stock, are displayed and offered for sale. Each year
a play, "Unto These Hills," is performed locally. It describes the
Cherokee's history and early encounters with Europeans. Most of these
activities occur on the North Carolina side of the park.
Mountain Folkways and Crafts. Mountain ingenuity and the human bent for
creativity gave rise to crafts characteristic of the southern mountains.
These are kept alive in various outlets surrounding the Smokies. In
Gatlinburg you can visit the famed Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts,
which has done so much to revive original handicraft arts and support
the artists by marketing their work.
[Illustration: _Three main types of basketry are made by Cherokees.
Rivercane baskets are now relatively scarce because the
once-abundant cane is itself scarce now. White oak baskets are more
common. Baskets are also woven from honeysuckle. Above are exquisite
examples of basketry by Carol S. Welch, a member of the Eastern Band
of Cherokee Indians._]
[Illustration: _The American Museum of Science and Technology at Oak
Ridge National Laboratories provides a thoroughly modern contrast to
the traditional folkways of the Smokies._]
Armchair Explorations
Some Books You May Want to Read
The Great Smoky Mountains and their national park are both rich in lore,
much of which has been collected and committed to print over the years.
Your appreciation of a trip to these mountains can be greatly enhanced,
both before and after, by reading accounts of the area's history,
natural history, and folklore. There are also field identification
guides to nearly everything you see here, from rocks and flowers to
spiders and mammals. And there are trail and hiking guidebooks full of
good tips and advice on interesting trips, both day trips and
overnights. Listed here are selected titles usually available for
purchase at park visitor centers, or to be found in your public library.
Many of these may also be purchased in bookstores in communities near
the park. Several interesting and useful maps of the area are also
available. For a more complete list of publications write to the Great
Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
37738. This nonprofit association maintains a sales list of technical
and other books about the Smokies as part of its efforts to enhance the
interpretation of the park's values to the public.
Brooks, Maurice. _The Appalachians_, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965.
Broome, Harvey. _Out Under the Sky of the Great Smokies_, The Greenbrier
Press, 1975.
Campbell, Carlos. _Birth of a National Park in the Great Smoky
Mountains_, The University of Tennessee Press, 1960.
Cantu, Rita. _Great Smoky Mountains: The Story Behind the Scenery_, KC
Publications, 1979.
Dykeman, Wilma and Jim Stokely. _At Home in the Smokies_, National Park
Service Handbook 125, 1978.
Frome, Michael. _Strangers in High Places: The Story of the Great Smoky
Mountains_, The University of Tennessee Press, 1980.
Kephart, Horace. _Our Southern Highlanders_, The University of Tennessee
Press, 1922.
Shields, Randolph. _The Cades Cove Story_, Great Smoky Mountains Natural
History Association, 1977.
Tilden, Freeman. _The National Parks_, Alfred A. Knopf, 1968.
Index
Numbers in italics refer to photographs, illustrations, or maps.
A
Accommodations 104, 118
Acorns 67, 68, 70
Adams (flies) _46_, _47_
Adirondacks, mountains 55
Altitude 30
American Museum of Science and Technology _124_
Animals 42, 53, 55-56, 57, 80;
diseases, 68;
effects of settlement, 81-82, 83;
feeding habits, 67-73, 75, 81;
comeback in national park, 83-84;
photos, _33_, _63-65_
Appalachian Trail _12-15_, 16, 25, 51, _116-17_
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts 124
Azalea, flame 37, _60_
B
Balds _36-37_, 75, 79-80, 114
Basketry _124_
Basswood _32_
Bear 69-70, 73, _76-77_, 105, 120
Bicycling _52_, 112-13
Birds _32_, _33_, 42, 53, 55, _62_, 72, 83, 113
Blue Ridge Parkway 122, _123_
Boar 69, 70-73, _74_, _75_
Bobcat _63_
Bryson City 124
Buckeye, yellow _33_
Bug, Humpy or Guffus _46_
C
Caddis, olive _46_
Caddisfly _45_
Cades Cove 30, 83, 112;
motor trail, 105-6, 108, 110;
photos, _7_, _94-95_, _98-100_;
settlement, 80;
visitor centers, 104, 110
Cahill _46_, _47_
Camping 115-18, 120, 121
Cardinal _62_
Champion Coated Paper Company 48
Cherokee (city) 124
Cherry, fire _61_
Chickadee 32
Climate 30
Clingmans Dome 9, 30, 51, 107
Coachman, ladywing _46_
Copperhead _65_
Coreopsis _59_
Craggy Gardens _122_
Crestmont 49
D
Deer, whitetail _63_, 67
Deermouse _63_
Dog-hobble _60_
Dogwood, flowering _61_, _111_
E
Elkmont 49, 118
Enloe, Mrs. Clem _47_
F
Fish 41, 45, 56-57, 113
_See also_ Flies, artificial; Trout
Flicker, common _62_
Flies, artificial _46-47_
Flowers 17, _24_, 25, _32-33_, _58-59_, 110
Fontana Lake 42
Forest 9, 16-17, 27, 30;
as food source, 67-68, 81;
cove 25-26, 33, _34-35_, 54-55, 56, 83;
effects of settlement, 79-81, 82-83;
fires and flooding, _50_, 51, 82;
photos, _32-35_, _50_, _51_, _66_, _111_
_See also_ Industry, lumber
Forney Creek 39
Fringe-tree _60_
Frogs _64_
G
Gatlinburg 122
Great Smoky Mountains 9, _10-15_, 16, _18-20_, 30, _52_, 53-57,
96
Great Smoky Mountains National Park:
accommodations, 104, 118;
brochures, 101-14 _passim_;
camping, 115-18, 120, 121;
ecological effects, 82-84;
established, 8-9, 16, 82-83;
health precautions, 120-21;
International Biosphere Reserve, 17, 31;
location, 101;
maps, 100, _101-5_, 112, 114;
motor trails, 95, _98-99_, 105-6, 107-8, 110;
nearby attractions, 122-23;
recreation, 106, 112-13;
regulations, 121;
restorations, 7-8, _78_, _92-93_, _107_, 108-10;
visitor centers, 104, _105_
Grey Hackle Peacock 46
Grotto Falls _38_, 118
Guyot, Mount 51
H
Hare's Ear, gold ribbed _46_
Hawkweed, orange _59_
Hiking 30, 104, 105, 106, 114-17, _119_
Horseback riding 112-13
Hooper Bald 70
I
Indians, Cherokee 9, 16, 79-80, _96-97_, 108;
Reservation, 124
Industry, lumber 8, _48-49_, 51, 82
J
Jack-in-the-pulpit _58_, 110
K
Knoxville 95
L
Lady's-slipper, pink _59_
Lakes, TVA _112_, 122
LeConte, Mount _10-11_, 118
Lily, Turk's-cap _59_
_Linnaea_ 17
Little Greenbrier School _107_, 110
Little Pigeon River _51_
Lizard, fence _32_, _64_
Logging _See_ Industry, lumber
M
Magnolia, umbrella _61_
Maps 101, _102-3_, 112, 114
Maryville 95
Messer, Milas 85
Mingus Mill _93_, _107_, 110
Motor trails 95, _98-99_, 105-6, 107-8, 110
Mountain laurel _61_
Mushrooms _20_, 21
N
Natural Chimneys 55
Nymphs _46_
O
Oconaluftee:
river 48;
Valley 80;
Visitor Center 104, _105_
Opossum _63_
Owl, barred _62_
P
Painted-cup, scarlet _58_
Passion-flower _59_
Pigeon Forge 122
Pioneer Farmstead _78_, _92-93_, 110
Plants _20_, _22-24_, 31, _52_, 53-57, _58-61_, 81, 110-_11_.
_See also_ flowers
Proctor 49
R
Rabbit, cottontail _63_
Rattlesnake, timber _65_, _121_
Raven _33_
Ravensford 49
Redbud _60_
Restorations 7-8, _78_, _92-93_, _107_, 108-10
Rhododendron, catawba _61_;
rosebay _33_
S
Salamanders 16, 17, 40-41, _64-65_, 75
Secret weapon _46_
Settlement _6_, 7-8;
mountain people 80-81, 92-93, 108-10;
occupations _85-91_, 124
Shrubs 27, _60-61_
Silers Bald 51
Silverbell, mountain _60_
Skunk, spotted _63_
Smokemont 49
Snakes _64_, _65_, _121_
Sorrel, wood _24_, 25
Spruce _33_
Squirrels _32_, _33_, 68
Streams 43, 45
Sundew _37_
T
Titmouse, tufted _62_
Toad, American _65_
Townsend 95, 122
Trees _See_ Forest
Trillium:
great white 33;
painted _58_, 110
Trout:
brook, 41 _44-45_, 51, _112_, 113;
brown, 41 _44_, 51, 113;
rainbow 39-40, 41, _44_, 51, 113
Turkey, wild _62_
Turtle, box _32_
V
Violet, bird's-foot _59_
Visitor centers 104, _105_
W
Warbler, yellow _62_
White Mountains 55
Witch hazel 25
Witch-hobble _60_
Wooly worm, yellow _46_
Wulff, royal _46_
Y
Yellow Hammer (antique gold) _46_;
(peacock) _46_
Yellow-poplar _61_
*GPO:1981--341-611/7
Reprint 1991
National Park Service
The National Park Service expresses its appreciation to all those
persons who made the preparation and production of this handbook
possible. The Service also gratefully acknowledges the financial support
given this handbook project by the Great Smoky Mountains Natural History
Association, a nonprofit group that assists interpretive efforts at
Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Illustrations
All photographs and other artwork not credited below are from the files
of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the National Park
Service.
American Museum of Science and Energy, 124 museum.
William A. Bake, covers, 6, 10-11, 33 trillium, 35 yellow-poplar and
mushrooms, 45, 52, 58, 59 bird's-foot violet, 61 mountain
laurel, 66, 78, 92 farmer, 93 hen, 123 Blue Ridge Parkway.
Greg Beaumont, 62 except turkey, 63 opossum.
Ed Cooper, 4-5, 12-13, 18-19, 34, 38, 92-93 buildings, 100.
Edouard E. Exline, 85, 86 coopering, 88 hide and staves, 89 shaping
metal, 91 ginning.
Daniel Feaser, 44 fish.
George Founds, 74, 76.
Charles S. Grossman, 86 tub mill, 87 rolling cane, 89 gunsmithing, 91
churning, carding and washday.
Joseph S. Hall, 47 angler.
Indian Arts and Crafts Board, 97 baskets, 124 baskets.
Royce Jenkins, 46 yellow hammer and yellow wooly worm.
John MacGregor, 64-65 except rattlesnake, pine snake, and red-cheeked
salamander.
Kenneth McDonald, 14-15, 20, 22-23, 24, 37 sundew, 98-99, 112 angler,
114, 115 tenter, 116, 119, 122 boat.
Steve Moore, 46 except Jenkins, 47 fly.
Alan Rinehart, 87 mill interior, hauling wood, and splitting shingles,
89 basketry.
Smithsonian Institution, 96.
Laura Thornborough, 90, 91 baskets.
U.S. Department of the Interior
As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the
Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public
lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of
our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife,
preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks
and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through
outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral
resources and works to assure that their development is in the best
interest of all our people. The Department also has a major
responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for
people who live in island territories under U.S. administration.
Transcriber's Notes
Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
Relocated all image captions to be immediately under the corresponding
images, removing s references like "preceding page".
Silently corrected a few palpable typos.
Added separate "Guide and Advisor" Table of Contents to the main
Table.
Collated Table of contents against actual headings; added several
headings to match the Table.
In the text versions only, text in italic font is delimited by
_underscores_.