The Wandering Disciple

Tucked just outside Bryson City, North Carolina, the Deep Creek area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers one of the most rewarding short hikes in the region. The Deep Creek Waterfall Loop is a perfect introduction to the Smokies—an easy-to-moderate trail that delivers lush forest scenery, peaceful streams, and not one, but three beautiful waterfalls in just a couple of miles. A Perfect Short Hike in the Smokies At approximately 2.4 miles round trip, this hike is ideal if you’re looking for a scenic adventure without committing to a full day on the trail. You’ll start near the Deep Creek Campground and quickly find yourself surrounded by towering trees and the constant sound of rushing water. While the trail is mostly easy, there are a few moderate sections—especially near the beginning—but nothing too strenuous for most hikers. Stop One: Juney Whank Falls The first stop is Juney Whank Falls, reached via a short spur trail with stairs and a footbridge. This two-ti...

Embark on an unforgettable journey that begins with a scenic drive through rolling hills and verdant landscapes, gradually ascending towards the majestic embrace of the Smoky Mountains. As you navigate winding roads, anticipation builds for the physical challenge that awaits – a short but undeniably strenuous hike promising breathtaking rewards. The trail, though brief, demands effort and determination, testing your endurance as you climb towards your ultimate destination. Finally, your perseverance is rewarded as you emerge onto the summit of Kuwohi. Here, standing tall as the highest peak within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and proudly claiming the title of the second highest peak east of the Mississippi River, a panorama of unparalleled beauty unfolds before your eyes. The sprawling vista of the Smoky Mountains, a seemingly endless tapestry of peaks and valleys cloaked in a characteristic hazy blue, stretches out in every direction. The sheer magnitude of the landscape i...

A short but challenging hike takes you to the stop of the smokies, Kuwohi. Formerly known as Clingmans Dome, the observation tower at the top of Kuwohi sits at an elevation of 6,643 feet making it the highest peak in park and the seventeenth highest peak in the country.  Kuwohi is located in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Spanning Tennessee and North Carolina, the park spans 522,419 acres making it one of the largest protected lands in the country. It is the most visited national park, with millions of visitors trek to the park for hiking, wildlife watching and more outdoor adventures.  You can see this photos and more photos from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by visiting the gallery here .  Taken: June 8, 2016 at Great Smoky Mountain National Park (Bryson City, NC)

When traffic along the Cades Cove loop comes to a complete stop you can be pretty sure a bear has been spotted.  The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home over 1,500 black bears and Cades Cove is a great place to see them.  The park is one of the largest protected habitats for the bears and they are plentiful in the park with an average of 2 bears per square mile of the park.  Just remember if you encounter a black bear on your trip through the mountains, be sure to keep a safe distance between you and the bear while enjoying the moment of catching one of these amazing animals in the wild. (Photo: June 4, 2018)

The scarred mountainside and shells of burnt out dwellings dot the usually lush Smoky Mountains months after the Chimney Tops fire. The fire started in November 2016 and burnt almost 18,000 acres before fire crews got it under control. The complex of fires destroyed 2,460 buildings and killed 14 people. It was one of the largest natural disasters in the history of Tennessee and the deadliest wildfire in the eastern US since 1947. This photo is from the Gatlinburg bypass taken about six months post fire and shows some of the burnt out treelines and a structure that was lost during the fire. (Photo: June 14, 2017)

The west prong of the Little Pigeon River slowly flows along the Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Little Pigeon River flows almost 30 miles from its source deep in the Smoky Mountains to it meets the French Broad River near Sevierville. The river features 3 prongs and the west prong is the more popular as it flows along popular hiking trails in the park as well as the towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. (Photo: June 8, 2016)

Gatlinburg, Tennessee:   Good morning from our final full day of the 2018 Summer Road Trip to the Great Smoky Mountains.  Unlike yesterday's busy day, today is much more laid back with nothing scheduled.  So I kicked around the idea of going to Dollywood but the mountains are calling my name and after our luck of finding bear the other day, I figured I try to find more bear and maybe the other popular park resident, the elk.  So instead of hitting the commercial attractions, we elected to head back into the natural ones instead. But before we hit the trails, it was time to refuel the energy tanks.  Today for breakfast, we headed about 20 minutes out of town to a little local restaurant called Trish's Mountain Diner.  It was well worth the drive.  This restaurant located in a rustic cabin had the most hospitable staff since we arrived in town and the food was amazing.  I really hate it that we found it on the last day of the trip because I ce...

Gatlinburg, Tennessee:  A new day brings new adventures in the mountains of East Tennessee and today's adventures was to go find bears.  Three trips to the mountains and three times I have come back empty handed at seeing bears.  It's always such a let down to see pictures and hear stories from friends who have seen the bears but yet to have see them yourself.  It was a priority of this trip to see bears. We skipped breakfast this morning to hit the trails early.  Today's bear hunting adventure took us to the popular Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  This popular valley in a remote section of the park is one of the best places to see bears.  The drive to Cades Cove is rather long but very enjoyable as you pass through the mountains and some water features that take your mind off the road an onto nature. Once we reached Cades Cove the wildlife viewing had begun immediately.  We were greeted by a few wild turkeys a...

Gatlinburg, Tennessee: A beautiful mountain sunrise gave way to the first full day in the mountains as we prepared for a Sunday fun day of exploration of the mountains.  My second home is in the mountains while my first home was back in the Sunshine State.  Today's adventures called for an exciting day of exploring the Newfound Gap Road, the main road through the park and a great place to start an auto tour of the Great Smoky Mountains. The road is filled with sweeping vistas of the Smokies and is a great way to get a glimpse into the park and all it has to offer.  The road is the main gateway to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and is filled with trails and panoramic views.  We have passed through it several times but never took the time to truly explore it. But before hitting the road, I took a walk around the hotel while the family woke up and got ready.  I took a walk around the hotel grounds and then to the nearby creek that flows in front of t...

Gatlinburg, Tennessee: School is out for summer and you know what that means, summer road trip.  This years trip was a toss up between a return trip to Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountains or a visit to a city I never been to Pensacola.   But at the last minute, the decision was made to head back to the mountains. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control, we got a later start on the road.  Instead for leaving at 3am, we didn't get on the road until after 5am which really pushed back my timeline.  I mean I had a 12 hour drive and a 7pm baseball game to make,  not a good combination when facing Atlanta traffic. But speaking of Atlanta traffic, I've got a new tip to share.  I probably shouldn't but here goes.  The express lane....use it!  What a great thing! As we got closer to Atlanta, we started hitting gridlock.  I saw the express lane and saw that you needed the Georgia Peach Pass to use it because they do not do toll by plate ...

Asheville, North Carolina:  Today was bonus day on our summer road trip.  We had originally planned on heading home, but instead we extended our trip by a day.  So with nothing hard scheduled today, we decided to wing our itinerary. After breakfast at the hotel, we decided to hit the Blue Ridge Parkway and head south to the southern terminus in Cherokee.  We got lost a bit getting to the parkway, but it was nice to see other areas in Asheville.  It is easy to see why the town has won so many awards. Once we reached the parkway, we began our journey southward.  Along the way, we stopped at each of the overlooks, just taking in the beauty of the region. During our journey, we reached the town of Brevard where we got off the parkway and headed into the Pisgah National Forest.  There were a few things we wanted to see within the forest, however I forgot the list in the hotel room so in the spirit of the day, we just decided to wing it again. One...

This amazing vista was seen during our June visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Chimney Top is a popular attraction in the country's most visited national park. However over the past few days, it has been the site of a massive wild fire which wrecked havoc over the Gatlinburg area, resulting in an inferno that damaged over 100 buildings. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those effected by this natural disaster. (Photo: June 8, 2016)

Today the National Park Service celebrates its 100th year anniversary. On August 25, 1916, President Ulysses Grant signed the National Park Service Organic Act which gave birth to the Department of the Interior and our park system. Since then, the nation has grown to 59 national parks and over 413 locations governed by the National Park Service. Pictured here is rhe most visited park in the system, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Photo: June 8, 2016)

This peak in the Great Smoky Mountains is known as Chimney Tops. While this view comes from Newfound Gap Road, the Chimney Tops hiking trail is one of the most popular in the park. The rather steep trail leads to spectacular views from the top of the peaks. (Photo: June 8, 2016)

The tranquil sounds of cascading water can be found throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  There are creeks throughout much of the park as water makes its way from the mountain tops down to lower elevations.  They make for stunning views and great places to relax on your hiking adventures through the park.  (Photo: June 8, 2016)  

The sun rises over the peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  With breathtaking views around every corner, it is only fitting that the park would also boast spectacular sunrises and sunsets.  (Photo: June 10, 2016)

Those who push through the tough climb to Clingmans Dome are rewarded with an amazing bird's eye view of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the tallest peak in the park and the third tallest east of the Mississippi River.  A 7-mile drive followed by a .5-mile hike takes visitors to the peak where they can climb a 54 foot observation tower to truly be above it all.  (Photo: June 8, 2016)

Gatlinburg, Tennessee: Our summer road trip is in the home stretch as we woke up for our final full day in Tennessee. Today’s itinerary takes us to nearby Hartford for a white water rafting adventure and later to the aquarium. But first we have to tackle our obligatory resort preview at the Westgate. But before our appointment at the resort, we headed downtown for breakfast at Crockett’s Breakfast Camp. The restaurant was made to look like a rustic breakfast camp in the wilderness. The food was really good and the portions were huge! After breakfast, we drove around Gatlinburg a little before I dropped my mom back off at the room and we headed to the resort preview. Because we booked this room at such a drastic discount through BookVIP, we had to sit through a 90-minute resort preview. While I was open minded and would consider purchasing if it was affordable, I also know my budget and the likelihood was slim to none.  The resort preview was by far the most frustrat...

Gatlinburg, Tennessee: Despite being on vacation, we continued to live by the alarm clock as we were up bright and early to embark on another great day of exploring the east Tennessee mountain side. Today’s adventures takes us into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Wow, despite having a really nice looking room and a very comfortable bed, nobody got much sleep thanks the lack of insulation and soundproofing from the adjoining rooms. The neighbors were so loud and the sound was not muffled at all. At one point during the night, I woke up thinking my wife was snoring loudly. Sad thing is that it wasn’t her, or my son, or my mom and nephew in the next room. It was the neighbor in the next unit. We headed into town for breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. The Pancake Pantry was recommended to us by Mary Phillips from Ripley’s. While planning this trip, I had asked a few of the local media reps what are good dining choices and she recommended the Pancake Pantry. It was a gre...