Kanati Fork + Gatlinburg trail

Date: 9/19/14
Distance: 10mi
New Map Miles: 4.8
Total Map Miles: 517.8

The weather was great today, so I took the afternoon off and went to get a few map miles.  The Kanati Fork Trail is on the NC side of 441.  The trailhead is just before The Kephart trail.  I missed it the 1st time and had to turn back to find it.

The Kanati Fork Trail is 2.9 miles straight up the mountain with an elevation rise of 2000' over that distance.

There were a few overgrown spots, but the trail was mostly wide and in good shape.  It was a workout.  The trip back down was quick with a total hike time of about 2 hours.

On the way out of the park, I stopped at the Sugarland Visitors Center and hiked the 2 mile (one way) Gatlinburg Trail.  The 1st few tenths is on the road by the Park Headquarters.  The trail then goes behind a Maintenance area and then follows the road into G'burg.  The rest of the trail is wide and gravel and isn't much of a trail.  There is an hold homesite along the way and the trail goes very close to the GSMNP sign.  The trail ends near the last traffic light in G'burg.  At the end, I turned around and jogged back to the car.