Chimney Tops - Road Prong

Date: 5/18/16
Distance: 8.8

Today I opted to take the morning off and head to the mountains to get a few trail miles.  I left the house about 6:30 and was at the Chimney Tops Parking area by 7:50 and was ready to go.  The 1st 0.9 miles passed quickly on the Chimney Tops Trail.

At the 0.9 mile point, I turned left on the Road Prong Trail and headed up the mountain.  Road Prong connects the Chimney Tops Trail to the Clingmans Dome Road.  It is 2.4 miles long and climbs about 1500'.  The trail follows a creek for much of its length.  It is very rocky in places and is a substantial climb.

 At one point, the trail is right in the creek.  It is a little confusing because you can't see where the trail comes out of the creek from the spot you enter the creek.  You just have to start walking in the creek and eventually the spot where the trail leaves the creek is obvious.

 Up at the Clingmans Dome Road, I turned around and backtracked to the Chimney Tops Trail.  At the Chimney Tops Trail, I turned left and headed out to the Chimneys.  There are lots of steps and a big climb from that point.

 The views were spectacular today.

 The climb up the rock was a little slow because there was a large group out in front, but I eventually got to the top, took a few pictures and headed back toward the car.

I arrived at the car about 11:15 and was back home by 12:40.  Perfect use of a half day of vacation.

Chimney Tops - Manway - Sugarland Mountan - AT - Road Prong - Chimney Tops

Date: 12/23/14
Distance: 12
New Map Miles: 0

Today was one of only 3 hiking days up to this point that I've hiked in the Smokies without getting any new map miles.  JD planned a hike that included the manway between the Chimney Tops and Sugarland Mountain Trail.  I had often wondered where the manway was located, so I signed up for this excellent adventure with the GSHAG group.  Along with JD, Jenn, Greg, Lisa and Anoria provided awesome company on the trail.

The Chimney Tops Trail is now finished with its renovation, so it was in great shape.  Today was fairly warm for December, so we were stripping out our jackets pretty quick as this trail quickly rose up to the summit.  It had rained overnight, but there was just a bit of very light drizzle, probably just from the trees on the way up.

 I only climbed up about 1/2 way at the Chimney Tops because the rocks were wet and a bit slick.  The views were still nice even from only 1/2 way up.

After leaving the summit, we backtracked just about 0.1 miles before JD turned off into the woods on the manway.  The manway was well marked, but there were many muddy steep areas along the path.  In addition, the rhododendron and scrub trees added to the effort required to hike up the hill.

After 0.4 miles, we exited on the Sugarland Mountain trail about 2.5 miles from the AT.

We turned left and climbed the Sugarland Mtn trail up to the Mt Collins Shelter where we ate lunch.

Leaving the shelter we were all pretty cold, so it was good to get moving.  The AT had a few more climbs to warm us up.  The final elevation was about 6000'.  The parking lot was at about 3000'.

Shortly the trail started down before reaching Road Prong which is right next to the Clingmans Dome Road.  Road Prong was steep and rocky and turned into a creek for a while.  At this point, it started raining steadily, so we hustled on down after the creek crossings.

Nice day in the woods with a little adventure.  Good company made it all the better.

Road Prong - Chimney Tops

Date: 8/9/14
Distance: 8.8 miles
New Miles: 4.4
Total Miles: 459.5

The forecast wasn't good today with a threat of heavy rain and thunderstorms.  I opted to knock out the Chimney Tops and Road Prong trails as they were relatively short.

I parked at the Chimney Tops trail and headed down the trail at about 10:15.  The Chimney Tops trail is a favorite of visitors to the Smokies, so it is well used.  It has been undergoing maintenance and is only open on the weekends.  The trail starts by crossing the creek a few times before heading up hill.

As part of the renovation, lots of steps have been put in .

0.9 miles into the hike, I turned left on Road Prong and headed up the mountain.  The Road Prong trail starts out very rocky.  Today with the rain overnight the rocks were slippery in a few places.

The lower section of the trail hugs a creek with some nice cascades.

 Road Prong had some really nice wildflower areas.

At one point, the trail turned into a creek.  I was even a bit worried that I had lost the trail.  All of these photos are actually the trail.

 Up at the Clingmans Dome Road, the trail ends after 2.4 miles.  I was happy to find a nice grove of Blackberries next to the road, so I had a feast before heading back down the trail.

 Back at the Chimney Tops trail, I was greeted by more steps and a steep climb up to the Chimney tops.

I spent a good while up on the rocks eating lunch and enjoying the views.  Unfortunately it started raining while I was up on the rocks and I had to carefully work my way off of the wet rocks.  The rain was light and quit pretty quick, so I didn't need to get my rain jacket out.  I made it down safe and sound and headed back to the car arriving about 2:45.