Another day at the Great Smoky Mountains. Day 5 we were going to explore the western side of the national park, To the Cades Cove Loop road. it was a rather long distance about 1-2 hours drive one way. The drive was nice and we had a few stop over along the way
beautiful creek
there is a nice short trail, Laurel Falls trail. We were told to get there early as parking was limited and it's a popular trail. we were lucky to find one right away though the parking area was almost full
the 1.3 miles trail was paved, and easy walk
Laurel Falls
and we reached the Cades Cove Loop road
luckily we have the whole day here....this 5 miles hike took us about 4 hours
very nice trail
i even saw a small snake, not a fan
there was a section of the trail where it's really rocky and uphill but just a small part,
that was the only strenuous part
the rest was easy walk
Abrams Falls
rest and had some nutrient bar(which was our lunch for the day) before we hike back
a good place to meditate
continue our loop...visiting some primitive back country shelters
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it's was a very relaxing day for us...doing a few hikes and just enjoy the lushes green around us truly a great way to stretch after a long drive the day before. Though the weather was cloudy and gloomy the whole day but we were fortunate at least it was not raining.
After a day of exploring the Smokies and had only nutrient bars, time to find food. We headed back to Gatlinburg and went to a nice restaurant, Cheerokee Grill and Steakhouse and the food was nice...totally recommend this place for dinner
we then spend the rest of the night just strolling along the main street.
the next day we checked out and spend half day in the national park before driving 5 hours to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky
~ to be continue ~
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