For anyone out there who reads this blog and wonders...why so many hikes in the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP)? Now everyone has there answer, I had to get my first Hike the Smokies mileage pin.
The Hike the Smokies Challenge allows anyone who hits the trail in the park to catalog their outings. To receive ones first pin you have to hike 100 miles in the GSMNP. That is different trails or the same one it all counts. Then there are pins for completing 250 miles and finally 500. I first heard about the Hike the Smokies Challenge in late 2014. I got my brochure to catalog my hikes at the Sugarlands Visitor Center (they cost $1) now I had to catalog my hikes. I decided to just count the ones I had done since I got back into hiking in 2013. I had hiked (& camped) in the Smokies when I was in college, but I don’t remember the specifics of these outings.
So, the first hike I counted was a trip in June of 2013 to Clingmans Dome. In my first two years I did a combined 8 miles in the park. But last year I pounded out over 50 miles, including hikes to
Charlies Bunion (twice),
Chimney Tops,
Mount LeConte and
Mount Cammerer. Now in 2016, I had hiked over 40 miles through the first three months (& I was laid up for half of March with the crud).
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| Clingmans Dome - 2013... |
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| ...& the start of the challenge! |
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| My second visit to Charlies Bunion in February, 2016. |
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| August, 2015 on the Chimneys. |
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| Also in August at Mt. LeConte. |
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| Mt. Cammerer Lookout in October of 2015. |
Since I was in the home stretch I had two hikes two days apart in the Smokies to put me over the top for the first 100 mile pin. The first, was on the
Rich Mountain Loop in Cades Cove, this 8.5-mile hike put me at 99 miles, one from my pin. Since Deb want to go to Gatlinburg on Friday we decide to do a short hike on the four-mile
Gatlinburg Trail, which got me across the finish-line. So, when I got back to Sugarlands I got my pin.
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| Almost there on the Rich Mountain Loop... |
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| ...by the time I was here I had crossed the finish-line. |
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| Back to Sugarlands... |
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| ...to get my booklet signed... |
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| ...& get my pin (Pete said he carried me for the whole 100 miles)! |
I must mention that my motivation in 2016 is two-fold. Beside the Hike the Smokies Challenge there is another one, well two to be precise. For those who don’t know this is the Centennial year of the
National Park Service. In celebration different parks are having Centennial Challenge - Hike 100. The one for the Smokies is to hike 100 miles in the park from January 1 to December 8, 2016. Just like the Hike the Smokies Challenge one can hike the 100 miles on different trails or the same one. If you complete the challenge a special pin will be awarded on December 8 and you can pick it up at the Park's Hike 100 Celebration...how cool!
For those who don’t know the Appalachian Trail (AT) is a National Scenic Trail and under the management of the Park Service. That means there is a AT Hike 100 Challenge. To complete the challenge one must hike a 100 miles, but unlike the Smokies Challenge only one hike must be on the AT while the other miles can be clocked on any trail. That means my Smokies hikes count here too. If you complete the 100 miles then you earn a sticker (see picture). So, as you might guess challenges expected!
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