Backpacking in the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina

Fall has finally struck Western North Carolina! So, what better place to run off for an adventure than to the Smoky Mountains??

We have been talking about taking an overnight backpacking trip for quite a while now.. Slowly accruing the proper gear for Sarah (This would be her first backpacking trip) over the past few weeks.

Originally planning to do this classic backpacking loop Starting at the Deep Creek Campground, going up the Noland Divide Trail to Clingmans Dome, then coming back down the Deep Creek Trail. Between the trail being washed out at spots, and shelters being filled to capacity, we ended up doing an out-and-back along the Noland Divide Trail. You’ll hear no complaints from us though!

Day 1 - Noland Divide Trail

We left Hendersonville around 7:30am stopping only for the essentials (Chik fil a), and arriving around 9am at the Deep Creek Campground. With packs loaded, breakfast digested, and legs cold, we began our hike.

The trail almost immediately begins to climb as you start. This would be the trend for the first two days of hiking.

At 3 miles with about 2,000 feet of climbing under our legs, we came to our first vista. Looking out over Bryson City we were met with the colors of fall slowly beginning to invade the green landscape. We ate lunch and soaked in some of the sunlight for a while before making our way another 6 miles to Campsite 61. Making a left at the intersection for the Noland Divide and Pole Road Creek Trail, you drop almost 700ft and exactly 1 mile to the campsite.

With a total of 9 miles and 3,000+ft of climbing done, we pitched our tent and enjoyed a well earned dinner.

This campsite was super relaxing. With the creek being less than 100ft from the tent, and cables for bear bags already set up, it almost spoils you. The only downside to this spot was the lack of firewood. With this particular trail being one of the more popular backpacking loops, that means more people using up resources. Needless to say, with no fire we headed to bed when the sun went down.

Totals:

5 1/2 hrs

9 miles

3,182ft of gain

Day 2 - Clingmans Dome

Waking up around 6am before the sun was up, we ate our freeze-dried breakfast before starting our hike back up to the trail intersection Noland Divide. It was in the 40s when we started moving but quickly warmed up to the point that both Sarah and I shed some layers.

The trail continued the trend of going up, up, and up. Around mile 5, we arrived at the road and made a left to arrive at Clingmans Dome parking lot. Here the leaf colors are already showing some bright yellow and orange colors.

The wind was brutal, and with it came the cold. Sarah ended up wearing every layer she had brought with her while we were here. We opted out of going to the tower on Clingmans down due to the clouds completely socking it in giving no hope of a view.

We stopped in the gift shop for a small souvenir, then headed down the other side of Clingmans heading towards Andrews Bald, then making a right turn onto the Forney Creek Trail heading down toward campsite 68.

You can immediately tell how less hiked this trail is compared to what we had hiked on earlier. With rocks, roots, branches, overgrown plants, and short washed-out sections it made for slow going. Dropping almost 2,000ft over 2 miles. The beauty of this campsite more than made up for the roughness of the trail though!

Nestled in an area next to the creek with small waterfalls cascading into pools, a stone bench already made by the fire, and an abundance of firewood, we LOVED this spot. Arriving sometime before 2pm, we had the entire afternoon to relax, read and soak in the nature around us.

Totals:

6 hrs

9.4 miles

2,930ft of gain

Day 3 - Back to Deep Creek

Neither of us woke up feeling very rested this morning. It was either the caffeine from the green tea we had drank the day before, or the fox screaming 100ft from our tent at 3am.. Maybe both? Either was, we slowly packed our things in the dark and began our hike with headlamps on. The trail seemed to go faster uphill this morning rather than coming down the day before. It did feel go to come up out of the valley and onto the ridge where the first bit of sunlight hit our faces.

Clingmans Dome was MUCH clearer today! The views from the parking lot were totally unobscured. Giving us a fantastic panoramic view looking out over the South.

We didn’t waste much time here. Deciding to cut our hike one day short because Sarah had to work the next day meant we had over 15 miles to hike today. Fortunately, the vast majority of that is downhill.

We hiked back down what we had previously hiked up for the past two days.

With sore feet and tired legs we came back down the Noland Divide and got to the car early that afternoon.

We sat with our feet in the river for a time before heading to Bryson City for a treat, then to Waynesville for sushi.

Total:

8hrs

16.82 miles

2,723ft of gain.

We are already looking to the next camping trip in the Smokies that is coming up in two weeks! This time we’ll be in the van though!