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Mileage sign at traihead.
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Today we took the short drive from our cabin through the strip in Gatlinburg and on into the National Park, to hike the Alum Cave Trail. Because the parking lots at the trailheads in the park fill up quickly during the summer, we got up early, had bacon, eggs and coffee, and got on the road before 7:00 am to make sure we weren't left out. After a quick stop at the Sugarlands Visitor Center to pick up some maps and literature, we made it to the parking area for the hike.
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| Arch Rock |
The Alum Cave Trail is a moderate hike, clocking in at 4.6 miles roundtrip, with a total elevation gain of just over 1,000 feet. The Cave tops out at just under a mile high in elevation.
The trail is fairly level at the beginning, as it slowly meanders its way along creeks and up the mountain. A little over a mile into the hike you come to Arch Rock. Stone steps and a cable rail are there to assist you through.
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| Hey, why are they called the Smokies? |
Further along, you come to Inspiration Point, which normally offer views of the Chimneys and Little Duck Hawk Ridge, though today was rather cloudy - some would say smoky - so the views weren't as clear as they could be. That being said, it was still a great place to stop and rest and just take in the surrounding scenery. The Point is actually on a heath bald, which is a rocky, open area topped with only shrubs and low-lying vegetation.
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| Grok on! |
Finally, we made it to Alum Cave. It's actually not a cave at all, but rather a
rock shelter. It has an interesting history too. Beginning in 1838, it was mined for several minerals - primarily epsom salts - by the appropriately named Epsom Salts Manufacturing Company. Having been sold in 1854, the next to mine the Cave were the Confederate Army, which sought saltpeter to make gunpowder.* It still smells strongly of sulphur when you are at the Cave today.
Here, we rested and enjoyed a small snack. Keeping us company was a Red Squirrel which has obviously been fed by hikers through the years, as he would come very close to us and didn't want to leave until he got food. Though we didn't give in, I'm sure it wasn't too long before his next patron arrived to feed him.
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| Hey Rocky, watch me pull a Lara bar out of my hat - presto! |
All in all, we had a really fun time on this trail. Erin remarked that she was iffy on the prospects due to the high elevation gain for a relatively short hike, but didn't think that it was too bad. Plus, there was much to see along the way, making for a pleasant hike.
*Coskren, T. Dennis & Lauf, Robert J., "The Minerals of Alum Cave Bluff, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee,"
Mineralogical Record, 2000.
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