Smokies Chronicle: A Year of Hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

by Ben Anderson

Overview

Since its creation in 1934, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has become the most heavily visited of all our national parks, with yearly visitation sometimes surpassing 10 million people. As the national park system celebrated its centennial in 2016, Ben Anderson decided to explore and closely observe, across the seasons, as much of the nation’s most popular national park as practicable during the year. On the three or four hikes he took each month, he revisited a number of trails familiar to him from previous excursions as a Smokies backcountry volunteer for more than 20 years.

To many, the Smokies are among the loveliest and most interesting mountains anywhere, favored by a remarkable biodiversity. Anderson offers observations on natural and human history, mountain culture, geography, geology, flora and fauna. The book also deftly blends the personal with the universal in a compelling mix of entries from the backcountry. Although this book can be used as a helpful trail guide, it also provides a fresh look and an engaging narrative about our most heavily visited national park through the eyes and ears of a lifelong devotee.

Ben Anderson was media relations director at Warren Wilson College from 1997 to 2015. Before that he was assistant professor of mass communications at Florida Southern College. He worked on the staffs of The Asheville Times, the Waynesville Mountaineer, Greensboro News & Record, Athens Banner-Herald, Atlanta Journal, and Athens Daily News. He has been a backcountry volunteer for Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 20 years. He now does marketing and public relations work for the Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation in Asheville. A native of Atlanta, he lives in Asheville, NC.

"For those who want a more strenuous experience, this book will probably spark the desire to lace up the hiking boots and head deep into the backcountry. At the very least, the book should provide a deeper appreciation for the exceptional beauty and biodiversity in this distinctive national treasure." —WNC Woman

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780895876935
Publisher:	Blair
Publication date:	06/27/2017
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,111,938
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ben Anderson was media relations director at Warren Wilson College from 1997 to 2015. Before that he was assistant professor of mass communications at Florida Southern College. He worked on the staffs of The Asheville Times, the Waynesville Mountaineer, Greensboro News & Record, Athens Banner-Herald, Atlanta Journal, and Athens Daily News. He has been a backcountry volunteer for Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 20 years. He now does marketing and public relations work for the Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation in Asheville. A native of Atlanta, he lives in Asheville, NC.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Hike 1 At Rest Beyond the Mill 3

Hike 2 New Territory in Tennessee 7

Hike 3 Flats, but No Cabin 11

Hike 4 Calm after the Storm 15

Hike 5 Super Sunday-on Big Creek 19

Hike 6 Five Trails, One Loop 23

Hike 7 An Extra-day Excursion 27

Hike 8 A Stillness in Cataloochee 31

Hike 9 Winter Finale 35

Hike 10 Working toward the Divide 39

Hike 11 Time to Go to Work 43

Hike 12 The Trillium Trail 47

Hike 13 A Smokies Rite of Spring 51

Hike 14 Chasteen and Its Cascade 55

Hike 15 Breaking a Dry Spell 59

Hike 16 Mingus Creek Trail, End to End 63

Hike 17 Nearing Bryson Place 67

Hike 18 Mighty Mount Le Conte Calls 71

Hike 19 The High(est) Country 75

Hike 20 Flame on the Mountain 79

Hike 21 Nirvana-Most of the Year 83

Hike 22 Heeding Heintooga's Call 87

Hike 23 A Rocky Road 91

Hike 24 Along the High Boundary 95

Hike 25 Cataloochee Divide (Continued) 99

Hike 26 A Great Smokies Grandstand 103

Hike 27 Solitude, Far up the Creek 107

Hike 28 Stiff Climb to Sterling 111

Hike 29 Summer's Last Stand 115

Hike 30 Thunderhead-the Mountain 119

Hike 31 Last of the Lookout Towers 123

Hike 32 As Rugged and Remote as It Gets 127

Hike 33 Chasing Fall Color 131

Hike 34 Toward Balsam Mountain-from Cataloochee 135

Hike 35 Skirting Mount Cammerer 139

Hike 36 On Top of Old … Brushy 143

Hike 37 Trails to Somewhere 147

Hike 38 Smoke-free Smokemont 151

Hike 39 A Dramatic Turn of Events 155

Hike 40 Of Hogs and Horace 159

Epilogue 165

Appendix A Favorite Hikes by Month 169

Appendix B Favorite Lookouts 171

Index 173