VA, TN, NC, TN

April 25, 2012 - Peak of Otters, VA to Chattanooga, TN - 464 miles

Weather: sunny and warm, got into the high 70s

We woke up at the beautiful lodge on the BRP to see the sun slowly painting the pond and the hillside with golden light. We knew we had a big day so we got up and got after it. Drove into TN singing to every "Tennessee" titled song on Dan's iPod. I think we had a chance to Vox the OC kids in the middle of Tennessee Jed by the Grateful Dead. We got to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park about noon and went into the Visitors Center for advice. The guy told us a great picnic spot along a rocky stream, a good place to jump on to the AT for a hike and then a good trail to the summit of Clingmans Dome, highest point in the Park. It turned out to be great advice and we enjoyed each stop. The sign at the trailhead for the AT said Maine 1952 miles and we saw quite a few NOBO hikers. For those of you who haven't hiked extensive stretches of the AT (did I mention the NHAT?) the AT hikers are either NOBO or SOBO - northbound or southbound. Jayne put on her 5 toes and headed north and I had a hard time keeping up. I thought she forgot something in NH and was sprinting up the trail to get it. We passed quite a few young athletic types but tried to do so respectfully so as not to bruise their egos. The trail was actually very nice and it was hard to turn around but we did and then went back to the truck and drove to the summit trailhead. On that trail we saw a mother bear and two very cute cubs. Pretty amazing! The views from the top were excellent with mountains stretching in every direction. The OC kids will be happy to hear that ole smoky pants got himself a Smoky Mountains NP shirt.

After that hike we jumped in the truck and headed for Chattanooga. We had decided to go through Cherokee and through the Nahantala National Forest and it was a great decision because the road ran along a rushing river and was beautiful. It was a rafting/kayaking paradise. I should note here that all day we were seeing forests of rhododendron lining both sides of the road but we were early for the blooms. It must be amazing later in the spring.

You might notice with all this driving and hiking we haven't mentioned much food. Well we had an on the go breakfast (KJ had her cereal concoction and Dan had a PB&J) as we entered TN and a nice picnic on the river. Jayne had a lunch compliments of a lot of people. First thanks to Lyn for the egg salad, second thanks to Dan for the cherry tomatoes from the Fruit Center, next thanks to Nicky and Sindog for the expertly cut (matchstick sized) carrots and parsnips and finally thanks to herself for the cole slaw. It was quite a feast. Unfortunately, it was the last meal of the day because we had trails to hike and roads to drive and that dinner thing just got skipped. Perhaps one of the OC kids could call us late in the day and remind us to eat!

Ok, we are headed to the Bayou today. Just got an email from our friend Emile and he says it is a big weekend in NOLA! Let's go!