Highpoint: Tennessee. Clingman's Dome (6643 ft). June 21, 2010

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TrishandAlex

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White Mountains, NH
Cut and pasted from http://www.trishalexsage.com
Accompanying pictures can be found there.
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My laptop died last week, and I won't be able to retrieve the pictures from my hard drive until we return to NH in August. In the meantime, I'll include pictures from my Facebook page -- they are small, but they're better than nothing. In August, I will replace these tiny images with full-size photos.

We arrived in Tennessee a couple days before the auto road opened, so we killed some time in Gatlinburg. Staying in this cheesy tourist town was fun, it was a nice change from camping. However, after spending two days playing Glow-in-the-Dark Circus Mini-Golf and visiting various Wax/Ripley Museums, we were ready for some views.

On the 21st, the road finally opened. Up we went.

The view from the summit parking lot was phenomenal. No need to hike the half-mile to the top if you just want some great scenery.

Since we are highpointers, we did, of course, walk up the peak.

After only a tenth of a mile or so, I noticed the USGS marker. I wasn't expecting to find it before we reached the top, but there it was...

The peak's look-out structure is rather unique...

Alex lagged behind, as she didn't appreciate the 95 degree heat...

Once both girls were at the top, it was picture time...

On the way back down, we noticed the Appalachian Trail, which crosses the summit area.

We felt this peak was well worth the wait. Great views, easy access.

Next stop: Alabama.
 
Did you find any pancake places in Gatlinburg?:D

did Clingsman a few years back. Nice views indeed.
 
Clingmans

So happy you enjoyed this peak.
We too noticed the AT and hiked to the Peak north and the peak south,one of which was Mt.Love.Sure reminded us of hiking on the AT here at home.The pics were still enjoyable just the same.
 
Trish you are hitting some great peaks and what an experience with the kids!!! I would love to do this with my Grandson's sometime....but we have too many summits local to climb for now....

Enjoy your adventure of the States high peaks :D
 
TB and Darl, thank you.

This is proving to be a great bonding experience with the kids. The girls and I have always been very close, but spending so much nonstop time on the road, at campgrounds, and on various trails creates opportunities for our relationships to deepen even further. This trip has been amazing thus far, and as of right now, we're only halfway through it. :)

By the time we return, we should have highpointed all states east of Colorado, with the exceptions of Maine and New York. We'll get those two next year, as those require hikes that are beyond Sage's current capabilities (she's not yet old enough for Baxter's above-treeline requirements, anyway).

Darl, if you ever get the opportunity, definitely do something like this! It's wonderful, spending night after night at various campgrounds, seeing the countryside change underneath the wheels of your car, having the kids ooh and ah at everything. Wonderful stuff, absolutely priceless.
 
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