Short Hikes 2015 - Great Smoky Mountains (Kephart Prong Trail) and the BRP (Devil's Courthouse)
May 9, 2015 - Vlog from a great day with two short walks, one in the Great Smoky Mountains (Kephart Prong Trail) and one on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Devil's Courthouse).
Kephart Prong Trail is a 4 mile R/T and ends at Kephart hiking shelter at 3717'. Highlighting this trail are the spectacular Smoky Mountain creeks and multiple footlog creek crossings.
Devil's Courthouse is a spectacular rock outcropping that sits high over the surrounding mountains and offers commanding views in almost every direction. It is located at mile 422.2 on the Blue Ridge Parkway and access requires a short but fairly steep 0.5 mile climb from the parking area.
Kephart Prong Trail - Great Smoky Mountains Hiking
May 2019
Kephart Prong Trail Mar 09
A day hike along Kephart Prong Trail, Great Smoky Mountains NP
Chimney Tops hiking the Kephart Prong River Backpacking Trail
This Kephart Prong hike starts alongside chimneys of old logging homes and crosses the Kephart River many time with foot bridges. It is simply a beautiful hike in the woods alongside a river, onto a back county camping shelter.
Bring your Backpack, as this was a poncho hike for me.
It is an excellent hike and I enjoyed the journey to the shelter for camping. While I did not stay the night the shelter was a nice place to sit out the rain and rest. I found the shelter well maintained, and would back country camp there. I think you have to use the shelter, and that's nice as there is no need to backpack a tent, or no need to setup tent if you already have one.
It was a fun hike and a great day in the mountains of Tennessee!
Kephart Prong Trail to Maggie Valley scenic drive 4K (peak fall colors)
Scenic drive from Kephart Prong Trail in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to Maggie Valley in peak fall colors.
October 28, 2018
Smokemont: Bradley Fork - Hughes Ridge Loop
A three night backpacking trip in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park starting at Smokemont Campground.
S3 E3 Three Night Loop in The Smokies May 2016
This 28 mile route from Cosby Campground over 3 nights/4 days completed a loop by way of a number of tracks through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Low Gap Trail passed over the Appalachian Trail to connect with the Swallow Fork Trail before the Mount Sterling Ridge Trail led us to the Balsam Mountain Trail and the Tricorner shelter. From there, I enjoyed my first taste of the AT heading north before descending down the Snake Den Ridge Trail to where we started. Our rain gear served us well as we enjoyed the extensive variety of vegetation on offer in (YouTube Creator) Roger Lamb's backyard(AKA the Smokies). All and all, this route proved to be a fine introduction to the Great Smoky Mountains and hiking in Appalachia.
Music by:
The Heritage
Other Lives
theheritage.co
GATLINBURG, TN: We hiked to Grotto Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park!
This was the perfect hike with kids and just minutes from downtown Gatlinburg. By easy, I mean that it is quick to access the trail and it's a lot shorter than most of the big hikes in the park. It's a solid walk but totally doable if you want the experience of hiking to a waterfall in the Great Smoky Moutain National Park.
The total roundtrip distance (there and back) is 2.6 miles and it took us a couple hours. The first half is mostly uphill but the trail is wide and there are several fun little break points. And the good news is that it is downhill on the way back! Some parts of the trail have roots and rocks exposed that you need to navigate but for Abby and Jake (10 yrs old and 8 yrs old) it wasn't a problem. It may be tough for little ones or folks who have difficulty walking.
The trailhead is accessible via the old Motor Trail and that drive itself is really fun. It's a one-way loop and the scenery is gorgeous. (see the end of the video)
More info about Grotto Falls and how to find the trailhead here:
TIP: Get there early! We waited until around 11am and it was so hard to find parking. We had to park along the road almost a half mile from the parking lot making the trek longer than it needed to be!
We had SO much fun visiting Gatlinburg and I will share more on the blog soon at
Music licensed by Epidemic Sound.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park-Juney Whank Falls and Trail- Bryson City NC
Beautiful Trails and Water Falls Near Bryson City
Great Smoky Mountains NP: Little River Trail
Amateur footage taken on the Little River Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee in September 2018 using a GoPro Hero 5 on a Karma Grip. We only hiked the first 2.2 miles of the trail to Huskey Branch Falls. The full trail extends 6.1 miles, one-way.
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Music credits go completely to the following artists: (I do not profit on any of my videos and do not claim any copyrights)
Jakob Ahlbom
00:00 Entrance
03:59 Approaching Spring
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Richard Smithson
00:34 Patience
07:14 Patience
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Smokemont Hike
Gosmokians hiked Smokemont Loop and Chasteen Creek Cascade Sunday June 1, 2014
A good time was had by all. Happy Birthday Betsy Lee!
Smoky Mountain Hike to Shuckstack Tower
Two buddies and I took a day trip to the Smoky Mountains in December 2015 to check out Shuckstack Tower, one of the few remaining fire towers in the area still standing and open to the public. The hike isn't necessarily easy, rapidly gaining elevation of 2120 ft in just 3.5 miles. The tower itself rises some 60 ft into the air and offers some spectacular views.
Overall it was an awesome trip. Even got some bonus footage of John scaling the remnants of an old chimney right next to the tower.
Music:
Bang Camaro - Pleasure (Pleasure)
Pandemik - Hot 2012 Free Trap Beat
Blind Melon - Tones of Home
Baby Bear in the Smoky Mountains
Baby Bear in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park running towards is mum
Gatlinburg Trail with Tcarp
Gantlinburg trail
I am going to start a new series on my channel showing some great trails around my area to enjoy. In this video we look at the Gatlinburge trail. A two mile one way trail that leads from the surgar land visitor center all the way to the Gatlinburge strip. This is a easy trail for beginners or family's.
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Great Smoky Mountains: Albright Grove
© Great Smoky Mountains Association 2010.
Take a quick jaunt with Mari to the beautiful and lush Albright Grove. You'll see some beautiful old growth trees and can have a relaxing moment in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Feel free to embed or link to our videos on your website or blog as long as you include this copyright notice: © GSMA 2010. All rights reserved. and a link to our website: smokiesinformation.org.
Charlies Bunion and The Jumpoff - Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC
***I added something new in this video, a Google Earth tour of my GPS track. Let me know if you like it or not by leaving a comment. I think it is a cool addition.***
My hike from June 3 beginning at the Kephart Prong Trailhead in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC. I needed to bag Mount Kephart for the South Beyond 6000 Challenge. Most people hike the mountain from Newfound Gap and add on Charlies Bunion. That's the easier and more crowded route, so I settled on this tougher lollipop hike which begins below 3,000 feet and requires over 3,200 feet elevation change to reach the summit. The Kephart Prong Trail follows a forest road beside Kephart Prong, crossing it 4 times on log bridges. The trail ends at a 3-way junction beside the Kephart Shelter. I took the Grassy Branch Trail which has the most elevation change of the hike, but it was never difficult. The Dry Sluice Gap Trail then connects with the Appalachian Trail at Dry Sluice Gap. From there I decided to hike up to the real Charlies Bunion, since a side trail was obvious. Although steep, it followed exposed slate and was short. The summit of Charlies Bunion (5,541 feet) has 2 exposed rocks with views west and northeast. From the top you can pick out many of the remote 6K peaks in the northeast Smokies. I kept calling a particular peak Brushy Mountain in this video, it was actually Horseshoe Mountain.
Next I visited the Tourist Bunion, the popular viewpoint that most assume is the only Charlies Bunion. The rocks are more exposed and dangerous here, and the panoramic view is more expansive. The northeast views are not as spectacular, but the western views of Mount Kephart and Mount LeConte are better. After the Tourist Bunion the AT steadily climbs to the Icewater Spring Shelter. I took the Boulevard Trail and then The Jumpoff Trail over Mount Kephart (6,217 feet) and kept hiking out to The Jumpoff, a sheer drop on the east side of the mountain with great views northeast. These views were better than either Bunion, including Greenbrier Pinnacle and Cataloochee Divide. I still had a long slog down the Sweat Heifer Creek Trail, and it started raining about midway near the two waterfalls so I breezed by those without stopping. Overall a great hike, and a fun way to avoid crowds most of the day.
Hike was 16.1 miles with 4,495 feet elevation gain in 8 hours and 20 minutes.
Hike location
Schoolhouse Gap Trail Hike (Great Smoky Mountains)
This was a short 4 mile hike with the kids on Schoolhouse Gap Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We had planned to hike on White Oak Sink trail which has caves and a waterfall but it was closed.
#greatsmokymountains #hikinginthesmokies #kidfriendlyhikes
Hidden HIKER TUNNEL Clingmans Dome (Great Smoky Mountains)
In this video, I finally found the elusive hidden Hiker Tunnel near Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! It was much easier to find that I originally thought. The Smokies has so many secrets and history much of it undiscovered or known only by a few. We also hiked Clingmans Dome road (which runs parallel to the Appalachian trail) since it's closed for the winter. We even hiked in snow!!
Oh...and I talk about bobcat tracks in the video - I’m pretty sure they’re coyote tracks lol ????
#greatsmokymountains #hikinginthesmokies #hikertunnel #clingmansdome
Rainbow Falls Trail - Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Hiking the Rainbow Falls Trail at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. March 17, 2019. Footage via GoPro Hero7 Black.
Hiking to Hidden Moonshine Still » Porters Creek Trail (Great Smoky Mountains)
Porters Creek Trail in Greenbrier in the Great Smoky Mountains National park is a 7.3 mile out and back hike that has tons of wildflowers, the Fern Branch Falls waterfall and a ton of history. There is the old John Messer barn and Smoky Mountain Hiking Club cabin, as well as remnants from an old car and part of a hidden moonshine still where Perry Shults once lived and mined for silver. Rumor is he had a hidden mine out past the campsite that's still to this day never been found. This trail ends at Campsite 31 and is a great overnight backcountry campsite.
Voiceover Source: History Hikes of the Smokies -
#greatsmokymountains #hikinginthesmokies #porterscreek