Apr 10, 2012

We decided to check out Clingman's Dome early in the day when few people would be there. It was a bit of a walk up to the lookout tower, but there were hardly any people on the path. It was cold and windy as well. We encountered a few thru-hikers at the top that I had a chance to talk to for a bit.

The view was amazing in all directions. It was hard to decide which way to point the camera. So I took a few shots and just stood there and took it in. Some things you can't capture; you just have to experience it for yourself. The highest point on the Appalachian Trail (and the mountains?) is one of them.

We went to Mingo Falls next, where we had a slew of stairs to climb to get up to the viewing area.

It wasn't a bad walk and the falls were pretty impressive. There weren't many people up there when we first arrived.

I climbed around under the bridge and on the rocks trying to find the best place to shoot from. The debris in front of the falls were my favorite part.

We dedicated the rest of the day to brewery visits beginning with Frog Level brewery. This places is a great space, decorated with photos from a local artist. We were the only ones in the bar at 11am and we sampled all four styles and talked to the brewer as he was currently working on a batch at his small three barrel setup just behind the bar. This a place I would frequent if I were in the area.

We went to Asheville Brewing Company next, where the standout brew was the jalapeño IPA. It was fantastic and had quite a bite. We got a growler of that one. Next we went to French Broad and got a flight of more potent beers. We sat at the bar overlooking the brewing tanks and they even had a disco ball!

Now the moment we had been waiting for: the tour of Highland Brewing! The facility was quite massive and they started us off with a sample that was replenished frequently throughout the tour with the next style. The tour was not too exciting as it's something we have heard repeatedly and the guide was soft-spoken and nervous. We got to try the rest of their offerings at the end and ended up going home with two six packs; the coffee porter and the spring pale ale.

This is the part where it became harder to taste the subtleties in everything. We went to Greenman Brewing, Wedge Brewing, and Oyster House. They each had a decent offering, though Wedge was a strange little place with a big crowd by the river.

It was a long day and when we got back we were pretty tired so we got to bed early. Lots of good breweries down there that I wish we could have more time to explore.

Apr 9, 2012

We had breakfast at the hotel and set out pretty early on our way toward Smoky Mountains National Park. We got there in a few hours and then began to navigate the narrow, winding dirt roads down to the trail.

We filled up our water bottles at a campground and found the Boogerman trail head along the road. It began with a narrow log bridge crossing the water and then a densely wooded trail.

It turned out that the log bridges were quite common along this trail. They were fun to walk across and afforded a nice view up and down the streams.

Much of the hike was relatively flat or gradually graded except for one part that was a bit of a struggle. Not too bad at any point though. We had a few small stream crossings that were fun rock hopping. I also got inside this tree.

This stream crossing was really unavoidable unless we wanted to backtrack the entire trail. The bridge was out and the water was knee-high and moving quickly. I took off my boots and tossed them across to commit myself to the crossing, then I slowly waded across the rocky stream bed as the frigid water curled my toes. I made it with relative ease and then went back to help Kate across.

After another bridge or two and the lead-up section of the trail we were all done. It was a nice hike that ended up being more exciting than expected.

We stopped at a lookout on our way back out of the park. There was no shortage of great views. It was very windy up there.

We went back to Kate's cousin's house, where they graciously invited us in for dinner and offered us their spare bedroom. The meal was quite the proper southern meal also. There was chicken and plenty of sides. It was all delicious.

We spent the evening looking up places to go the next day. We made our list and then retired to bed to read for a while.