Any suggestions for GREAT trail in TN.

“This will be my first real hike but my husband swears we do not need a guide as he has climbed Teton. We are in shape so no problems there. We live in Alabama planning to see parents in Virginia. So anything in that proximity. Want to spend 2 or 3 nights... dont kill me but want a good challenge!!! I have always wanted to do this.... want a great start to my new hobby! Any help appreciated. Also, I read threads about places to go.... do I need to get a book or something? Dont laugh... it's my first.
Thanks!”

“I read about this on the internet?? Thought this may be fun??”

“Mt. Rogers in Virginia is very nice. I think there are enough trails that you could make a loop if you wanted.”

“There are a lot of nice parts in the Smokys... how long do you plan to be on the trail?”

“We can go for a week but I was thinking 3 or 4 days.”

“Cool! If you bag for 3-4 nites just make sure you have the right gear... and food. It takes some planning, but you will have a blast. I still think that the Smokys would be a good place to visit. Clingman's is an easy place to start. A buddy of mine and I did a 3 nite loop that stopped and started at the "Dome".”

“Great! Where should I do my research? How do I get started? My husband "says" he has gear... but I need to do the research myself and make sure. His last hike was probably 7 years ago!
Thanks so much!”

“I was hoping to show you this article in backpacker magazine.”

“Hmm.. how about we start.. HERE. ”

“And then?.. maybe HERE. ”

“copy and paste it to your addsress... Let me know if you get it.”

“And once you get done with all that.. there is always HERE.

And here is AppleSauce’s Link.”

“Having the right stuff totally determines how much you enjoy the hike. Anyway we took the Welch Ridge loop hike found in that article.”

“I did "Beginner" when I first found this site. What about more information about the trail?
I have found general info about Clingman's but not a lot of detail.???
Thanks!”

“What trail?.. Clingman's?.. lol.. That ain't no trail. Dat's a place.”

“Roan Mt.”

“I got the info. This is great information and I am excited. After reading material maybe we should do something less than 25 miles. HA-HA! I am going to start getting our "stuff" organized as I am ready to do SOMETHING!”

“http://www.smokiesstore.org/browse.cfm/4,5.html

this is a great book about the Smokys. Also I would definately get a list of what you actually have in the way of gear and make sure all of it is in shape. Your local outfitter store may be able to help you get a good gear list together as well as talk face to face with someone about your plans.”

“You're basically a beginner and are planning a 3 night trip? And you're not sure if your hubby has the right gear?

Um... I might consider re-evaluating if I were you. Then again, I've done crazier things... :p”

“Towndawg... how are you making your links like you did with mine?”

“Lot's of folks from Alabama and TN here. Roll Tide!!!

You have lots of options for 3-4 days. What kind of mileage do you have in mind?

Suggestions: Lots of loop options in the Smokies. You can probably tie in some creek and mtn hiking. Go to gosmokies.com and there should be a bookstore there. Find the book, "hiking trails of the Smokies." It gives mileage, elevation profiles and trail descriptions. We can probalby suggest some things based on mileage.

As Towndawg mentioned, Roan. It doesn't get any better than that, in the East. Problem there is that you'd have to hire a shuttle, but that's not such a big deal.

I'm 30 min east of B'ham, btw.”

“dicentra: I had the same thoughts.. !!

I watched "without a paddle" over the weekend.. :) Makes me think of those clowns..”

“give me an email, applesauce, and I will send you the word file.”

“That was my first thought as well.

But then, when I started bping, I didn't know anything more than what I read in books. I would just go out solo, make mistakes, and learn from them.”

“Applesauce: I'd post it here.. but the "less than" and "greater than" are reserved HTML.”

“I recommend the Fiery Gizzard or something on Mt. LeConte”

“http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_links.asp">HTML Links


You got mail on the way.”

“You are right. I am re-evaluating!!
We are getting the gear out this afternoon. In the meantime I am going to check out the sites & books suggested.
Thank you so much!”

“Thanx. I thot I had my email on my profile... oops, now I do.”

“You know a trail's good when you almost get killed on it and you still recommend it to people.”

“I have a full flask of liquor. I have a full flask of liquor.”

“dayhiker: these guys are such lamers. They hike one place, or read one book, and they automatically morph into being the only trail they know about.”

“damn, wrong thread.”

“Good luck jonesiv... Hubcap is so right get out and enjoy it! You'll love it!”

“hehe.. let John (dayhiker) and me plan your trip. We'll plan one you'll NEVER forget!

* rubs his hands together in glee! *”

“You can do the < and > if you put spaces around it...

< a href="http://yourlinkhere.com" >What you want to see< /a >

Just take out the spaces after each "<" and before each ">".”

“3-4 days.. let's see... let's start with that 3500 climb out of Wesser Gap.

Naw.. let's do that approach out of Elkmont (Goshen Prong) to the AT.

Naw.. I got one.. Let's do Hughes Gap to US19E as a dayhike!

:) :)..”

“@ bitpusher!”

“Thanks Technitrek!!”

“TownDawg, your suggestions... is the best place to find info in
the book...Hiking Trails of the Smokies?”

“Yep, TD and I can sho plan one for you.

Seriously, the trip plan will depend on if you're doing a camping trip with hiking or a hiking trip with camping. I suspect you want a camping trip with 6-9 miles per day of hiking. Low end mileage with elev gain and higher mileage for the flat areas.

Personally, I've gotten where I enjoy hiking the mtn streams more than anything. If I were to get to hike at elev with the leaves down I might feel differently.”

“jonesiv - yep that's the book. It's excellent.

When is your trip going to take place, that'll effect the suggestions as well.”

“You might want to try hiking in the Cumberland Mountains for a "first" hike. Most of the areas are state parks and will check up on you from time to time. That is a good idea for someone who has not hiked in a while. While most of us find it unnecessary, you might appreciate the ranger's concerns. Fiery Gizzard, Savage Gulf, Fall Creek Falls, Frozen Head, Virgin Falls and Centennial Wilderness, and Big South Fork, heading south to north. These are all great places to hike and most are close to I-75, I-40, and I-24. And don't forget the new trail at Walls of Jericho on the Cumberland Plateau. It just opened up last Friday and is located on the Tenn. and Ala. border. It would be gret to see after all this rain, just be careful of flash flooding! Hope these help, drop me a line if you want any more info.”

“Well, I want to be somewhere this month - Sept. Surely I can prepare by Oct???
Oh.. and Roll Tide! My husband is Auburn and makes me go to all home games... good to talk to Alabama fan!”

“Ok.. serious. My last post was a little mean.

You can't beat the little brown book for Smokies information, but I got so many hiking and trail books (AND maps!) now I could almost start my own bookstore.

It's all in what you want to see, and how much work you want to put into it. I'm going to tell you right now, if you have not hiked/backpacked much, and not in a long time?.. You are CRAZEE to start off with the "hike of all hikes."

Most of us have our own websites, and many of us have posted trip reports. I can't imagine how many hours I have read, and studied, and tried to get a little bit knowledgeable. It's just a quirk i am sure, but I even try to memorize the exact trip in my mind before I hike it.

With all seriousness, there are so many GOOD experts on this board, we will gladly help you plan your hiking trip, and make it an enormous success. We will do this because so many have helped us, we are compelled to do likewise.”