One beautiful afternoon in late May, 2013, I hiked to Charlies Bunion on the Appalachian Trail. This is an eight mile round-trip hike from Newfound Gap in the middle of the Smokies. The Appalachian Trail is a nearly 2,200 mile footpath from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine.
The short section I hiked starts at an elevation of just over 5,000 feet and climbs to over 6,100 feet near the summit of Mount Kephart before dropping down to 5,565 feet at Charlie's Bunion. The trail starts as a wide hard-packed smooth surface, but it quickly narrows and steepens with numerous timber and stone steps. The trail is mostly shaded and protected from the wind with the exception of the few times the trail is on top of the narrow ridge.
Although this was a busy trail, it wasn't nearly as busy as other well known trails in the park such as Abrams Falls and Laurel Falls trails. The initial two mile climb up the flank of Mount Kephart provided some beautiful views of the North Carolina side of the park. Other than some initial glimpses of the Newfound Gap road, views on the Tennessee side were limited until after passing the Boulevard Trail junction.
The panoramic view from Charlie's Bunion was created by a combination of a huge forest fire in 1925 and a torrential rainstorm in 1929 that washed away the remaining soil. This left the bare Anakeesta Formation rock outcrop that is seen today.
This hike takes several hours at relatively high altitudes for the eastern U.S., so having enough water and food is essential to enjoying the journey.
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| The trailhead is just to the right of the Rockefeller Memorial |
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| The first two miles of the hike is uphill with numerous log steps |
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| One of several rocky areas along the trail |
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| The forest changes with the altitude |
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| Thomas Ridge and the Newfound Gap Road |
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| North Carolina ridge lines |
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| Water crosses the trail in several places |
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| The trail climbs above 6,000 feet |
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| The Tennessee side of the Smokies |
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| Nearing the summit of Mount Ambler |
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| An easy footpath connect Mount Ambler and Mount Kephart |
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| Thomas Ridge with Bryson City in the distance |
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| Boulevard Trail junction |
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| The path is highly eroded |
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| The rocks on the trail clatter under foot |
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| Porters Mountain in the foreground with English Mountain on the horizon |
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| Recent storms have toppled this snag |
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| Mount LeConte on the horizon |
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| Sand Myrtle growing along the trail |
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| The side trail to Charlies Bunion |
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| Horseshoe Mountain in shade |
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| Porters Mountain |
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| Steep drop-off from Charlies Bunion to Porters Creek |
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| A closer look at the 4-wheeler trails on English Mountain |
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| The hike offers closeup views of an abundance of plants as well as distant vistas |
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| Deepening shadows on Turkey Flyup and Nettle Creek Bald |
The park website is https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm.
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