Distance: 4.5 miles one way
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation Change: gain = 966 ft; loss = 1373 ft
My Hike: 7.2 miles (round trip) from Fork Ridge Trailhead to Clingman’s Dome
source: Great Day Hikes of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail
This is the first hike of the 40 Hike Challenge and the eastern terminus of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. This is my 10th hike of the series. I solo-hiked this trail, so it was an out-and-back starting at the Fork Ridge Trailhead. The trailhead has a very small parking lot on the shoulder of the Clingman’s Dome Access Road. The first thing I noticed when I got out of my vehicle . . . Silence . . .
Continue reading “40 Hike Challenge: #1 – The Great Smokies – Clingman’s Dome to Fork Ridge Trail”