15 May 2016, Sunday

Our final day in Gatlinburg…we return to Crockett’s Breakfast Camp. O
wants to try another waffle variety. I have a spinach-mushroom
variation on eggs benedict. After breakfast we return to our room for pre-departure
showers and then we repack the car. I text G hoping for at least a brief
conversation before we again venture beyond the Verizon. We had a
chance to talk to S last night.

There is no response to my text. We decide to return to Clingman’s Dome as it
is more sunny today. We are hoping for better views from the summit.
On our way up to the Dome we stop at Chimney Tops view point. We had
considered doing the very steep 4 mile out and back hike to these rocks, but it
would have made for a very rushed day. We will save that for another
year’s visit.

We continue the 22 mile drive from Gatlinburg up to Clingman’s Dome. It
was 49 degrees F when we left Gatlinburg. On top of the mountain it is a cold
39 degrees F. I unexpectedly get a text as we drive along Clingman’s
Dome Road. It is from G. I pull off at the nearest view point.
Reception is so limited that if I move too much in the car our
conversation breaks up. Still, it is nice to chat, even briefly.

We park the car up top and begin our climb to the lookout. There are icicles
on the rocks near the parking lot. We read a bit about the geology of this
area. These mountains were formed just over 500 million years ago
when earth’s tectonic plates collided to form the supercontinent, Pangea.
Up at the lookout the view is improved from yesterday, but the
mountains still fade into the smoky distance. Not surprising,
considering their name. We walk back down the path and stop along the
way to photograph a “sunbow,” a rainbow around the sun from
very high altitude ice crystals. There are actually two bows, but I
can only capture one with my camera as the inner bow is too close to
the sun. We stop briefly at the Clingman’s Dome Visitor Center. We
escape this time without buying any new books, but we do have a
lovely conversation with one of the volunteers there.

Now we drive the winding 22 miles back down to Sugarlands and another
approximately 22 miles to Cades Cove. We set up the quarter dome and
spread out our still soggy backpacking tent to dry. We are visited by a ranger
who reinforces the need for a clean campsite. There has been a bear
frequenting the area, and they are trying to discourage him. There
have also been visits from wild turkeys and coyotes.

Cades Cove is a huge  campground, but the sites on either side of us are vacant and, at
least for the moment, it is very quiet. We are in a grove of young
white oak and hemlock. There is bird song all around, and it is a
cool, clear evening. The ranger warned us that the temperature may
drop into the mid 30’s tonight. As I write, a tufted titmouse perches
on our tarp cord and peers down at me. Guess I’d better do the dishes
before dark. We don’t want to be bear bait!