Zola In The Woods

Last week Zola returned from a short trip to the Great Smoky Mountains with Daddy and me. We stayed on a mountainside in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, at the Foxtrot B&B, which has beautiful views of the national park.

Gatlinburg itself is quite a cultural experience. Just imagine endless traffic and pedestrians, numerous national chain restaurants, people trying to sell you something every step you take, and an amusement park or beach boardwalk-like atmosphere, without an actual beach. We spent as little time as we could in town, trying to maximize our time in nature without the hordes of tourists.

On our first full day in the mountains we hiked the Ramsey Cascade trail, which was four miles to the top to see the tallest waterfall in the park. The trail was lovely, with views of cascading waterfalls most of the way up. The waterfall at the top of the trail was spectacular, especially since there had been a lot of rainfall recently. We passed some bear droppings on the way up to the top and spoke with another hiker who'd heard a baby bear was sighted earlier that day on the trail, but fortunately (or unfortunately according to my husband) we did not run into any bears. We rested at the top, taking in the views and eating our lunch while being entertained by a friendly and brave squirrel. Then we hiked the four miles back down the mountain. Zola was a happy girl the entire time and DID NOT NAP! She took in the views and smiled and babbled at the other hikers.

On our second day we hiked to Hen Wallow Falls, which was about a four and a half mile round trip hike on the Gabe Mountain trail. Although this waterfall was less impressive than the Ramsey Cascade, the trail through the rhododendron forest was beautiful. Interestingly, Zola slept through most of this hike, waking only to eat and smile at other hikers.

On our third day, before we drove home to SC, we drove to the top of the highest peak in the park: Clingmans Dome. Since Zola had fallen asleep in the car, we took turns walking around the top. Daddy got a kick out of the "First Amendment Expression Area," which requires a permit.

There were butterflies everywhere in the mountains, but they especially seemed to like to congregate on the roads, hastening the end to their already short lives. After our time at the peak, we drove down the other side of the mountain into Cherokee, North Carolina, which was considerably less developed than Gatlinburg, but just as ridiculously commercial. We meandered our way through the mountains of NC and back home in time for dinner.

We hope to return to the Great Smokies in the years to come with the whole family. That is, once the boys can stand to walk for more than two miles without incessant whining and requests to be carried too.