Charlies Bunion (Great Smoky Mountains NP)

October 10, 2023

Arrival

I left Gatlinburg well before dawn, in hopes of getting up and into Great Smoky Mountains National Park sans traffic jams. This basically worked. I wound my way through the pitch darkness of the forest, en route to the high ridge crest at Newfound Gap. The lack of views did not bum me out: I’d be coming back the same way later that day.

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The Harvard and Columbia Traverse

September 24, 2023

Arrival

We trundled up the bumpy dirt road to the North Cottonwood Creek trailhead. We arrived just before 5 am, and it was still pitch black. It would remain dark for over an hour still. The days were growing shorter, and chillier. But we needed every hour of sunlight we had for today’s adventure, and I always prefer starting in the dark to finishing in the dark.

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