Apparently, traffic headed up to Newfound Gap was really bad. We scrapped our original plan and decided instead to make the short hike to Cataract Falls.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Cataract Falls
I don't know what I was thinking. For some reason I decided that when the grandparents came out to Tennessee for Sierra's birthday, it would be a good idea to go to Gatlinburg. I've learned that it's never a good time to go to Gatlinburg. It was crowded with hoards of people, a good number of whom were of the redneck persuasion. We ate lunch at the brewery and walked around town for a bit where the grandparents even sampled some moonshine while listening to some bluegrass music.
Then we finally headed out of town and into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Apparently, traffic headed up to Newfound Gap was really bad. We scrapped our original plan and decided instead to make the short hike to Cataract Falls.
Dad G had to turn around pretty quickly due to knee issues, but the rest of us kept on the trail passing an interesting tree that I had photographed Noelle at about 8 years ago.
Eventually we made our way over to the cascading waterfall
where Sierra got to dip her piggies in the water.
After about 30 minutes of playing in the water we turned around and headed back to the car for the drive back to Greeneville.
Apparently, traffic headed up to Newfound Gap was really bad. We scrapped our original plan and decided instead to make the short hike to Cataract Falls.
Gatlinburg is bad, Pigeon Forge is worse. There has been a slow churning of development near my usual stomping grounds of the Ocoee River area and I'm fearful it will turn into Gatlinburg in the next couple of decades. I pray that it does not but Chattanooga is undergoing rapid growth and then there is the Atlanta-beast so I'm not sure it can be avoided.
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