THE JUMP OFF, NEWFOUND GAP, AND OTHER PLACES WE SORT OF SAW…

For the second day of hiking in the Smokies I decided to make the hour long drive to Newfound Gap, where we would do the Jumpoff. This is the second most popular hike out of Newfound Gap, after Charlie’s Bunion, which is probably the second or third most popular hike in the entire park. I had done the bunion; now, I wanted to see the Jumpoff as well and I was bringing Sylvia with me.

Newfound Gap sits in the spot where US Highwat 441, which is the heavily travelled main east west route through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is also located directly on the Tennessee-NC State border, and every day thousands of people stop to queue up and have their picture taken next to the famous sign…

 

Look! I'm on the border!!! Taken in 2011 in better weather.

…what many of them perhaps don’t realize is that the Appalachian Trail runs along the Tennessee-NC border throughout most of its distance through the park, so there is nothing at all unique about that spot at all, except there is a sign there.

We left Cosby campground where it was an overcast but still mild day. Once past Galtinburg, the clouds began to move in; by the time we had reached the gap, it was a full on freezing rain storm. We suited up in rain gear and began the hike anyway, knowing that the chances of seeing anything more than clouds today was likely very low.

Newfound gap is heavily visited at any time of year. This was a Saturday in the early part of fall leaf season, and so it would have been overrun on a clear day. As things were, it was merely packed. There are few sections of any major city that are as busy as the most heavily visited sections of GSMNP at peek season.

The Hike out to the Jump off is almost entirely on the Appalachian Trail, only moderately difficult through this section. The trail rises steadily before levelling out, and barring a few rocky scramblest he foot path is mostly easy. This, and the proximity to the parking lot, make it a very popular hike with people who otherwise never travel by foot in the wild at all.

Maybe it is my own bias, but coming from New England, it seemed like there were a LOT of great viewpoints that could be hiked to. The Smokies, for all its splendor, is mainly devoid of sweeping vistas. And even when you get them, bad weather or the haze in the air (partially pollution, partially pine spores) degrades it. At any rate, you have to hike an awful long way to get a great view in the Smokies. But this does not stop it from being the most heavily visited National Park in the US.

The trail continue until an intersection with the Boulevard Trail…there are no views on this section, except for a few blowdown patches which can be reached via side trails. At the Boulevard Trail goes straight, and the AT breaks Right, headed away toward Charlie’s Bunion, another mile and a quarter down the way.

We followed the Boulevard, which will eventually take a hiker to the impressive views atop of Mount Leconte. We climbed it earlier this year by a different trail. (Both of the parks most famed mountains, Le Conte and Clingman’s Dome, are a relatively long but doable hike out of Newfound Gap.) Very soon the side trail to The Jumpoff came up. This is somewhat rougher than the preceding sections of trail, and seemed long, though it is less than a quarter of a mile. The slippery rocks didn’t make it any easier.

Finally, we arrived at the view! It looked like this…

…stunning views of nothing but cloud! We lingered by this magnificent view of nothing in a sheltered spot, out of the drizzle, had some snack bars before making our way back to the car. On the way, we passed a pair of young men at the AT junction who were backpacking, and seriously considering making an attempt at the Mt. Leconte summit. I advised them as best as I could and walked on. Later, we encountered another much less well prepared man asking the same sorts of questions, whom I dissuaded from the attempt (13 miles round trip begun late in the day, for a guy wearing tennis shoes. Ill advised.)

…and then back in the car and the swarms of people, and Sylvia chiding me for my complaining about swarms of people.

We would recommend the Hike out to the jump off for any fit hiker, and maybe even a less fit one in search of a challenge. Experienced hikers will not find it challenging. But do it in good weather and come either mid-week, or off peak. This trail is CROWDED and there is very little room at the overlook, which in clear weather will be mobbed. It is entirely possible to do both this and Charlie’s Bunion in one hike, as the entire distance would be less than nine miles and the challenges not that serious; but realistically, the view from the Bunion is similar but more open and held to be better, so it is debatable if doing both is worthwhile. I would recommend the Bunion over the Jumpoff, but in clear weather…personality I do not think either compares with Mt. Chocorua in New Hampshire, to name but one place.

NEXT UP: Auto touring on the BRP!!!