2020, 10-5, Smokies Run, Clingmans Dome from Elkmont

In Tennessee, early fall is my favorite time for trail running. Summer’s oppressive heat and humidity have finally broken, and the leaves have not yet buried the trails, hiding all the rocks and roots. As a bonus, most of the bugs are gone and the weather tends to be reliably dry. Consequently, there are a lot of races this time of year. My friend Leonard had just finished the 50K Barkley Fall Classic, and was preparing for the No Business 100 miler in two weeks. He’s been preparing with a lot of runs in the Smokies, and invited me to come along on one of his longer ones. 

Leonard has got one of the more interesting resumes in ultrarunning. He started running the Barkley Marathons in the 1990s, but didn’t try a “conventional” ultra until 2000. He’s now run an amazing number of races including 175 that show up on ultrasignup, and has multiple finishes at a number of the 100 mile classics. We’ve been running together for close to 15 years, and he still manages to come up with some new stories every time. He does a lot of his training from the trailheads on the north side of the Smokies that lead up to the Appalachian Trail. 

Leonard at Clingmans Dome.

The route from Elkmont to Clingmans Dome follows the Little River, Goshen Prong, and Appalachian trails for 13.7 miles from the trailhead to the summit observation tower. It is one long continuous 4,500’ climb all on trails. We had done this same run last year, but slightly later in the fall. The combination of more downed leaves and a balky hip flexor on my right side made this a ten hour trip in 2019, but after successful BFC’s we both expected we could do better this year. 

According to Schmidt and Hooks in “Whistle over the Mountain,” the Little River and Fish Camp Prong drainages were logged by the Little River Lumber Company between the early 1910s and early 1920s. The current trails follow these old railroad grades from Elkmont to about the 4,200’ level along Goshen Prong. The 1931 Park map, shows no routes up Goshen Prong, so it is probable that the trail from Campsite 23 at Fish Camp Prong to the AT was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. 

We started our trip at 745 in the light from the Elkmont Trailhead at 47F and overcast. Despite the gentle grades we hiked all of the climbing sections, trying to mirror the same balance of walking and running he would get in the race. Some leaves in the understory had started to turn color, but most of the canopy was still the deep green of summer. On our previous run the trails had been simply a tunnel of gold with the leaves and sunshine. The Little River and Goshen Prong trails are two of my favorites as they offer so many views of the magnificent streams that they follow. It was still chilly when we turned off Little River Trail to follow Fish Camp Prong. In 2019 this trail was getting a bit overgrown with dog hobble. There had been much recent work this year on cutting open the trail. Kudos to whomever performed this work. 

We passed two parties of backpackers heading out from Campsite 23 before the trail turned south to follow Goshen Prong, near the end of the old logging grade. After about another mile and a half the trail finally begins to climb away from the Prong. I had finally warmed up enough to take off my medium weight shirt. Despite the remoteness of this section of trail it is still well maintained. The grade increases some approaching the AT, but never gets too steep. I had noted a good water source at the very head of Goshen Prong about 5 minutes below the AT and used it to refill my bottle both times we passed. 

Once on the AT we started passing other hikes again. The climbing still wasn’t over though, we still had another 900’ to gain before reaching the tower on Clingmans. The morning clouds had burned off and we now had a clear blue sky to enjoy the limitless views off the stateline crest. It took 5 hours even to reach the top. The tower itself was a zoo. There were enough people that it was hard to find a spot along the rail to enjoy the views. We took a few pictures before ditching the crowds and heading down. 

Leonard and I on Clingmans Dome.

I was lucky to not have any knee issues on the long descent. We walked the rocky AT section and I filled up with water again just after leaving the AT. We set a good pace down Goshen Prong Trail, but still mostly hiking. The 7.7 miles of Goshen Prong seemed to take a long time, but we were still moving well and enjoying a perfect weather day. Finally, the bridge over the Little River appeared. I finally took off my other long sleeved shirt and ran the last few miles back in about 45 minutes, for a total time of 9:36. I got back to the car with no knee, foot, or hip issues flaring up, just the tiredness that’s unavoidable for an ultra-length training day.

View east toward Mt LeConte.