AT Clingmans Dome loop

[bad biscuit]

I'm an avid hiker/backpacker, but I've never been on the AT. Some friends have the following trip planned next month. I know Clingmans Dome is the highest point on the AT. What do I need to know? Elevation? Water?

Day 1: Start at Elkmont Campground and hike up
the Little River Trail to campsite 30- 6 miles

Day 2: Campsite 30 back to Rough Creek Trail, up Sugarland
Mountain Trail to Mount Collins Shelter- 9.1 miles

Day 3: Mount Collins Shelter up and over Clingmans Dome on
the AT and down Goshen Prong Trail to campsite 23- 10.3 miles.

Day 4: Finish Goshen Prong Trail and head back to Elkmont via
the Cucumber Gap Trail- 7.5-ish miles.

Total = 33 miles

[TNhiker]

as long as you can handle a good uphill climb-----this route is not bad......

basically climbing all the way to clingmans-----then its essentially downhill from there....

[HooKooDooKu]

If you have no resources on GSMNP, I would suggest you try to obtain a copy of "The Little Brown Book".
It is available from the various visitor's centers in GSMNP... the Amazon link about is to a used copy from many years ago (which would still be adequate if you're not heading to the smokies anytime soon).

If you are familiar with google earth, you can download the kmz files from TNLandforms and get a 3D look at the trails and campsites.

[HooKooDooKu]

Water:
Day 1, you'll be beside a creek all day, and cross a creek right at campsite.

Day 2, Rough Creek Trail has lots of water until what looks like the last crossing at an elevation around 3700' where the trail makes a sweeping U-turn for the final push to Sugarland Mountain trail. Sugarland Mountain is a ridge walk, so you won't have anymore access to water until you reach the Mt. Collins Shelter water source located about 1/10th mile before you reach the shelter.

Day 3, once you leave the shelter, don't expect access to water until you're half way down Goshen Prong.

Day 4, you'll be along side water most the day.

You'll want to bring along some water crossing shoes as you may have to ford creeks just before campsite 30, and two more after campsite 23. These might all be rock hops if water levels are low (a possibility in October).

[bad biscuit]

Perfect! This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for the information!

[TNhiker]

Day 3, once you leave the shelter, don't expect access to water until you're half way down Goshen Prong.

isnt there a water fountain at the visitors center at clingmans?

of course it would involve a mile roundrip down and back up....

or----go the extra tenth or two tenths of a mile to double springs and fill up there....

[HooKooDooKu]

isnt there a water fountain at the visitors center at clingmans?

I don't think so.

I know there used to be one at New Found Gap that is now gone. I believe it got removed when they modified the bathrooms to the system that uses less water.

Clingman's Dome has the waterless toilet pits. If there was a fountain there, I think it too got removed when they moved to the waterless toilets.

...go the extra tenth or two tenths of a mile to double springs and fill up there....

Double Springs is 0.5 miles beyond about 250' below the intersection for Goshen Prong.

Unless you were desperate for water, wouldn't make sense to travel 1 mile round trip and have to re-climb the 250' of elevation you lost when water is available about 3 miles down Goshen Prong.


EDIT:{BTW: I know the distances because long ago, I supplemented the Google Earth data available from TNLandforms.us I mentioned above with data that would tell me not only the distance between trail intersections, but distances between trail intersections and campsites. Seems like anyone planing a hike would want that information... don't know why GSMNP doesn't include that sort of data on their back country trail maps... other than it's simply tradition to list distances between intersections}

[TNhiker]

Clingman's Dome has the waterless toilet pits. If there was a fountain there, I think it too got removed when they moved to the waterless toilet

ahhhh...

other than going up there for the eclipse---and i didnt need water----i havent been at the dome in years...

don't know why GSMNP doesn't include that sort of data on their back country trail maps... other than it's simply tradition to list distances between intersections

two reasons-----because including it on the map would just clutter the map up more...

and their dollar map is supposed to be used in conjunction with the brown book............which does list the distance......

(and i was just going off a guess at what i thought it was----i dont have a brown book in front of me)

[illabelle]

We did almost the same hike a couple years ago. We started on the AT near Mt Collins, and went CCW down Sugarland Mtn, Rough Creek, and Goshen Prong to CS 23. Next day we continued from CS 23 up to the AT, then east to Clingman's Dome, where we caught a ride back to our vehicle.

I believe we did this in late summer, maybe September. The weeds were high! Be prepared.
One other note: it seems like CS 24 is closed a lot due to aggressive bear activity. So just be watchful and practice good camp safety.