Julia Thompson photographed this winter scene at the top of Deep Gap Road in the Alarka community south of Bryson City. At 3000 feet, the scene includes a spectacular skyline view of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

When hiking deep into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the last thing you expect to find is a piece of office equipment. Yet that’s just what Sharon McCarthy discovered last Fall when she and fellow hiker Judy Gross reached the peak at High Rocks, high above the North Shore of Lake Fontana.

In her excellent “Smoky Scout” online hiking journal, Sharon explained, “High Rocks is the site of a long-removed fire tower, but the view is still there. The short trail up seemed endless as we fought our way through more blackberry brambles and overgrowth. We topped out at the rocky bluff upon which the tower once stood. The foundation and the caretaker’s cabin remain, although the cabin is extremely deteriorated and there are currently no plans to rehab it. Since I was here last year, someone has made a statement by placing a chair on top of the rocks, inviting valiant hikers to pause and enjoy.”

Photo by Judy Gross

The peaks of the Smokies have already seen several snows this year, but Friday’s snowfall was the first to blanket the bottomlands. By nightfall, the Bryson City area had accumulated more than six inches of the white stuff.

The above scene was photographed early Saturday just as the morning sun reached this picturesque valley in the Whittier community, with geese on the half-frozen pond and the cows waiting on their morning hay.

Meanwhile, high in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Doug McFalls, the winter caretaker at Mt. LeConte Lodge, reported 20 inches of snow with drifts up to three feet. You can see photos on Doug’’s Blog “Life on LeConte.”

Sorry Doug, but after seeing your photos, we’d rather stay home in the valley …and maybe watch “The Shining.”

On just about any nice day throughout the fall and winter, you can play a round of golf at the 18-hole Smoky Mountain Country Club near Bryson City. It’s a true mountain course with elevation changes of 400 feet; and at the top, the views are spectacular. The 6000 yard, par 70 public course is open daily until the Christmas holidays; and through the winter months they’ll be open any day when the temperature is 50 and above.

With temperatures dropping in the Fall, early morning fogs are fairly common in the Smokies. Obviously, when clouds are touching the ground, there’s not much to see. But if you head for the higher elevations, along the Blue Ridge Parkway or Newfound Gap Road in the National Park, you can enjoy a spectacular sunrise above the clouds.

Photo by J.R. vanLienden

From the very top of the Smokies at Clingmans Dome, Sharon McCarthy (aka “Smoky Scout”) surveys the mountains that have become very familiar to her over the past year. She’s in the process of hiking all 900 miles of trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to raise money for the Girl Scouts in North Carolina.

Sharon anticipates that her final hike will be the Old Sugarlands Trail near the Sugarlands Visitor Center on April 11. Including the additional miles she’s walked to access each of the trails, she will have hiked more than 1000 miles altogether. It’s a feat that will reward her with membership in the elite 900 Miler Club, a group that has added just 250 hikers since its founding in 1995.

You can read Sharon’s journal on her blog “Great Smoky Mountains Girl Scout Challenge“. And while there, why not support the Girl Scouts with an online contribution?

Photo by Jim McCarthy

Early morning views from the top of the Smokies often look down on a blanket of clouds. Then, as the temperature rises, the cloud cover slowly lifts – at first completely shrouding the view and then dissipating to reveal the majesty of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Fall visitors to the Smokies often try to plan their visit around the “peak season” for autumn color. Yet no one except Mother Nature knows when the “peak” will occur …and she’s not talking.

Fall arrives first at the higher elevations, suggesting early-to-mid October drives along the Blue Ridge Parkway (above), Cherohala Skyway, and US 441 across Newfound Gap. Yet at the lower elevations around Bryson City, the best color usually arrives mid-to-late October …sometimes as late as early November.

Truth is, if you visit the Smokies just about any time in October, you’re certain to find Fall foliage. Just look high and low.

Photo by J.R. vanLienden, Masterpiece Portraits

At 6643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Located in the northernmost part of Swain County along the North Carolina–Tennessee border, the temperatures at Clingmans Dome are often 10 to 20 degrees cooler than Bryson City’s. On a clear day, take the (steep) half-mile walk from the parking lot to the observation tower, and you’ll be rewarded with a stunning 360-degree view of the Smokies and beyond. The seven-mile road from US 441 to Clingmans Dome is open Aprll thru November. Photo by J.R. vanLienden, Masterpiece Portraits.