TECORE to MORA - Day 7 - Apr 23

Today I planned a bit of a route going north-west out of Morganton, getting into the mountains, joining the Blue Ridge Parkway, driving south to its terminus, then continuing west over the Smoky Mountains.

Map References - Day 7 - Apr23

April 23 track:

• Google Map
• Google Terrain
• Google Satellite Hybrid
• OpenStreetMap

* large files - 1800 x 1200

View Apr 23 track in larger window.

My first destination was Table Rock Mountain as the (small amount of) research I did indicated it was a nice vantage point in the area. The road up was graded gravel in good condition. I would assume there are more interesting trails in the area but I just did not do enough research beforehand.

The last bit of road has been paved due to its steepness. At the end there is a parking lot, picnic area, and toilet. The views are great both to the east and west with the cliff right above the parking lot. Several groups came up with rock climbing apparatus so I assume this is a great spot if you are so inclined.

There are hiking trails that lead in all directions, including to the top of Table Rock Mountain. I did not take my hiking boots with me on this trip as I still have some tenderness in my toes from old cuts.

Here's a different angle of Table Rock after heading west to meet up with the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I have always wanted to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway so when planning out this trip I took advantage of where I was going to be and worked it into my route.

The Parkway is beautiful as it winds its way along the Appalachian ridges. There are vistas almost every 5 minutes and stopping for each one would extend your drive tremendously, so you need to pick your spots.

My main destination on the Parkway was Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the US east of the Mississippi. Second is Mount Washington in NH but that is potentially for another expedition.

The road up to Mount Mitchell turns off the Parkway and is paved all the way to the top, where there is a parking lot, picnic areas, snack bar, and trails to the actual peak. It was early in the season so everything was closed but all the crews were out preparing, I assume for the Memorial Day weekend.

The last picture is looking west with the Smoky Mountains in the distance.

The only glitch was that the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed south of Mount Mitchell. It seems that a cliff gave way during the winter and as a result, heavy road repairs were needed, again, I assume they would want it open for Memorial Day.

Using my GPS I improvised an offroad route which which did not take me all the way back to the official detour. Again, a graded gravel road but interesting nonetheless.

Rejoining the Parkway in Azalea, I headed south again. There seemed to be many more short tunnels in this section, which also included the highest point on the Parkway itself.

Along the drive I stopped at a couple of vistas. One was a nice frame for the Trailblazer, the other was an interesting dome-like rock formation.

As I was reaching the Parkway's terminus the sun started setting. I was lucky enough to be right around Waterrock Knob which ended up providing magnificent sunset views.

The Blue Ridge Parkway ends on Hwy 441 right at the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was dark by then so I headed west carefully along the road that would take me over the mountains and into Tennessee.

My destination was the Days Inn, Alcoa. Which is where the airport is for Knoxville. A couple of interesting things on my way down from the mountains:

• At one point the road did a complete 360 degree turn where the ending of the turn was in a tunnel underneath the beginning of the turn - I guess its an alternative to 3 or 4 switchbacks. Here's the loop in Google StreetView.
  
  
• As I passed through Gatlinburg Tennessee, I put my GPS unit to the test as the main street was completely closed for a ribfest and I had to get around that