Hey guys, I have finally completed the 4th post of our trip to the Smokies. This one is about Lonesome Pine. I hope y’all enjoy!
Thursday of our trip was a great day. We hiked on a beautiful trail. Not to mention we went on a crazy road. And I mean CRAZY. It’s called Tail of the Dragon (TOTD). It’s full of twists and turns, and the fastest speed you can go is 30 mph. Thankfully, it’s only 11 miles, but there are still 318 curves. Crazy. At the North Carolina end, there was a gift shop and a metal statue of a dragon holding a motorcycle with its tail. Mom bought a bandana that has a map of TOTD from the gift shop. After that, we continued our drive to the Deep Creek trailhead.
I LOVED the hike. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to do it at first, so I didn’t pay much attention to the trail. Though I do remember walking across two waterfalls. I enjoyed playing in the water because it was a hot day. I splashed myself to cool down.
As we continued up Norland Divide trail, we passed something that looked like a moss garden. I think we spent a minute or two taking pictures because the ‘garden’ had many types of moss and lichen, including reindeer moss. My family calls it monge (moss sponge). I honestly wish it existed in Minecraft. After petting the moss, we continued up, and I noticed that ‘Lonesome’ Pine has friends. Maybe the Lonesome Pine isn’t so lonesome.
The short walk to the overlook branches off from the main trail. You just have to look for the sign. Once we got to the lookout, we took a nice, long break and ate. The view was GORGEOUS. What makes it so beautiful are the layer upon layer of mountains as far as the eye can see. As we enjoyed the view, I got to eat the Rainbow Belts we bought earlier in the week. Even better, Dad didn’t fart and I got to listen to my music. I had happy eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. Hmm… Now I need happy hands? So I pat the moss on the way back too. And, of course, we soon took family selfies. When we saw dark clouds roll in, we knew it was time to move. I was sad to go, but I didn’t want to be rained on. I don’t think Mom or Dad wanted to get wet either.
The hike down was a lot faster than going up. That may be because we knew how far it was between the trailhead and the viewpoint, and it was also mostly downhill. After we returned to the car, we once again drove on the treacherous Tail of the Dragon. Only this time, Mom was driving (last time Dad drove). When we got back to the cabin, we all ate dinner and went to bed… again.
Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you enjoyed it. I am going to try my best to post soon. Onward!
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