Chimney Tops

On Monday we hiked the four-mile round trip to Chimney Tops. I was a little leery of this trip. I'd seen the pictures, heard about the high bluffs and the cables, and seen the Chimneys from their base. We needed to do this hike first, before I chickened out. Of course it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. Steve noted several places where trail improvements had been made. Steps were cut into the rock as we approached the Chimneys and logs were set on the edges of some of the cable spots (to stop erosion would be my guess). I was thankful for these improvements.

With a 1,350' elevation gain in 2 miles, the trail felt much like the infamous machine at the Y I call "the stepper." I wished I'd spent a bit more time on it in the past. If you squint, you can see Steve at the very top of this round of "steps."

The Chimneys are a formation of rock that (I hear) allows a breathtaking 360 view of the mountains from the top. As we approached I watched a women throw her leg over the edge of the top rock (much like I would “step” over a baby gate) and make her way, quite comfortably, down to where I sit in this picture. I, in contrast, managed to scramble to about halfway up the Chimneys and planted myself in this spot. Steve went about 3/4 way before I shouted, “That’s good, you can come back down now."Safely back at the trail head, we did some rock (boulder) hopping in the stream. The cold water felt so healing on my naked feet and my feet easily griped the warm rocks as I hopped and balanced my way across their tops to a choice spot in the middle of the stream. There I could dangle my legs in the water up to my knees. The rock next to me was a popular resting spot for these butterflies which are everywhere in the Smokies. They darted and fluttered around me, nearly landing in my hair or on my arms.

The Chimneys behind me.