503. Hike the Smoky Mountains

 When I was planning our trip to the Smoky Mountains, there were a few things I knew I wanted to do. A couple of them involved "hiking" and that is not the hubby's cup of tea, especially of late. I knew I had to keep hiking to a minimum. I don't know why when I wrote the original bucket list almost 25 years ago, I thought it was a great idea to include all these hikes on the list. I enjoy a good, easy hike but I probably thought I'd have all the time and money to go hike, camp, and do outdoorsy things. Now it's baseball and road trips. 

One of the hikes I wanted to do was hike the Smoky Mountains. I didn't need to a strenuous or even moderate hike. Something short and easy for the hubby would suffice. Initially I found a nice short boardwalk nature trail hike to do. Somehow in my planning, I forgot to write down where said hike was in the park. I saw a sign for a nature trail from Sugarlands Visitor Center but it was .7 miles and listed as moderate. That was not my hike.

Also on the sign, it said Cataract Falls was .5 mile hike and easy. The hubby and I decided to hike to Cataract Falls. So we went chasing waterfalls. 

The hike to Cataract Falls from Sugarlands Visitor Center is about .5 mile round trip. It is a super easy, pretty flat hike. Part of it is across a parking lot partially due to construction. We did the hike in flip flops. Did you expect anything less?

Cataract Falls is a small waterfalls but has some height. I like waterfalls of any kind. 

The hike to Cataract Falls is a popular hike since it's close to the visitor center and short. It also meets up with the Gatlinburg Trail which does take you into Gatlinburg. No I didn't cross the water to the get to the Gatlinburg Trial. I'm sure the hubby would have had a heart attack if I attempted that. He's so not adventurous. 

Everyone needs to hike the Smoky Mountains at least once even if it's a super short trail. There is just something about being out in nature and mountain air that makes life all better.

If the hubby can make it to Cataract Falls, there's a good chance you can too. Visit the Smoky Mountains, get out of the car, and explore a trail. It's worth it.