GSMNP 4/28/2010

Nice pics! That's crazy the smokies still have that much snow this late.

Im doing a trip in july, can you say the spots where those pics were taken?

I went through there in late March early April. My guess is the snow won't melt in the higher elevation until June. It is that deep. I unortunately caught Clingmans on the worse possible day as a tornado came through. Great pics.Here are a few more.

The snow had melted in the Smokies more or less by April 1st this year. I was down in the smokies at the beginning of the month of April and all but a few meager pockets of snow had been melted at that time and valley temps were in the low 80s. So the winter snow had already melted off for the season and the snow in my pics was due to a somewhat late and definitely unexpected winter storm. The pics I posted were taken on the morning of April 28th following nearly 48 hrs of precipitation consisting of a totally sweet “wintry mix” of rain, freezing rain, sleet, hail, and snow. This storm kind of caught everyone off guard since only rain had been forecasted even at elevation. Some hikers didn’t even have gloves. Being a veteran smokies hiker (all this really means is that I knew it would be wet down there) I was well prepared, though I wasn’t expecting this storm at all. The potential for “wintry mix” in the smokies extends well into the month of May though things are pretty much wrapped up by the beginning of April most years. I snapped the pics posted above off somewhere in the area between Tricorner Knob Shelter and the Snake Den Ridge Trail while traveling the Appalachian Trail so the elevation was in the high fives and low sixes. The pics posted below were snapped at various locations during this trip along the Appalachian Trail. There was no snow accumulation below about five thousand feet or maybe just a bit lower as far as I could ascertain.

Avg Smokies Temps

Click here for all your smokies info and then some more of it that you don’t even want ha ha!!
Gotta pay tribute to Brett Decker aka Flashlite for giving me the scoop on this sweet smokies website. The above link leads to a site that is extremely extensive in regards to the GSMNP. It will take you a mighty powerful spell to even scratch the surface of the information available there. Thanks again to Brett, the scourge of the glass city for finding and sharing this great site.

Here are a couple more shots taken along the Appalachian Trail at various points during the trip .

Man, I really need to get out to them Smokies. That might be next year's big trip.

You guys were up in the clouds! Awesome. Thanks for sharing your trip.

I was in the area last weekend and didn't see a trace of snow. Hiking in shorts and short sleeve shirt. Amazing how fast the temperatures can change. Wish I would have been a few days earlier.