Great Smoky Mountains!

This fall, I had the chance to go visit the Great Smoky Mountains and the nearby National Park with a few friends. The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are the oldest mountain range in the world! 

The primary motivation for planning the trip was to see the beautiful fall colours that can be seen in the National Park in October and do some hiking as well. Another reason was to try the scenic drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway! 

Overall, I had a great experience and loved the fall colours on display throughout the area. Our hike offered great views of the mountains and the surrounding landscape. The drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway was breathtaking, as we were driving under the cover of beautifully coloured trees with many viewpoints. We couldn't spend much time on Blue Ridge Parkway, but it was so good that I wished to return and spend some more time in the area. Here are some photos:

For day 2, we had planned to hike to the top of Mt. LeConte. At 6,593 ft, it is the third highest peak in the national park, behind Clingmans Dome and Mount Guyot. It was a great hike and we all got see amazing fall foliage from the top!

For the final day, we had planned to do a part of the scenic drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and then leave for Atlanta to catch our flight back to Austin. We went to the Waterrock Knob viewpoint and hiked for a mile to get to the top to see the sunrise. The view was excellent, and the whole experience of running to catch the light was enthralling!