Clingmans Dome, Great Smokies

Today we visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I took hundreds of photos and this was the second to last image for the day. It epitomises the layers of mountains that make up the very essence of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

It was taken on our walk back down the trail to the top of Clingmans Dome. This point is at an elevation of 6,643 feet, and the observation tower at the top of Clingmans Dome stands on the park's highest peak. It offers spectacular 360° views of the Smokies and beyond, for visitors fit enough to climb the steep half-mile walk to the top. On clear days like today it is possible to enjoy views up to a 100 miles away.

Clingmans Dome is also the the highest point in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi.

Besides the trail to the summit, there are several other trails that crossed our path. The most famous was the Appalachian Trail near Clingmans Dome, marking the highest point along its journey from Georgia to Maine. Paladian and I have both enjoyed Bill Bryson's book "A Walk in the Woods" telling his wonderful story of the long hike along the Appalachian Trail. This book is highly recommended.

At the bottom of my blip you can see some dead trees. So what's killing the trees at Clingmans Dome? It's the balsam woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae) which is an insect pest that infests and kills stands of Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) in the spruce-fir zone. This fir occurs naturally only in the southern Appalachians and used to be the dominant tree at the highest elevations.It is such a shame to see so many dead trees.

Smoky layers.

As Paladian said, it was an amazing day. Blip heaven! Check out her large blue butterfly.