Vacation- Gatlinburg Part 3

Ober Gatlinburg (Amusement Park and Ski Area, located in the mountains overlooking Gatlinburg, TN.

I rode the aerial tramway to Ober Gatlinburg. Mark drove up the mountain due to his dislike for heights. The 2.1 miles tram ride runs 17 miles per hour and takes about 10 minutes, and offers spectacular views of the mountains in the daytime and the sparkling lights of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and beyond!

As you can see the view was amazing and VERY high! I was able to see our hotel (Park Vista).

Smokey Mountain Wildlife Adventure also part of Ober Gatlinburg. Black Bears and many other animals lived. One of the many black bears enjoying his breakfast.

We ventured out to Chimney Tops Mountain. It’s located in the central Great Smokey Mountains and has an elevation of 4,800 feet. It’s a very popular hiking destination.

The trek up the mountain was extremely physically draining at times due to the high elevation and large rocks we climbed over. But alas we finally made it. At one point a group of people were hiking down the mountain and said "oh its worth the trip up", well we thought we were almost there....ha ha no way we had another hour up.

Chimney Tops is one of the few instances of a bare rock summit in the Smokies. Over the centuries, the bedrock atop the mountain has been exposed through natural weathering of the upper layers of soil strata. This rock is mostly Anakeesta Formation metamorphic rock, especially slate, phyllite, and metasiltsone. The grainy, contorted capstones offer excellent footholds and handholds for climbing.

We knew we were close to the top because the temperature dropped extremely! We went from sweating to freezing. My fingers actually felt numb. When we made it to the top, you had to climb over the summit rock....however the rock was very slippery (maybe because of a previous rain) so we opted not climb, Mark had already had his fill of the mountain and was ready to get back on normal ground. I decided to take a few photos of the side views of Chimney Tops.

Definitely a somewhat fun experience. At least I can say I made it to the top and didn't quit! There were times while we were hiking up the mountain that I wanted to stop and turn back. Out of breath sometimes and in pain from previous hikes I decided to endure and make it to the top. Well we did it! Had fun! And totally admired God's creation!