Rocky Top
Sept. 3, 2013 - We got up early, put on our Tennessee orange t-shirts and headed out to celebrate my 50th birthday. We didn't go to a UT game, we went to the Great Smoky Mountains in search of Rocky Top.
We took the shorter of the two trails -- Lead Cove Trail. Our 12-mile round trip hike took us to one of the best views in the Smoky Mountains.
To be honest, the hike to Rocky Top was awful. We got a late start because there was a storm the night before and it knocked down a tree closing the road. We waited two hours for the tree to be removed and started our hike at 11am. We got back to our car at 7pm. It was eight hours of hiking with very few stops because we wanted to get back before it got dark. Someone told me I looked tired in the pictures and I was very tired. With a total elevation gain of 3,665 feet, this steep climb was a strenuous hike. We saw no one on the trail the entire day. When we got to the top, there were four people who had been backpacking overnight on the Appalachian Trial. They spent the night with the bears and coyotes and were heading back out.
I am glad we found Rocky Top. There were a few times when we were not sure we were ever going to find it. That famous Rocky Top song which makes everyone in Knoxville think about UT Football, makes me think about this beautiful mountain top in the Smoky Mountains. I expected to have this fight song in my head (because I don't sing) when we got to the top but it just wasn't there. We were too tired and ready to rest and enjoy our picnic lunch. It is interesting that Rocky Top first played in Neyland Stadium in 1972 and later became one of Tennessee's official state songs even though Rocky Top is barely in Tennessee. It actually straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina line. However, when we got to Rocky Top, the first thing we saw was a big rock with the famous T painted on it. I am surprised the T was white instead of orange.
Although the hike was hard and the day was long, it was a beautiful day on Rocky Top -- one I will never forget.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ~Psalm 18:2
We took the shorter of the two trails -- Lead Cove Trail. Our 12-mile round trip hike took us to one of the best views in the Smoky Mountains.
To be honest, the hike to Rocky Top was awful. We got a late start because there was a storm the night before and it knocked down a tree closing the road. We waited two hours for the tree to be removed and started our hike at 11am. We got back to our car at 7pm. It was eight hours of hiking with very few stops because we wanted to get back before it got dark. Someone told me I looked tired in the pictures and I was very tired. With a total elevation gain of 3,665 feet, this steep climb was a strenuous hike. We saw no one on the trail the entire day. When we got to the top, there were four people who had been backpacking overnight on the Appalachian Trial. They spent the night with the bears and coyotes and were heading back out.
I am glad we found Rocky Top. There were a few times when we were not sure we were ever going to find it. That famous Rocky Top song which makes everyone in Knoxville think about UT Football, makes me think about this beautiful mountain top in the Smoky Mountains. I expected to have this fight song in my head (because I don't sing) when we got to the top but it just wasn't there. We were too tired and ready to rest and enjoy our picnic lunch. It is interesting that Rocky Top first played in Neyland Stadium in 1972 and later became one of Tennessee's official state songs even though Rocky Top is barely in Tennessee. It actually straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina line. However, when we got to Rocky Top, the first thing we saw was a big rock with the famous T painted on it. I am surprised the T was white instead of orange.
Although the hike was hard and the day was long, it was a beautiful day on Rocky Top -- one I will never forget.
 |
| The Rock with the T |
Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me.
Good ole Rocky Top,
Rocky Top Tennessee
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ~Psalm 18:2
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