Smokemont to Eagle Rocks dayhike, 20.8 miles, 3,600 feet elevation gain.
Eagle Rocks, located on the Appalachian Trail between Pecks Corner and Tricorner Knob in the eastern half of the Great Smokies, is one of my favorite destinations for a long dayhike out of Smokemont. The remote rock outcropping looks out over the Greenbrier wilderness section of the Smokies. At the foot of the rugged outcropping lies Eagle Rocks Prong, one of the most rugged drainages in the Greenbrier region. It's a wild aerie of vertical rock and wind-twisted trees. There are more spectacular cliffs in the Park, and a few spots that are more remote, but there is something really special to me about paying in sweat and sore muscles for the right to perch atop Eagle Rocks on a stormy summer's day. We've been out to the Rocks a few times in mid-winter too, and for those days, you need to be prepared for some chilly conditions. Wading knee-deep for miles through heavy snow, with winds of over 50 mph blasting your face with ice is an experience best enjoyed if you're well prepared. I highly recommend it!

On this hike in late summer, I climbed up from the Bradley Creek drainage to the top of Hughes Ridge on a cool, breezy early August morning. If you do this one in the summertime, try to get an early start so that you can get to the top of Hughes Ridge before the heat gets too oppressive. The climb up the Bradley Fork trail from Bradley Fork is steep and unrelenting, but it's the quickest way to gain the top of the ridge. The first 4.1 miles of the trail, from the Smokemont campground to the point where the trail 'jumps' up the side of the mountain is mostly flat and pleasant as it follows an old road alongside the waters of Bradley Fork. The next 3.3 miles are where you pay your dues, but it's a beautiful path, especially on the lower section where it climbs up along Taywa Creek. In the springtime, the Taywa Creek drainage offers up a fine wildflower show, and there are some interesting artifacts left over from the pre-Park days scattered here and there along the trail.

When you hit the top, especially in late summer, expect to find signs of heavy horse traffic, with the expected miry bogs and chewed up portions of the trail. Even with the muddy goings and dense weed cover, it's still a pleasant walk along the top of Hughes Ridge as you climb about 700 feet over the 2.2 miles between the top of the Bradley Fork trail and the intersection with the Appalachian Trail at Pecks Corner. Eagle Rocks lies about 1 mile to the east of the intersection, at an elevation of 5,849 feet.

By the time I reached Eagle Rocks, clouds had moved in and it was chilly enough to need a windbreaker. A few drops of rain spattered down, but the expected downpour never materialized. From Eagle Rocks, I watched as several ravens drifted along the edges of the cliffs above Eagle Prong, far below my perch by the AT. Heavy clouds blanketed the top of the main ridge by then, blocking out the views of the peaks further to the east, so I decided to take a few more minutes to hike another 1.3 miles on out the AT to Mt. Sequoyah. Somewhere just below the top of Sequoyah, thunder started rolling across the ridges, so I gave it up for the day and turned back for the long walk down to Smokemont.