Charlies Bunion is not found on a foot. It is a rock outcrop just off the AT about 4 miles north of Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountians National Park. Three of us were scouting a hike for the Carolina Mountian Club, joining the Friends of the Smokies hike to Charlies Bunion as a part of the scout. It was raining when we left Newfound Gap, and while the FOTS hikers were deciding if they wanted to begin a hike in the rain, we started north on the AT. After an hour, the rain lessened, and by the time we reached the Bunion, there were breaks in the clouds and hints of sun.
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| Charlies Bunion View |
Instead of retracing our route back to Newfound Gap on the AT, we returned on three trails: Dry Sluice (upper part), Grassy Branch, and Kephart Prong. As the afternoon progressed we saw more and more sun. The trails were wet from the previous days rain, but not difficult to hike.
Grassy Branch and Kephart Prong Trails both followed streams that grew in volume as we descended in elevation. With each mile, the sound grew louder. We crossed Kephart Prong four times on foot logs.
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| Kephart Prong |
The tape: 10.2 miles on 4 trails.
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