Road-Trip: Fall in Great Smoky Mountains & Mammoth Cave NPs, w/moder. hikes

In this trip we will hike the main draw for Great Smoky, its namesake mountains, with the cool streams and waterfalls, and the homesteads in Cades Cove and Cataloochee Valley.

Then we will explore Mammoth Cave in Kentucky (to where tourists have been heading since 1816) with its many twists, turns, and drops in the cave. No one is quite sure how long Mammoth Cave really is. At last count nearly 370 miles of passages had been measured, and the world’s second longest cave, Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota, is fewer than 145 miles in length.

Fall in the areas of these parks is dry and warm with day average temperatures 65 degree F (48 degree at night) and possible winds. See updates of weather forecasts at:
https://bit.ly/3m2nOBi

Trip's summary:

• 5days/4nights trip for a small group of 6 explorers.
• The starting point is Nashville International Airport (BNA) and ending point is Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), or Louisville (SDF).
• Level of activities: Easy to Intermediate.
• Hotel accommodations in Cave City, KY, Cookville, TN, and Gatlinburg, TN. All locations in this event follow safety requirements by the state.

Clothes and gear recommended:

• good hiking shoes,
• warm jacket for evenings, be ready to layer up,
• hiking poles if you used to them,
• consider hydration bladder for hikes,
• sunglasses,
• sunscreen,
• flashlight and/or headlamp,
• hat.

Tentative cost $650 per person, to be finalized one month before the dates. What will be included:

• 5days/4nights stay in 2-people occupancy non-smoking room (two beds in room),
• Breakfasts at some hotels,
• Transportation by minivan (like Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Grand or similar) covering approx. 500 mi of road-tripping total,
• Park entrance fees,
• Ranger's guided tour to Mammoth Cave,
• Organized hikes in all days.

What is NOT included:

• Getting to Nashville, TN and returning from Knoxville, TN,
• any individually charged fees (per vehicle fees are included),
• Meals, snacks, water.

Sunrise: 6:40am. Sunset: 8:20 pm. Everyday we want to start off from the hotel at 7:30am, or 8am as the latest. If you are a nigh owl, please try to adjust yourself for an earlier getup during the trip - the purpose of it is to use more of daylight at winter time for activities.

There will be a Zoom meeting on this trip and a WhatsApp group chat will be formed for the group to communicate and prepare for the trip. Please be available to connect by WhatsApp (provide the organizer with your WhatsApp contact info to be included in the group.)

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UPD. Photo-album from the previous trip with with a similar itinerary and activities: https://www.meetup.com/u-s-national-parks-quest-group/photos/31321617/