Goshen Prong Trail

Hike #49 : September 13, 2015

16.8 miles

7.6 new miles
601.1 total overall miles

398.2 total miles of 800.8

For toady's hike: Eddie, Randy and I are headed to Goshen Prong Trail. Goshen Prong Trail is located off the Appalachian Trail 2.4 miles from the Clingmans Dome parking lot. So, a steep climb up the paved road, or take the bypass if you prefer, leads to the junction with the AT.

Things start out with a chilly 39° temperature and some strong winds. After all the heat of the summer... it feels amazing! The walk along the AT to get to Goshen is usually one filled with excellent views but today's heavy fog is blocking all that out. Still, its a pleasant, albeit wet, hike to the trail.

An early and foggy wet morning on the Appalachian Trail

As we reach the Goshen Prong Trailhead, we begin our decent down the mountain. Its a slick and rocky start reminiscent of the Road Prong Trail we hiked a while back. This soon becomes very clear to Randy as he almost fell. And, of course, moments after nearly falling, he totally wipes out! Being the helpful and supportive hiking buddy I am, I immediately pulled out my camera for this wonderful picture...

Randy Hullinger, ladies and gentlemen. Lol!

After Randy gained a little composure, we continued on. The trail continues downhill almost exclusively over rock, roots and smooth surfaces. Its an ever changing trail with wild diversity. At about 5.5 miles from Clingmans Dome, we reach a cave to our right directly on the trail. Its pretty small but Eddie was able to climb in for a look around.

Soon after passing the cave, the real adventure begins. There are numerous water features along the trail. Most of which are hard to see but with a little extra work and some slight off-trail meandering... the magic of these mountains starts to really show off.

Its hard to put into words how much fun it is discovering beauty like this on a trail when you had no idea it was there. We were like little kids climbing up and down banks, through thick rhododendron, rock hoping here and there and even attempting to shimmy across a fallen tree (Randy!)! Loads of fun!

As the trail begins to turn somewhat from the water, the trail becomes as flat as any I've been on. Easy hiking (and I rarely ever use the word easy!). As we enjoy this easy walk, we come to the popular "Goshen Gate Bridge" that crosses the Little River.

The steel Goshen Gate Bridge

From the bridge, the trail widens into a road bed for a few hundred yards before ending as we reached the Little River Trail junction. I absolutely loved every beautiful mile of  the 7.7 that make up the Goshen Prong Trail. I have a feeling most people miss this trail and even the ones who do hike it probably miss some of the best parts. From here we followed Little River Trail to Husky Gap Trail and followed that out to Newfound Gap Road rapping up a terrific 16.8 mile hike and a perfect day in the Smokies!


Previous blog about the Little River Trail and Husky Gap Trail can be found here.

Previous blog about the hike along the AT can be found here.

TRAIL REVIEW

Clingmans Dome Trail (paved) - .5 mile

AT from Clingmans Dome to Goshen Prong Trailhead - 1.9 miles

Goshen Prong Trail - 7.7 miles

Little River Trail - 1 mile

Husky Gap Trail - 4.1 miles


Campsite #23 and #21

Wanna hike the 900 without getting lost? Start by checking out the book Day Hiker's Guide To All The Trails In The Smoky Mountains by Elizabeth L. Etnier.

Hiking Trails of the Smokies or "The Little Brown Book" from the GSMA

Hiking Trails of The Great Smoky Mountains by Ken Wise

There is loads of information in the pages of GoSmokies.com.