Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Grotto Falls

My time in Colorado spoiled me when it comes to hiking. I came to expect every hike to have some sort of payoff, be that a waterfall, an alpine lake, a mountain summit, or something else with the ability to take your breath away simply by seeing it.

I did a lot of research before my road trip on the hiking trails in the National Parks I was visiting, and not surprisingly found a dearth of alpine lakes.  There were a handful of mountain summits.  What the parks do have in abundance are waterfalls.  And since flowing water is one of my favorite things to photograph, that suited me just fine.

First up: Grotto Falls

Great Rhododendrons were in bloom all over the park.  I didn't know exactly what they were until I plugged some of my pictures into iNaturalist, but I certainly enjoyed shooting them.

I've never been overwhelmed by a color like I was by the green in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Trees, bushes, vines, flowers, even moss growing on fallen logs.  And a seemingly infinite variety of shades.

I enjoyed catching sight of Great Rhododendrons that hadn't fully blossomed yet, with the tips of their buds a vibrant pink.

About the only thing that wasn't green on the trail was the actual trail, which was well-traveled and only occasionally broken by roots or rocks.

The falls themselves were quite crowded, being less than a mile and a half walk.  Since I was in no particular rush, I was happy to set up, compose my shot, and just wait for breaks in the activity.

The illusion of being all alone in places like this affects my own memories when I review my pictures, making me feel like I might just have been the only soul around.

There was no denying the Mt. LeConte llama train  when it came through!  I'd hoped to see them, but since they only make three trips each week to LeConte Lodge I doubted I would.  I was so taken aback when they came down the trail that I almost forgot to take any pictures of them!  Fortunately, I was able to capture this moment of the wrangler carefully leading the train behind the falls.

I had more difficulty finding a moment to get a wide-angle shot of the falls.  Other visitors were actually very kind about giving me a direct view of the actual waterfall, but didn't realize how much "empty space" I was looking for to either side to get this particular scene.  I finally implored everyone to give me 30 seconds for this picture, and they graciously did.

One more blossom spotlighted by late afternoon sun on my hike back to my car, and that was that.

According to my MapMyWalk app, I somehow managed to cover 3.73 miles on a hike that's only supposed to be 2.6 miles out and back.  I didn't think I'd fussed and fidgeted that much while composing my various photos, but I'm not sure how else to explain all the extra mileage.  It took me more than two hours and 20 minutes, including a lengthy stay at the actual falls.  The app gives me other interesting details, like that I took 12,600 steps, climbed 671 feet, and burned 432 calories.  It's a good thing hiking has so many other benefits, because burning just 432 calories for that effort makes it clear that hiking is simply not a weight loss regimen in and of itself!