We arose today with a thick overcast sky but no rain in sight. So we did a weather check and radar scan and we decided to make the run. We figured that traveling US441 toward Clingmans Dome that we would enter the clouds bases fairly soon but on the backside or west, we would drop out and be in the clear.
Our first stop was just a few miles from the motel at Mingus Mill. I had been there a few times over the years and it is a neat place to visit, so I stopped again. Doug had never seen the mill, so it was all new to him, and it is cool to see how they engineered things hundreds of years ago. Diverting water by digging trenches and then boarding the side to fight erosion was also clever. It was also clever how they channeled the water into the turbines and then the grinding process itself. It is all so amazing to see how they made it look so simple. Lori and I picked up a bag of corn meal and then we departed the fix.
Our second stop was Clingmans Dome and as we suspected we drove into the soup right around 4000 feet elevation. I was kind of hoping that we would drive through it as it passed or we would drive above it, but it was to be. We still made the last half mile hike to the top of the 6643 foot summit, but even though it was bright, we were still in the clouds. I took a picture of my GPS screen in the parking lot showing an elevation of 6333 and once we climbed to the very top we were showing 6700 feet. Doug found out today that climbing that half mile, 20 to 30% grade uphill, that he might be just a bit out of shape. Even Lori was huffing and puffing half way up the hill. It never fazed me a bit, :).
On the way to Gatlinburg, we broke through the clouds and stayed out the clouds right about 5000 feet. The roads were a little damp but nothing to slow you down. Speeding was never an issue because we had enough car traffic to maintain at least 5 mph under the speed limit at all times. Pulling into Gatlinburg and already 12:15pm, we were getting a bit hungry but stopping here was not an option. Gatlinburg was a total zoo with people crawling on top of people, so we just kept moving through. On the west side Gatlinburg and about 3 or 4 miles out, we found a health food store to stop and eat at called, McDonald's, so we ate here. That was some good stuff!! Right!
Now with all our site seeing behind us, driving looking for dry roads and curves was on our minds. The first part of the ride was pretty and we danced through a couple of showers by skirting the edges and staying dry. We managed to clear ourselves from all traffic and found a few nice sweepers when our fun came to a screeching halt. We could see the wall of water falling from the sky just quarter mile in front of us and I was racing to find a pull over to put of the rain gear. As we are putting on the gear, you could see the rain, heavy, falling just 300 yards away, that was cool. Hopped on the bikes and dove into the rain. I was moving very slow, 20 maybe 30 mph in a 55 zone, my faceshield and windshield both fogging because of the heat and moisture in the air. It took about quarter mile to clear out and then I was able to see in order to pick up speed. The heavy rain faded within a few miles and even the drizzle fade quickly, but the water on the road was not dissipating very well. There was runoff of water, rocks, dirt, and leaves falling from the trees hanging over the road that made the next 20 miles a very challenging adventure. Now add to the ingredients of uphill, downhill, and pulling a trailer with no brakes and I had a lot to think about. Doug and I both wished that the section of road that was so wet and cover with crap would have been dry so we could have had more fun, but that will have to be another day.
That was the end of the rain for us on this ride and we ended in Cherokee a little ahead of schedule because of a GPS malfunction. It is possible that it was human error, but I will not admit to that. It appears after we reviewed the weather forecast for Tuesday that this good be the end of this vacation. If it is raining in the morning, we will be blasting home via the Interstate system and wrapping this trip up. If it is not raining, we will just hop on the parkway and ride it north as far as our butts can stand it. Either way, I'll either be home tomorrow or Wednesday.
Today’s mileage = 164
Total for the trip = 5691
Day 26 at EveryTrail
Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging
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