Laurel Falls

Last weekend we were in Knoxville for a wedding.  I've been jonesing for some time in the mountains, so we thought we'd take the opportunity to venture up into the Smoky Mountain National Park.

Our host, knowing we had toddlers, suggested the Laurel Falls trail which was billed as, paved, short, and the reward of an awesome waterfall destination.  Perfect! We were all over that.

On our way up to the mountains our 3 year old said, "Why do those mountains look so foggy?"  Ah! what a perfect opportunity to teach our obviously brilliant child about why they were called the SMOKY mountains!  Doesn't every parent think their kids are brilliant? Beaming with pride, yet with a bit more of a drive to go,  we committed our first faux pas, building up the awesomeness of the waterfall.  Not that the waterfall wasn't probably awesome, but (spoiler) we didn't actually make it to the falls - gosh how I dislike over promising.  A great family adventure rule is to avoid avoidable disappointment.

By the time we located the trail head the kids were pumped to walk in the forest and see a waterfall (or at least they were pumped to finally be out of the car)

The trail was well traveled that day so we struggled with staying out of the way of faster traffic from behind and rather exhausted looking groups of people coming back down the trail.  Now typically, you can gauge the severity of the hike from the folks heading back down. To do this successfully, it is best to find people at similar fitness levels as you to get a realistic feel.  There will always be that ultra-marathon runner type who is heading down the trail equivalent of Everest with a spring in their step like they just had their morning coffee.  You can never gauge a trail's difficulty accurately from these people.  Fortunately we came across mostly young families, and let's just say we saw a lot of kids riding on dad's shoulders....

Dad's shouldering the responsibility of tired hikers

As we pressed onward, I had been keeping track of our hiking time while also figuring how much time my wife would need to get dolled up for the wedding. I soon had the sinking realization that we weren't gonna make it to the falls. Which brings me to our second faux pas, poor time management.

About half a mile into the 1.3 mile trail, we were out of time and I had to break the news gently.  One bad news bearing technique which I used with moderate success is to divert disappointment from not realizing Plan A by shifting excitement onto Plan B. Our oldest daughter was disappointed we were stopping short of the awesome waterfall we had built up.  Fortunately with toddlers, just being outside is an adventure.

We entertained ourselves throwing rocks off the side of the trail, examining wild mushrooms and various interesting fauna as we made our way back down the trail.

What's more fun than seeing a waterfall?  Throwing rocks of course!

When reached the bottom an impromptu art session was in order.

When she later recalled the epic hiking adventure, the stick drawing in the dirt was her favorite part.  Ahh the simple things...

First official pictograph - a sailboat!

So we can boast we've hiked on the Laurel Falls trail, but can't actually claim to have seen Laurel Falls. A quick google search says that is should look something like this...

In all fairness to our host, the trail by adult standards is paved, and short.  But for 2 and 3 year olds, the trail was a little on the steep and long side.  This time around it wasn't the kid's ability that held us up, but that pesky thing called time. Next time we'll make sure we give ourselves enough time to make it all the way!

Family Adventure Stats:
Destination: Laurel Falls trail in Smoky Mountain National Park
Trail length: 2.3 miles round trip, paved and stroller accessible
Trail difficulty: Moderate for adults, challenging for kids under 5.  Dad, be prepared to shoulder the responsibility when the kiddo's get tuckered out.  A jogging stroller would work well.

Here is a link to the trail description and directions on the National Park website. Enjoy!