Fall foliage trip to Townsend, Tenn., is far cry from the commercialism of Gatlinburg

Sunday, September 16, 2001

By Thomas R. and Deborah A. Fletcher

TOWNSEND, Tenn. -- he Great Smoky Mountains have to be seen first-hand to be comprehended. We know mountains. We live in West Virginia, the Mountain State, but our mountains are different, rounder, older.

The Smokies are incredibly beautiful, sharp, angular, and steep -- a word that does not do justice to those precipitous pieces of nature. As you approach from the west along U.S. Route 321 (after exiting I-40), the Smokies appear on the horizon, looking more like cardboard cutouts stuck on the horizon's edge than real landscape features.

		If you go... Smoky Mountain Visitors Bureau, 7906 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Townsend, TN 37882; phone: 800-525-6834; 865-448-6134; www.smokymountains.org; e-mail: smokymvb@chamber. blount.tn.us. Top of Townsend, Little Mountain Hideaway, 460 Boat Gunnel Road, Townsend, TN 37882; phone: 865-448-1203; www.topoftownsend.com. Overnight rentals range from $95-$110 per night.

We had visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park several years ago and decided it was time for a return visit, as part of a Southern road trip. Gatlinburg, Tenn., is the town most folks associate with the Smokies. Gatlinburg's overcrowding, overcommercialization, touristy feel doesn't appeal to us -- though obviously it appeals to many.

T-shirt shops, video arcades and water parks were not part of our motivation. We wanted the mountains, nature and serenity. Therefore, we chose the village of Townsend as our destination.

Townsend and the surrounding area bill itself as "the peaceful side of the Smokies" -- an apt description. It has a population of just 400, but more than 325 cabins, bed-and-breakfast establishments and rental cottages dot the area, along with 16 motels and inns. There are accommodations to meet the taste and budget of nearly any traveler. Here one finds log cabins tucked into quiet coves or perched high on the flanks of the nearly perpendicular mountains.

Townsend's distinction is its easy access to the natural environment and outdoor activities such as hiking and biking or simply basking in the natural beauty. It is a destination of choice for those looking for a close-to-nature vacation.

Twelve hiking trails within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (of 130 total trail segments within the park) are found on the Townsend side of the Smokies. The trails range from 2.5 to 14 miles in length, and from easy to strenuous in difficulty. Very popular with cyclists is the 11-mile Cades Cove loop. On Saturdays and Wednesdays from June through August, the loop is closed to auto traffic until 10 a.m., giving cyclists the area to themselves. The loop is very popular for wildlife viewing -- and early morning is a primary wildlife viewing time. Townsend has several bike rental shops for those who do not bring their own.

The Cades Cove area within the park is the most crowded place we saw on our visit to the region. Many tourists enjoy driving their vehicles around the popular wildlife-viewing loop. Here we encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic as we joined one of the park service's hayrides.

The slow-moving traffic soon came to a standstill when a black bear and cubs crossed the road. The driver of the car nearest the bear slammed his car in park, bounded from his vehicle, camera swinging from his neck, pursuing the bear and cubs into the woods. Amazingly, several other people followed suit.

How stupid can people be? Don't they know these are wild animals? Don't they know the ferocity of a bear with cubs? There are laws against harassing wildlife. Those laws exist for the protection of people as well as protection of the wildlife. The idiot we witnessed stopped traffic, risked his life (though apparently clueless to that fact), and possibly endangered others (who knows the damage a rampaging bear could cause a group of people stuck in traffic or riding in an open hay wagon?). He didn't even have enough sense to know that the low light level of dusk in the woods would not yield a photograph.

We enjoyed the Cades Cove area of the park, with the exception of the other tourists, but much preferred getting out on the hiking trails. There we encountered few people. It is amazing how quickly the crowds thin once one leaves the asphalt behind. Give us a trail away from the hardtop anytime.

One afternoon, we enjoyed a quiet hike along the Spruce Flats Trail. The day was reasonably warm, so after a sweaty climb up the mountain, we stopped by a rushing waterfall for a time of refreshing. Moving on, we found a wide grassy area under a stately grove of hardwoods, where we shared a picnic lunch surrounded by the sounds of nature.

Townsend's rural flavor is enough to attract many visitors, but its proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is its primary drawing card. We chose one of the many log cabins for our stay. What could be more romantic than your own log cabin in the mountains?

Our cabin, Top of Townsend, one of the highest in elevation, was located at the end of a narrow, twisting, one-lane road reminiscent of something one might expect in the Guatemalan Highlands. One morning we sat in the porch swing, listening to moisture dripping from the leaves of the fog-drenched forest surrounding us. The oft-appearing fog is what gave the Smoky Mountains their name. Though our visit was in late September and the days were still borderline hot, the evenings and mornings were cool. Fall color had only started to grace the region with a tinge of color.

One evening we made a dash out to the deck hot-tub, where we enjoyed a soothing soak before a mad dash back indoors, where we cuddled before our fireplace, as the fire crackled and the flame provided the room's only illumination.

Thomas R. and Deborah A. Fletcher are free-lance writers who live in Cowen, W.Va.