January | 2016 | JennyJennRuns

It’s been a few months since we’ve ventured into the Smoky Mountains. The temperatures were mid 50’s and not a cloud in the sky in Knoxville, not in the mountains though..

So let me just give you some fun facts about Charlies Bunion first 🙂

Charlies Bunion was originally known as Fodderstack. The current name was derived when Charlie Conner went hiking one day with Horace Kephart, one of the early proponents for a national park in the Smokies. When they paused for a rest on the rocks, Conner took his socks and boots off and exposed a bunion that resembled the surrounding rocks. Looking at Conner’s feet, Kephart remarked, “Charlie, I’m going to get this place put on a government map for you.” And so he did.
Elevation gain 1,640 feet.
Highest elevation point 6,122 feet.
Hike is strenuous and a little over 8 miles round trip.
Total trip, 5+ hours.
Parking at the Newfound Gap lot was a little challenging because of the amount of people coming for the views, not necessarily the hike. (From Gatlinburg, stay on Newfound Gap Rd for about 14/15 miles until you reach the parking lot, you can’t miss it!)

Starting on the state line! Pretty cool we weaved between Tennessee and North Carolina during our hike.

View from the parking lot.
Head towards the Boulevard Trail.

Starting the hike, there was just a small amount of snow, it was so beautiful!

Further into the hike, there was more snow and patches of ice. You’re walking along the edge of the mountain majority of the time. Even if there isn’t snow and ice, this is not a hike for beginners (in my opinion).

You want to continue towards the Boulevard Trail. You don’t see a sign for Charlies Bunion until deep into the hike.

   There a few openings that give you this kind of view!!
  Finally a sign for Charlies Bunion! To the right for 1.3 miles and we’ll be there! (Sorry, it’s hard to see because of the shadow).
   We made it!
The small area had quite a few people taking pictures and standing around so this is the only picture we got of the actual “bunion.”

   The views were worth the freezing hike!!
  Blurry selfie 🙂
  We ate our lunch quickly and were on our way back since we were chasing the sun.
We stopped to admire this sunset. Pictures don’t even do this place justice.

We made it back to the truck just in time! If you’re up for an adventure, I highly recommend this hike! We thought with it being snowy and an “off season” for the mountains there wouldn’t be as many people..wrong, we encountered a lot of people on our hike. Don’t let that deter you though, the experience and views are worth it!