Check a weather forecast before heading out. The Smokies average 60 inches of the white stuff per year at 5,000 feet. Spring break can be hopping, but the wildflower time is a good time to visit, especially May, before the summer crowds hit. This is a hike that combines the best that the high and low country have to offer. Keep up Twentymile Creek to Upper Flats streamside camp, set in a rich cove.
Next day make an arduous climb onto Long Hungry Ridge.
Head up past Rye Patch to Gregory Bald. Enjoy the majesty from the top of the Southern Appalachians most famed bald, with its staggering views and flower displays. Camp at nearby Sheep Pen Gap, a high country grassy flat shaded by yellow birch, that lies between Gregory Bald and Parson Bald. Leave the grassy balds and complete the loop via the steep Wolf Ridge Trail. This trip offers creekside and ridgeline camping with a fair amount of climbing in between.