Two years ago a friend and I did a backpacking route through the Great Smoky Mountains, and I planned this route to allow me to summit six of the 40 South Beyond 6000 Challenge peaks. These peaks are all above 6,000 feet tall and nearly all of them are covered completely in spruce-fir forest. The peaks around this route were largely off trail, requiring interesting trailfinding, bushwhacking, and even an encounter with a wild boar in my visit. My friend did not climb most of the peaks with me, and hiked about 6,500 ft in elevation gain and 27 miles, while I did 8,888 ft elevation gain and 34 miles. Being engulfed in these primeval looking forests is a great experience I recommend highly to anyone who visits the Blue Ridge or Smokies.
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