The day after I got here I drove over to the Smokies and hiked from Cade's Cove to the the Appalachian Trail, then a ways along the crest to the top of Thunderhead Mountain (5,527').

The AT near the summit of Thunderhead Mtn.

Along the way, I passed over the top of the rather insignificant but considerably more famous (at least locally) Rocky Top. I gather there's a folk song about it; clearly whoever wrote it wasn't concerned with Rocky Top's ~15' of topographic prominence.

Down below, in the cove, the trees were at their peak color. Along the AT, 3,500' higher, the leaves were all gone. Saw a lot of wild turkeys and a deer close up. Several backpackers came down off the crest on my way up, otherwise I had the trail to myself.

I started before sunrise when the park was basically empty, so it was somewhat odd to return to the car around lunchtime and find the entire park overrun with family picnics, RVs, and fall color riders. With the traffic, it took over an hour to get out of Cade's Cove.

The conference has been going well. Oak Ridge has really nice, new facilities and with the fall colors being at their peak, it's really pleasant here.