I wished i was there......

@Brian N I don't know if the top of the Alum Cave Trail will be melted by WED. If you are a first timer with small children, I'd suggest Rainbow Falls or Trillium. The hike is longer, but there are no slip/fall-a-distance opportunities on those trails. Rainbow Falls offers a great lunch stop at the falls. If it were me, I'd move the hike to Rainbow. If I lived close I might take two cars and drop one at Grotto Falls parking lot for the downhike. If I were young and in great shape I might consider leaving my wife and kids at the GFPL after the hike, dropping my pack and jogging back to the RFPL (via the road) to get the car.

Beautiful pictures. Carolyn Hostetler

Love the pictures. Very pretty. However, we are hiking up on Friday, please bring spring back :)

Great Pics....Looks like you may have more snow than JP saw most of the winter.

I agree 100%, if we had not had yaktrax last november, we could not have made it down. may just head up rainbow and down trillium to grotto falls.

Speaking of JP....has anyone heard anything from him lately?

@highonleconte, do you believe ice will be an issue on rainbow tomorrow?

Thanks so much. have the hot chocolate ready tomorrow in case im drenched.

Just beautiful. I love your pics. I would love to be up there to see it in person.

Thanks Sherry.

Brian, stay safe and have a good hike.If only the outdoors had a temperature gage we could turn up and down. We plan for months for these hikes and arghhh! the weather doesn't cooperate. Hopefully the worst is over and onto sunshine and flowers.

Allyson, as always, I LOVE the pictures! They are amazing! However, I, for one, am glad that I am not up there. I can not bear such cold, especially in April. Give me the heat & humidity. We are coming in late August & it will be plenty cool for me then! Keep up the good work up there & best wishes to all hikers for safety on the trails.

Sonya, Its a name brand of rubber things you put on the bottom of your boot. There real strechy so becareful. The first time you put them on you'll be scared there going to come back and wack you.They also have springs over the rubber for traction. They work great!! I'd wear your hiking boots into the store and make sure they fit. They come in all different sizes.I paid $20 dollars for mine. I wear mine in the winter walking and up the mountain once or twice a year when we go. Haven't had to wear them in Aug. yet, but you just never know. The hiking store on the left at the end of the road in Gatlinburg probably has all different kinds to choose from. I got mine from Dunhams in Michigan.

I've had bad experiences with YakTraks. I have a pair of Kahtoolas that are awesome!! Much tougher which is important. I wouldn't want my ice traction devices failing, especially on the ice!! My wife wore them down Alum Cave Tuesday and she was very confident the whole time!