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Got to be prepared for freak weather any time of year hiking in the Smokies. On a hike from Deep Creek in the Smokies up to Clingman’s Dome some 20 years ago, in the middle of August, I got caught in a freak thunderstorm that came out of nowhere. Forecast for the day had been clear with 0% of precip, temps at 6K elevation 68 degrees.

We were maybe a mile down from the summit and the storm blew in, hail, 50 mph winds and the temp dropped 30 degrees in 30 minutes. Soaking wet, crawling through laurel tunnels, it was bone chilling cold. Could have gotten ugly if it happened close to sundown.

Those mountaintop balds above 6,000 feet are no place to be in an electrical storm, your odds of getting struck are pretty high if you don't get out of there or at least lie down. My favorite of those bales is Max Patch, in NC not far from Asheville, it's gorgeous. a lot of people think so. I believe a bride was struck by lightning and killed there not too many years ago, though. That stunning 360 degree view means you're very exposed to whatever nature throws at you. The weather's so gentle and mild all around at lower altitude, it's deceptive. People get in trouble up there all the time.