I've been fortunate to get to Great Smoky Mountains National Park eleven times, and on most of those visits I've hiked up to Clingman's Dome. A few of those trips were on days when I could actually enjoy the views, but many times the cloud cover (or thick smog) had obscured or even prevented seeing very much. But not today! (I was also fortunate because tomorrow and for the foreseeable future the Dome will be closed for reconstruction.)
The Cherokee described these mountains as shaconage which meant "blue, like smoke" and this bluish haze and mist-like clouds after storms gave this place the name Smoky Mountains. During the foliage season, all the lush vegetation emits large quantities of moisture and organic compounds, and together they produce the natural haze which is thickest on calm, sunny, humid days.
Unfortunately, pollution also contributes, and in recent decades, visibility here has decreased dramatically. Because the mountains tend to trap air currents, the effect of pollution on visibility and plant life is greater here than in most other areas. My first visits here were in 1965, 1967, and 1971 and the visibility was markedly different back then.
I was intrigued by this vertical cloud formation and waited for it to move and be centered between the two tall trees, with the yellow wildflowers in the foreground.
No, it's not raining -- those are just whispy clouds passing through the mountains.
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