Fall colors to peak and intensify after cold snap and snow in the Smokies

The Tennessee Smoky Mountains has had spectacular weather this whole fall and late summer. Maybe a little too nice as there have been no very cold days to snap the leaves into the bright fall colors in the mid and lower elevations.

Yesterday morning the upper elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains where shrouded in deep dark snow clouds which dropped snow on the high elevations and even down to mid elevations prompting road closures in the national park and for hikers to break out the hats and gloves.

Since the fall colors were the brightest and best in the Roaring Fork area right next to Gatlinburg and minutes from Pigeon Forge, it was time to check out to see if the cold weather made the fall colors even better.

One of the most popular hiking trails in the Great Smoky Mountains national park is the Rainbow falls trail. Most hikers only go up the first 2.5 miles where the waterfall is but you can take the trail all the way up to the Mt Le Conte summit.

The parking area fall colors were just a little brighter and even though it seemed warm here, the trial climbs quite a bit so bringing gloves, a hat and a vest was a must.

Just about 40 minutes into the trail which first starts along the stream the trail heads deeper into the woods and there is a switchback bend. While there were a few leaves along the way that had a few snow flakes on them, the major snow on the trail started just after the bend.

Here the bright yellow trees burst forth in color and look fantastic against the dark greens and contrast beautifully against the white snow. Normally you get a great view of the mountain peaks across the trial, but the snow was falling hard high up and hid the peaks.

While you are hiking on this trail don't just admire the bright colored fall leaves just about to peak, look around and you will see moss covered chestnut trees on the forest floor dusted with snow and the huge boulders.

This time of the year you should also be able to catch a glimpse of a chipmunk and you will hear the red and gray squirrels chattering way at each other as they jump from branch to branch of the trees knocking down colorful leaves and snow as they perform their acrobatics.

Squirrels and other animals right now in the Great Smoky Mountains national park are already sporting their heavy winter coats and are working hard to eat what they can to build up their winter fat. The squirrel eating below was on the trail and not concerned about anything other than eating acorns.

As you are gaining altitude you will notice it is getting a little colder and the snow is a little deeper and there are few outstanding overlooks as well.

While this is a heavily traveled hiking trail, more often than not you will find it quiet where you can hear the wind blowing through the leaves in the trees and the far away gurgle of streams and creeks.

Sometimes it is so quiet up here you think you are hearing the noise of traffic in the distance. Listen carefully, it's actual the wind blowing down the valleys and hollows of the Smoky Mountains.

Even though Rainbow Falls is less than 3 miles from the trailhead it takes most people from 1-1/2 hours to 2 hours to reach the waterfall. Don't rush getting up here as the journey is as special as the destination is.

You will first pass a smaller lower falls where you may have to rock hop as you are crossing the lower part of the falls. Be careful here is it can freeze up and get very slippery.

You continue up the path and the beautiful Rainbow Falls with its shear multi colored walls framed by huge boulders and ringed by trees unfolds in front of you.

As you can see by the picture above, it's not just the water tumbling down the cliff side that sets Rainbow Falls apart from other waterfalls in the area, it is the sheer size and scale of the waterfall, the huge pools of water below and the gigantic boulders littering the stream bed.

Since we are still in a drought situation here in the Smoky Mountains, the flow of water is very light. Sometimes in the spring and summer after big storm of after a big now melt, the huge section of the wall is a flowing curtain of water. In the winter the whole waterfall sometime freezes.

You can see that even though the trees around the falls right now are crusted in a blanket of white snow, the autumn colors are still showing through. You can see yellows, reds, light and dark greens which look stunning what the sky will clear up with a deep blue sky and the snow will glisten like diamonds.

Rainbow Falls gets its name not by the fact that you will see a rainbow in the sky or in the air around the waterfall but by the fact that rocks on the cliff have many colors running from greens to grays, whiles, blacks and yellows.

It is stunning to if the angle of the sun is right see the falls in the 1/2 hour during sunset and sunrise when everything has a golden hue. Flashlights and experience in hiking in the dark is a must of you wish to do this.

Now that the cold weather has set in with freezing temperatures the last few nights, the fall colors are going to accelerate and intensify in color. So far even though the nights are very cold, but by midday you still need a jacket but you won't be freezing.

Be sure to travel around the Smokies as the colors are going to be popping out everywhere now. Even in the lower elevation such as Little River Road and the Spur the color in the leaves is getting better and better.

Personally this is my favorite time to appreciate the fall colors as there are still greens and they look awesome against the contrast of the other leaf colors and of course snow if we get anymore before the leaves drop from the trees.