Holy Smokies

First, a few notes about the Appalachian Trail as it passes through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park:

For the most part, the trail follows the North Carolina/Tennesse border on a ridge that divides those two states.

This section goes over Clingman's Dome which is the highest point on the AT at 6366 feet.

I spent a total of six days backpacking the AT through the Smokies.

3/15-3/16 Zero Days

After reaching Fontana Dam, the weather report looks pretty grim for the next two days. We decided to take some rest days to wait out the storm. These are known as zero days in trail lingo or just days where you don't rack up any miles or progress on the trail.

We decided to hunker down at the Simple Life Campground in Robbinsville, NC which is close to Stecoah Gap and a short drive to Fontana Dam. There's a nice coffee shop in town with free wifi, quiet, and comfortable to hang out for the day. I used the time to get caught up on other life responsibilities like dealing with a few loose ends on taxes, catching up on bills, following up on random dangling issues that I don't think about while hiking. You get the picture.

Saint Patrick's day is approaching and I always look forward to having corned beef and cabbage dinner and breaking my alcohol drinking fast for a day. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find corned beef dinner on Saint Patrick's Day. Last year we struck out while travelling despite stopping in a couple of Irish pubs. This year we scored big time tracking down The Tattered Tartan Pub in Andrews, NC. This is a Scottish/Irish style pub with the elusive corned beef on the menu plus a number of other tasty options and a good selection of Irish beers. Angelika got the Scotch Pie and I enjoyed a Black & Tan with my meal followed by a shot of Jameson for dessert. I was very pleased.

The rest of the time was spent doing random errands, picking up supplies, and getting the pack ready for the next section through the Smokies. I got my backcountry permit settled so I'll be ready to roll in the morning.

So far so good. I'm looking forward to getting back on the trail. I'll be hiking in the Smokies with my full pack sleeping rough for the next six days. Angelika next picks me up at a hostel in Davenport Gap. 

3/17 Fontana Dam to Spense Field Shelter - 16.4 miles

Today the trail enters the southern border of Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

The day started out cold and overcast. As I gained elevation there was rime ice forming on the trees, light a first and growing heavier as I climbed higher then combined with an inch or so of snow on the ground. My hydration tube is freezing so I have to remember to tuck it in my shirt and blow the water back out of the tube after I sip so it doesn't get blocked up.

As the day went on, the skies cleared and it grew warmer. Melting ice started falling from the trees. My new hat made for good protection from the falling chunks of ice.

Today's hiking was mostly climbing. The highlight today was the firetower at Shuckstack Mountain. It was a bit rickity and the stairs and handrails were icy, so I only climbed high enough to get over the surrounding trees for a picture.

I met Will at the firetower. It was his first day resuming his through hike he started last year but had to end here because he suffered a stress fracture in his leg. I know how he feels having to give up after only getting a short way. I can tell by looking at his pack that he has work to do tuning his gear and lightening up. He seems persistent though so I wish him luck on the trail.

When I arrived at Spense Field Shelter it's packed with about 20 high school boys out on a school trip. It's spring break time and there are a lot of folks out on the trails now on shorter trips and section hikes. I set up my hammock outside the shelter to enjoy a good night's sleep away from chattering teenagers.

3/18 Spense Field Shelter to Double Spring Gap Shelter - 13.5 miles

The weather today was perfect for hiking: clear and in the 60's. I overslept, so didn't get my pack together and on the trail until 9:30. I need to get a move on to make up for lost time.

Today's highlight was a summit called Rocky Top that had excellent views in almost every direction.

There was lots of climbing again today and I found it rather difficult at times. I am wondering if I'm getting tired, not eating enough, or just don't have the strength I used to have. I stopped for lunch at one of the shelters along the way and am joined shortly by a few more through hikers. They're all commenting on how difficult the trail has been so far today. I guess it isn't just me.

When I stopped lunch I met a German through hiker named Marcus from Cologne. He has hiked extensively in Europe but came here to experience the wilderness along the Appalachian Trail. He planned to spend six months on the trail and then another six months exploring the country.

I ran into Tree Man again at the evening shelter. There was a good number of people packed into the shelter already when I arrived, so I opted again to set up the hammock out behind the shelter. The night temperature is above freezing and the hammock is so much more comfortable than sleeping on the wooden floor of the shelter. During the night, something bumped my butt from underneath the hammock. I couldn't get my light out quickly enough to see for sure, but I suspect it was a bear.

3/19 Double Spring Gap Shelter to Icewater Spring Shelter - 13.8 miles

Another perfect weather day for hiking. After a few more miles of climbing from the shelter I reach the summit of Clingman's Dome. There is an observation tower here with fantastic 360 degree views. This is the highest point on the AT at 6366 feet and the highlight of the day. 

Next is descending into Newfound Gap which has a road that crosses the park running through it and a large parking lot where the trail crosses. The parking lot is packed and there are hundreds of tourists roaming around and heading north up the trail. I stop here for lunch and enjoy sitting in the warm sun and watching the people.

As I head back up the trail, the large number of people I have to negotiate my way around starts making me feel anxious. After a few miles they start to thin out significantly. By the time I reach the shelter only a few hardy day hikers are lingering around. 

The wind starts to pick up at the shelter making it difficult to cook dinner with the food and cookware getting blown around. We're expecting some rain overnight, so I decide to sleep in the shelter which only has five other hikers. This is my first time sleeping in the shelter since I started, so I'm being careful to be on my best behavior. Hopefully my shelter mates can tolerate my snoring and getting up at night to pee. There are two other through hikers and three college boys from Texas and Oklahoma out for a trip during their spring break. They're very well mannered and I enjoy chatting with them.

There's snow in the forecast for tomorrow night, so many of the other through hikers have opted to bug out to Gatlingburg from Newfound Gap to resupply and wait out the weather. Angelika and I already decided to not meet at Newfound Gap since they often close the road due to wind and weather and didn't want to risk stranding me there. I'm forging on.

3/20 Icewater Gap Shelter to Tricorner Knob Shelter - 12.6 miles

The rain came hard around 4:00 AM and was forecast to last until around 9:00 AM. The other through hikers get packed up and leave in the rain, but I'm in no hurry to get started, preferring to stay dry. There should be plenty of time to reach the next shelter.

Temperature was in the high 40's starting out, but dropped into the low 40's as the day went on. The sky remained overcast, although the sun would peek out every once and a while to allow a view of the summits in clouds and mist clinging in the valleys between the patches of blue sky. Most of the day is spent walking through clouds. 

The temperature continues to drop freezing my hydration tube again and building up rime on the trees. Snow starts falling around 2:00. I manage to reach the shelter by 3:00 and the other hikers are already going around gathering wood to keep a fire going in the shelter for what promises to be a cold night. Our shelter is at over 5000 feet of elevation, so we're expecting 3-4 inches of snow overnight and temperatures in the teens. The shelters in the Smokies are equipped with a fireplace and have a heavy tarp draped across the front to help keep the sleeping area warm. That will make a big difference keeping the chill off tonight.

My shelter mates are having a long converation comparing thier sailing yachts. I have nothing to contribute here, so I content myself reading on my Kindle. The trail attracts all sorts, young and old, rich and poor, men, women, couples, you name it. They are all brought together with a common need to experience the outdoors and challange themselves physically and emotionally. It makes for interesting conversation.

3/21 Tricorner Knob Shelter to Cosby Knob Shelter - 7.7 miles

We wake up to a couple of inches of snow on the ground and still bitter cold. Cooking in the shelter is off limits because it attracts bears, so we have to venture out on the porch to make breakfast. Water I filtered the night before is partly frozen...a tactical error. I should have waited until the morning.

It's a short day for me today, so I can afford to linger by the fire and wait for the temperatures to rise to something more comfortable. Unbelievably, the daytime temperature is supposed to get into the 50's today. The wild temperature swings are a challenge. I have to keep adjusting layers as the day goes on to stay comfortable. 

On the trail I'm starting to encounter more and more blowdowns...trees that have broken or been uprooted by high winds and fallen across the trail. Sometimes you go over them, sometimes you go under them, sometimes around them. It all depends on the situation. In any case, it slows you down for sure. These are all pretty recent, and I wonder if they are still left from Hurricane Helene but haven't been cleared up yet.

Later in the day I meet a National Park Trail Runner coming the other way. She visits all the shelters, checks things out, cleans the privies, and generally monitors the trails. She's on the trail four days a week from March to November. She tells me the blow downs are from a storm just a couple weeks ago that brought 100 mph winds. She's recording them and sending word back to have crews come and clean them out. She also warns me about a big blowdown that blocks about 200 ft of the trail at Low Gap which is just past my destination for today. I'm glad to wait until tomorrow and tackle that one fresh.

My short day allows me to reach the shelter early. I'm the only one there, so I decide to sleep in the shelter for the night so I can get packed up quickly and get an early start in the morning. I gather some firewood and get myself settled in. Other hikers start trickling in, then more and more. The shelter is getting pretty full, and more hikers keep coming and wanting to squeeze in. I'm settled in my sleeping bag ready for sleep by 8:00 and we get more hikers still coming in at 9:00. Someone takes out a ukulele and starts singing. It's somebody's birthday and so we all sing Happy Birthday for her. This is getting to be too much for me. 

With all the activity and various forms of snoring that ensue, I don't manage to get to sleep until after 11:00. There must be around 20 people in the shelter tonight...too many people too close together is making me anxious.

3/22 Cosby Knob Shelter to Standing Bear Hostel - 10.4 miles 

I woke up early, packed, and had a quick breakfast before most of the other twenty or so hikers in the shelter were out of their sleeping bags. I needed to get away from the crowd and on the trail. 

I quickly reached the promised blowdown at Low Gap. It blocked about 200 feet of the trail requiring some climbing, limbo moves, and bushwacking to negotiate. The trail runner overstated the severity a bit, but it probably took an extra 20 minutes to get through this 200 foot section of trail. I caught up with another hiker in the midst of it and we worked together to move ourselves and our packs through the tangle of branches.

Next was a long descent into Davenport Gap and the northern boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We had the full experience: beautiful days and gorgeous views, steep climbs, lofty peaks, rainy nights, some freezing nights, and a snow storm to top it all off.

At the Davenport Gap trailhead I met a European couple who were trying to plan a hike in the direction I just came from. The man was very enthusiastic, but was concerned about bears. I let him know the bears aren't really a threat, just a nuisance, and what to expect up the trail. He seemed reassured. Judging by their attire, I don't think they were out for a long hike that day.

A little further up the trail you cross the bridge over the Pigeon River and under highway I40. Here is the first indication of damage I've seen from Hurricane Helene. Much of the river's banks have been eroded away and there are construction vehicles everywhere working on repairs. Angelika said that two lanes of the highway next to the river were essentially gone when she drove up there.

I met Angelika at Standing Bear Hostel just a bit further up the trail. Tree Man was there as well. They let us park the van there, have a shower, do laundry, and cook our dinner. We had a good meal, enjoyed some trail magic (cold beer and unusual trail mix), and a good night's sleep in the van on an actual mattress.