Week Three – Great Smoky Mountain National Park (Part 1)

Hello there from Gatlinburg Tennessee, near Great Smoky Mountain National Park! Here’s what happened over the last week:

Day 15, Monday April 3: We woke up in our tiny room at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, and ate the true Breakfast of Champions: Smuckers “uncrustables” peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Nick drove us back to Stecoah Gap where we left off the afternoon before and we said another goodbye. As Meadow and I climbed up the other side of the Gap, I watched our little blue Hyundai Tucson drive up the road and disappear into the valley. I definitely felt so grateful for another visit and resupply from Nick! It was a cloudy day at first, but right about 11am when we sat down to cook our second breakfast the weather got a bit more gusty and the temperature dropped. Sure enough, it started to drop cold rain and we scrambled to don the usual protective gear: rain coats, rain pants, and pack covers. The rain was cold but relatively light, and we had some elevation to climb; after a short while the numbness in my exposed hands subsided and we were again warm enough. We ended up hiking a relatively short distance for the day (about 9.5 miles) since we were both in new shoes after ditching our boots, and we rolled into our final destination Cold Gap Shelter at about 12:56pm. This meant that we had a whole afternoon to rest, and look out the picture window of the shelter opening. Shortly after we arrived a group of three hikers rolled in who would have given the Three Stooges a run for their money. Pack Rat, Struggle Bus, and Revenge perched on the edge of the shelter to cook their lunch, and verbally abused each other to the point of hilarity. It didn’t help that poor Struggle Bus had an unnaturally high voice for such a stocky guy, so pretty much everything he said was the funniest thing I’d ever heard. Revenge’s lunch consisted of mixing a beef stroganoff instant noodle packet with a Mexican rice meal with rice, chili peppers, and tuna…after the sludge was satisfactorily heated he took a bite and exclaimed “Ahhh….horrible!”. To correct the situation, he took out an entire stick of butter and melted about 3 tablespoons of butter into his lunch, defensively said that the food was now better, and ate the whole plate of brown goo. Pack Rat and Struggle Bus threatened to leave Revenge for dead after he got a leg cramp while filtering water, but eventually the near-fatal cramp subsided and the three of them packed up and headed onward to Fontana Dam. We spent most of the afternoon watching and visiting with other people (no offense, but nobody else came close to being as interesting as the Three Stooges), and eventually started our evening chores of dinner, the dreaded bear bag hang, etc. The shelter was pretty small and looked like it had seen better days, but it didn’t rain so the holes in the ceiling didn’t matter too much. Roadrunner had never learned the PCT Hang method for his bag, so I went back out to show him the literal ropes. There was only one good hanging limb on the whole planet it seemed, but Roadrunner didn’t have enough rope…so by the time we found a lower branch compatible with Roadrunner’s short Paracord his bear bag was hanging at my face level, meaning that it was accessible to any bear that wasn’t born yesterday. Roadrunner cheerily said that he was more concerned about mice anyway, and we left the bag…an hour or later Chex Mix wandered by the shelter chuckling, to ask us “did you guys see that horrible bear hang down there?” You can’t win them all! It was just Meadow, Roadrunner, and I in the shelter that night, and we shockingly were all card-carrying members of the No Snoring Club. Best night of sleep I’ve had on the trail so far! And Roadrunner retrieved his undisturbed food bag in the morning, so we had another victory before 8am.

Day 16, Tuesday April 4: We woke in the shelter and packed up our stuff quickly to a cool and cloudy morning. We buried all of our rain gear deep in our packs in full trust of the promise of no rain that day, and we ended up having a gloriously chilly hiking morning with a slight breeze and no rain. After about 5 miles we passed the Fontana Dam Marina, and sat on the side of their golf cart ramp to heat up second breakfast and watch the glittering water. We walked past the Fontana Dam shuttle pickup point, having resupplied with full packs a day before, and were able to skip the rumored horrible prices at their resupply shops. The road across the top of the dam was closed, but there were signs for hikers with a minor detour down a staircase and up another; the signs said DETOUR TO MAINE, which we enjoyed very much. It was surreal to walk across the top of the dam in the middle of the road, but we crushed it.

Once we got to the other side of the dam, there was a relatively inconspicuous side road with the sign that we’d been waiting for…we were in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! We had a short pavement hike before getting to the hiker box where we had to deposit half of our AT Thru-Hiker Permits for the Smokies. After this huge milestone, we had an even bigger challenge. We had a climb of almost 4,000 feet to climb into the Smokies, and the clouds and fog had long since burned away. Although one of my biggest fears about the Appalachian Trail was freezing to death in the Smokies, ironically it was over 80 degrees with a blazing sun and no wind during our first big climb. I applied and reapplied sunscreen, and we took break after break to hydrate and eat salty snacks as we labored up the mountain. We knew that the “Shuckstack” Fire Tower was only 2 miles from our planned tenting site, but we hiked on and it never seemed to appear. Eventually after climbing for what felt like a few weeks, we looked at the top of an adjacent mountain…and to our utter dismay we saw a SPECK on the mountain that looked kind of like a fire tower. Even though we were hot, dehydrated, and exhausted, we still found the energy to laugh about how tiny the fire tower looked from where we were. “What is that, a fire tower for amoebas? That’s not even big enough to be a fire tower for ants!” If you look closely (very closely) at the below photo you can see the speak hovering above the mountain peak, looking unattainably far away.

However, “within walking distance” is taking on a new meaning for us. We kept climbing, pushing, and heaving our way northward and upward, and eventually we got to the Shuckstack. The Albert Mountain fire tower we climbed last week only felt rickety, but this fire tower actually seemed to be a little unstable. The welding engineer on duty (Meadow) took a few steps up the first flight of stairs with no railing, declared it structurally unsound, and went back to solid ground. I was able to make it almost to the top with only a few vulgarities, making sure at least one hand was on a wiry railing at all times, but after looking at the floorboards of the hut from underneath they were clearly rotting and I also decided that was a big nope. I was able to grab a few panoramic views while maintaining a death grip on the wobbling structure, and then carefully went back down to solid ground. Phew!

After the Firetower excursion, we stumbled our way another two miles to Backcountry Tent Site 113. After a total of 13.1 miles, we agreed that this was the toughest day of hiking for us so far. We felt that we had covered so much ground in one day, and the sweltering heat and unrelenting sun during our tough climb had taken its toll. We set up camp and cooked dinner quickly, and then realized we needed to move our tent so we would be within an official tent site instead of right next to the fire ring. Instead of breaking down the tent and rebuilding it, to save energy we just unstaked it and carried the whole constricted tent and flapping footprint through the woods like a backcountry color guard. It only took us about 3 minutes to move our whole setup. After a brief dinner and visiting with our camp neighbors, we had our nightly ‘victory oreos’ and quickly packed up before bed. Two things about the Smokies: one, you must camp in a shelter or tent in the vicinity of a shelter. This prevents people from camping on delicate areas and preserves the true wilderness in the park. Two, the National Park Service provides bear cables at all shelter and tent sites…so no hanging a bear bag via the trusty PCT Hang method this week. Woohoo! This was a great relief and reprieve on what was a tough and exhausting day of hiking. We fell asleep to the sounds of our tent neighbor–Getty from Myrtle Beach who hates Myrtle Beach–getting way more excited than we Pennsylvania girls could ever be about seeing a deer way down in the valley.

Day 17, Wednesday April 5: Our plans for this day involved covering a distance of about 11.5 miles. We had less than 3,000 feet of elevation gain, and it was split into three separate ascents and descents, so we knew it wouldn’t be quite as challenging as the day before. We were right, for once! The weather was still partly sunny but her fury from the day before was tempered by a few clouds and a luxurious breeze. The highlight of the day, however, came from the fact that at least 6 or 7 miles out of our total for the day were through ridgetops fields of tiny wildflowers. Up until this point we had seen mostly brown forest floor cover, mostly dead vegetation from the previous year, fallen leaves, etc. Today we saw short carpets of new, green plants in between the still bare trees, but we were able to walk through forested meadows of flowers. The tiny white and pink flowers looked like a dusting of snow on either side of the path, as if someone had swept the snowflakes from the Appalachian Trail as they went along. We also saw more blue-its, violets in various shades of purple and yellow, and the tiniest lilies I have ever seen, their blooms barely an inch across. Although it has technically been Spring since we started the AT, this was the first day that we really felt it. We made several stops throughout the day and everyone we met commented on the flowers, assuring us that it truly was a profound experience.

At the end of our flower-filled day, we ended up at Spence Field Shelter, which had a field of raspberry brambles around it. Like all of the other shelters we’ve seen in the Smokies, it was made of stone, expansive with two sleeping levels, and very nice. The privy was also brand new and therefore clean, and we had immediate access to bear cables–the perfect end to a great day.

Day 18, Thursday April 6: We hiked a total of 13.8 miles, and there were again a few tough climbs. The weather was very humid and threatened rain all day, with a few drops falling here and there. I enjoyed seeing how the vegetation has been changing over time; after leaving the Spence Field Shelter we hiked up an open hill with short tussocks of a hardy-looking golden grass and many raspberry brambles just starting to bud with leaves. I wondered what the brambles would look like when they actually had berries on them, and whether bears would start frequenting the area looking for the fruit after they ripened. After just a few miles we passed Rocky Top and had yet another amazing, panoramic view of the Smokies. This will never get old!

We hiked on, up, and down, and were treated to many more forested, short meadows along the way. We arrived at another shelter called Siler Bald Shelter (Siler must have been REALLY bald!), and were deciding whether to press on to the next shelter which was just under 2 miles away. One of the people we had met in a shelter on the very first night we were on the AT, named 5am, was at the shelter and was telling us the next one was probably full. We remembered how much 5am likes the sound of his own voice, and so we made the hasty decision to move on. Although the rain clouds were getting darker, the prospect of spending a rainy night in a tent outside a shelter seemed more enjoyable than listening to 5am tell us about his gear at screaming volume for several hours…again. So we made the short trip to the next shelter which was totally empty, in contrast to 5am’s unfounded predictions. We passed through our first real stand of pine trees on the way, and it was amazing to see the closed canopy and carpet of pine needles in comparison to what we’ve been seeing before. We met a few new folks (Big Tex and his wife Gray Mare who sold all their possessions to hike the AT with no health insurance, and Legs who wore the most inappropriately-tight leggings with a huge hole on his outer thigh), and also met back up with old friends Roadrunner, Rod, and Boss. We again had access to a privy and bear cables, and a Ridge Runner named Chris also joined us at the shelter (not the same Ridge Runner named Chris as before–guess that’s just an application requirement). Sleeping Bag O’Clock came a little later this evening at almost 8pm, but eventually we went to sleep. Around 4am a group of young guys came through night-hiking, and woke up the entire shelter with their poor headlamp etiquette (shining their beams wildly all over and through the shelter) and loud voices, not even bothering to keep it down. They spread some gear or food on the ground and seemed to be splitting it up, which seemed like an odd thing to do in the middle of the night. Eventually the Ridge Runner told them to move on or keep it down, and they hastily gathered everything up and walked back into the night.

Day 19, Friday April 7: The thunderstorm hit around 5am, with pounding rain. The winds weren’t nearly as bad as some of our previous nighttime storms, but the driving rain made staying in my sleeping bag all the more appealing. But eventually the privy called and just as soon as it was light enough to walk around without my headlamp I started packing up my things. Around 7am a hiker arrived at our shelter from the previous one, saying he couldn’t sleep because 5am had woken everyone up very early in the morning with an enraged rant. At first I was thankful that we had decided not to stay at the last shelter to avoid his perturbation, but then the newcomer told us that 5am’s food bag had gone missing. It’s possible (although extremely unlikely) that he just misplaced it or a bear took it, but I realized that the rude young guys who stopped at our shelter a few hours before may have actually been divvying up 5am’s food bag…it’s possible they were actually just degenerates who stole 5am’s food. Chris the Ridge Runner said that whole this type of thing is really rare, but sometimes speed hikers attempt to make it through the Smokies in only 2 days, and it’s easier for them to just steal others’ food than stop to resupply or carry enough food themselves. Chris said that more often than not, it’s the day hikers, weekenders, or “spring breakers” that are more likely to violate Leave No Trace Ethics or take undue advantage of the trail or Thru-Hikers. I’m obviously not sure if those guys even stole 5am’s food, but it was still disappointing to think that something like that would happen out here at all. After packing up our stuff and our usual First Breakfast of a protein bar, we set off into the rain. Eventually the rain tapered off and we started sweating in our rain coats and pants, and decided to ditch them in favor of the cool mist. The miles hiked on this day were my favorite so far, even in the rain, because we walked through mostly pine forest over rocky trail. The rain and fog gave the forest am entirely different feel, and in my opinion it was even more beautiful than if the sun were shining. The canopy felt even more closed, and between the rain drops the sound of occasional bird song seemed somehow even louder than usual and almost echoed. The fog heightened my perception of the distance between the trees, each branch further back fading into the greenish gray darkness. The rain disturbed the small puddles on the trail, and also made the carpet of moss and rusty pine needles shine with the moisture. Just being in the forest was a feast for the senses, and I took joy just from being there. After nearly 3 miles, we ended up at Clingman’s Dome, where we were meeting with a few friends from home at the Observation Tower: hello Nick, Kyle, and Adam! Due to the fog visibility was poor (absolute zero), but we were able to switch out our gear to slackpack for the remaining miles of our day. It was great to see everyone, but the wind on the Observation Tower quickly sucked away whatever body heat I had left during the gear switch.

Getting started again was tough after being so cold, and it took a long time for my hands to regain feeling. After a few miles we stopped for what was supposed to be a quick snack break, but my fingers stopped working and I could barely unclip my backpack or open the packet of crackers. After that we hiked on quicky to avoid freezing, but Meadow and I agreed that despite the rain and cold, it was still a fantastic day. We got to Newfoumd Gap before 1pm and reunited with our friends to be picked up for a day of rest in Gatlinburg. Although it was relatively cold once we got soaked through, walking through the 10.5 miles of rainy, foggy, gorgeous pine forest was still a surreal experience I will remember for a long time!

In Gatlinburg for the afternoon, we showered and picked up sandwiches before heading to a local Good Friday service. The rest of the day involved wandering the streets of Gatlinburg marvelling at the many shocking sights including many candy stores, restaurants, and other specialty/curiosity establishments that we would never dream of entering. Hillbilly Golf was regrettably closed due to the rain, though. We grabbed dinner at an Italian place and I almost stroked out when they placed a towering plate of butter and parmesan-soaked rolls on our table. Although we were already full as we walked back to our hotel, we passed a French waffle window with an extremely passionate and persuasive owner…although the waffles sounded disgusting and nobody was interested (NOT!), after a few samples of her homemade caramel sauce and cookie butter syrup we each got one or split one…most of us added a scoop of ice cream. The hot, sweet waffles were divine, and an amazing end to a wonderful day.

Day 20, Saturday April 8: The goal for today is to rest and enjoy our first Zero Day with no miles hiked on the AT, and resting we are! We had a late breakfast by trail standards, and used the morning to get organized, clean our trail shoes up after the muddy toil from the previous day, and stretch out some of the rightness in our tendons and muscles. We spent the afternoon in search of more food to fuel the next week, and checked out the Apple Barn for a wonderful lunch including apple fritters and an absurd amount of ice cream. Even if I’m not currently in full “hiker hunger” mode, I fully plan to use it as an excuse! Food food food, food. Have I mentioned food? It was an amazing day to take a zero, as it poured a cold rain all day. The plan for tomorrow is to find a local Easter service to attend, and then get back on the trail.

Meadow and I are both in agreement: even though we’ve only been on the AT for three weeks, the experience has already been one of a lifetime. We’re both confident that we are exactly where we should be, and are still excited to look forward and make our tentative plans for the weeks ahead. We are going to start increasing our mileage just slightly this week to see how it goes, and expect to be out of the Smokies within a few days. We are looking forward to continuing to make progress through the alternating states of North Carolina and Tennessee. Onward!

Thanks for stopping by!