The Smokies

Frigid.

Day 15, the start of my third week on the AT, was phenomenal. I started with a beautiful morning at Fontana Dam, which I crossed into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Clear skies and cool temperatures greeted me as I deposited my backcountry permit in the deposit box at the park entrance.

It was a long, uphill journey entering the Smokies—a 3,000-foot climb over 6 miles. It actually wasn’t too bad. That part of the Appalachian Trail allows horse access, which means the trail is not very steep and has smooth terrain. I saw a few wild turkeys, but they ran down a hill before I could get a picture. I detoured half a mile off the trail to visit a fire tower on top of Shuckstack Mountain, and it was absolutely spectacular. I felt like I was the only human for miles.

The rest of the day felt like a breeze as I ended my 15-mile day at Russell Field Shelter. Creek, Critter, Will, and David were there—familiar faces in my “vortex” of thru-hikers I come across. That was the core group of people I’ve been with these past few days in the Smokies, and they have all been great company.

Day 17 was not as friendly. I woke up to light rain. “That wasn’t in the forecast.” None of us at camp had any cell service, so we were all divided on what to do. I decided to start my day as normal and head out. A little rain slowly turned into a little rain with wind, which turned into a lot of rain with wind, which turned into a lot of rain and a lot of wind. The terrain was not easy either. The horse trail ended, and it was nothing but steep inclines and declines throughout the morning.

After about 8 miles, I reached the next shelter. There were about 10 of us there, huddled around, trying to stay warm. I decided to have a hot lunch to warm myself up. Even though the food was good, the time it took to make it had caused my legs to cool down. I was cold and wet, and the weather was getting worse. I made the decision to put on my dry sleeping clothes and warm up in my sleeping bag. It turned out to be a good call because after two hours, my body warmed up, and the storm had settled. I decided to push another 8 miles that day, which turned out to be a longer day than expected. I arrived at Double Spring Shelter and was pleasantly surprised to find that Steve had a fire going in the shelter’s fireplace. Before I slipped back into dry clothes, I helped out by gathering firewood in the misty woods. That may not have been the most physically challenging day on the trail, but it may have been the hardest because of the conditions.

The next day was scheduled as an easier one. The wind and rain had died down a bit, and I had my sights set on the next town stop of Gatlinburg later in the day. This is when I made my way up Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the Appalachian Trail. The fog was thick for most of the day, and the views were absent. Though it still was a beautiful experience watching the thick fog flow through the forest.

After hiking 10 miles, I made it to my last stop of the day, Newfound Gap. I was pleasantly surprised by an abundance of trail magic from multiple sources. I ran into a few more familiar faces from my vortex, and we all gorged on the offerings and gathered some free resupply. Brad was the best trail angel, though. He hooked me up with a few days’ worth of tuna and a free ride into Gatlinburg! Thanks again, Brad!