Daily Miles: 6.8, Total Miles: 275.1 Never a straightforward descent but I did eventually get down to Hot Springs. I saw two more whitetail right on the trail on the way down. First stop right off the trail was the Laughing Heart Hostel on the edge of town. I stopped and washed my sweaty hiker clothes for $5. While waiting, coffee and good conversation with Speedy, Red Dog, Stitch, a young Dutch hiker, and Shower, a retired game warden. I…
Daily Miles: 21.5, Total Miles: 268.3 Getting lighter in the morning but a few hikers came by early this morning with headlamps on. I lost 1,500′ right off the bat but gained it all back and then some before reaching Max Patch. Finally saw wildlife bigger than a squirrel – a sole whitetail deer that had been spooked by a barking dog. Reaching Max Patch Road, I lucked into one of the best trail magic stops I’ve had on any…
Daily Miles: 20.6, Total Miles: 246.8 It was cold last night and everything in my tent was frosty this morning. But what a beautiful sunrise from my helipad campsite. Fortunately no one came by last night because they may have tripped on my tent guy lines. All that elevation that was gained in the GSMNP was lost today as I wound down the mountains and exited the NP. I reached I-40 and crossing Pigeon River at below 1,500 ft’. Still…
Daily Miles: 18.5, Total Miles: 226.2 A brisk walk across town to the pickup point for the shuttle back to Newfound Gap. Early Easter morning is probably the quietest of the year in Gatlinburg! By the time the van arrived there were probably 25 hikers milling around. Several had also taken double zero days to wait out the storm. Clearly too many for one van but it got sorted out quickly. Most of the first hikers, including me, jumped into…
Daily Miles: 0, Total Miles: 207.7 Tough to be a good tourist when it’s raining so much, even harder than yesterday. Besides breakfast, I holed up in my room, mostly in a reclined position. Gave my feet and legs a rest, snacked, watched some TV and starting a new book. The hardest task was submerging my Thermarest NeoAir pad in the bathtub looking for a possible pinhole leak. None found. Starting tomorrow, the weather looks good this week. I should…
Daily Miles: 12.2, Total Miles: 207.7 A couple came into the shelter last night and noisily set up their tent right next to me. I guess the payback was I got an early start this morning – I honestly tried to be quiet. Today’s challenge was to summit Tennessee’s highest mountain, Clingman’s Dome at 6,643′, also the highest peak in the Smokies and the entire AT. First time on this trail that I have been in a predominantly spruce and…
Daily Miles: 17.8, Total Miles: 195.5 I woke up to a misty morning, wet but no rain – I think we are in a cloud. The second day in the Smokies started off well but slowed down as the steep uphills and downhills resumed. I saw my first bear scat today just before I got water at Spence Field Shelter. Met a hiker there who had already had a bear bag full of food stolen out of a tree by…
Daily Miles: 13.4, Total Miles: 177.7 I slept great at the Fontana Dam Resort, had a nice breakfast and took the first shuttle back to the marina with several other hikers. The first task was walking across the Fontana Dam, a pretty impressive structure. Just on the other side, I entered the Great Smoky Mountains NP (GSMNP) which requires a permit for backcountry camping. Another nearly 5k ft vertical gain on a warm and humid day. For some reason, I…
Daily Miles: 20.0, Total Miles: 164.3 Around 9:30pm last night I heard a lot of hooting and hollering in the direction of Sassafrass Gap Shelter downhill from me. Sure sounded like a bear visitation. While having lunch yesterday at NOC, I was doing some planning. I decided to set my sites on Fontana Dam and the hotel/resort tomorrow, a 20-mile day with good elevation gain. So I was up and at’em early. A tough day with seemingly endless and sometimes…
Daily Miles: 17.3, Total Miles: 144.3 The wind was blowing but not as noisy as I thought it might be. It was chilly on the mountaintop – warm in the quilt but not excited to put the hiking clothes on. Wore my balaclava and gloves for a few hours this morning. Hot Lips and Caveman came by while I was packing up and I passed them later in the morning. The trail first took me to Weser Bald which probably…
