The Smokies

I've had terrible service in the Smokies, and might not be able to post again for the next five or so days if this continues! It's absolutely gorgeous though, I love it.

I've also passed the 200-mile mark, which is kind of strange but awesome because not too long ago I thought I was going to quit. Now I feel great though, I'm having fun and ready to take on another 200 at least. And maybe even the whole thing, who knows? 

Day 18: April 8, 2015

Weather: sunny and warm

Miles travelled: 12.8

Total miles on AT: 164.7

Bumblebee, Weasley, and I woke up at 6 to leave, wanting to catch Witch and Evergreen, who'd gone on to the next shelter 6 miles ahead of us. The mice woke us up in the night, sqeaking loudly right next to our heads and keeping us awake with worries of eaten food. I wondered if they ate human flesh, and dreamt of half-eaten food supplies.

The upside of our early start, beginning with head lights to guide us, was the gorgeous sunrise we witnessed. It was incredible. It was also really fun to hike with Weasley and Bumblebee. Sometimes they would get ahead and take a break and sometimes I would and take a break with them when they caught up. We talked quite a bit until we were a few miles away from our destination, Fontana Dam, when it was more downhill and I took off. It was the first day it truly looked like spring, and wildflowers were everywhere.

I got to the road crossing to grind trail maic; a guy had cold drinks and snacks and was interviewing thru hikers for his documentary. I stayed till bumblebee and weasley caught up, then we took a shuttle into town, where we found Witch. Evergreen's daughter was driving to pick up her dog, and Evergreen had asked her to pick up my package on her way past.

Well, I guess some signals got crossed or she was in a rush or something because she didn't do it. My immediate reaction was to be upset, because I no longer had any food and the food at Fontana Dam was incredibly expensive and not very good. as soon as Witxh and Weasley heard, however, they started rummaging through their food bags and giving me anything spare they had, which was mostly trail mix and granola. It cheered me up immensely, and I was so happy to have such wonderful trail friends. Sure, I'd have to live off of granola for three days (never again), but I'd make it.

We had a quiet dinner and sat by a campfire for awhile, talking and laughing and enjoying ourselves before going to bed in the shelter, what is known as the "Fontana Hilton" because it sleeps 24 and has dinky, dirty showers in a building nearby, so we all had a shower.

Day 19: April 9, 2015

Weather: sunny, hot

Miles travelled: 11.1

Total miles on AT: 177.0

I left without the Water Gang (our unofficial name, because we are all Pisces or Scorpio), because Weasley had to wait for a package and they were taking a day off, but I felt good and don't have time to spare for zeros. It was sunny and beautiful all day, although the bugs were rampant and it felt incredibly hot. I crossed Fontana Dam and entered the Smokies, so most of the day was spent climbing. I had intended to go further but I felt really tired and miserable all day so I stopped early, staying at a shelter with the Six Pack, a group of guys I have been leapfrogging and staying with for the past 120 miles. I'm pretty friendly with Cruise Control and Woo, who started together and are both fast hikers, but they stop early to stay with their group, finishing their hike in a few short hours. Cruise control is actually the one who named me at the hostel so long ago. I usually start really early, at first light, and they start around 11 or 12 and they still pass me. I think I might get ahead of them for good soon though, because their friends keep them at a slower pace.

All the critters were out because it was so sunny, and I was dripping sweat not long into my hike. You could really tell it was spring by the end of the day, there were meadows of flowers that looked white and beautiful.

I was so relieved to find the shelter. I thought I'd missed it, and I was really trudging the past couple miles. Forget moving on, I wasn't going to take another step! The shelter is supposedly haunted, and had a fireplace, which was unique (but not for the smokies, I found out). It was nice though, I talked to Cruise (Woo went on) and some of the other people at the shelter, then went to sleep early, playing a few rounds of solitaire before turning in. It was really warm and I didn't wake up much at night, getting a lot of sleep.

Day 20: April 10, 2015

Weather: Brief torrential rain, scattered showers and fog

Miles travelled: 17.8

Total miles on AT: 194.8

I got up at first light and packed up. Just as I was getting ready to start hiking, it began to rain, but I decided to go on anyway. No rain was going to stop me from walking! I thought maybe it would up. No such luck though, it only got worse. It started to fall down really hard at one point so I was hiding in the shadow of a tree when, 20 yards in front of me, a deer crossed the trail, followed by another, then another. They never saw me, but it was an incredible moment. I felt like I'd witnessed a real live scene from Bambi, and I hadn't seen anything bigger than a squirrel on the trail yet.

Soon, I was absutely drenched, and found out that my rain jacket has quite a few holes in it already. I was listening to an audiobook though, and the rain was quite pretty in spite of the inconvenience, so I'd soon gone the three miles to the next shelter, where I found Woo and his friend and some weekend hikers. I had a snack and we joked for a bit and I felt recharged to power on. After this, the mud was worse and started sucking your shoes in, unwilling to part. It made you slip and slide and fall all over the place, and I rolled my ankles so often that by the end of the day I had quite a bit of ankle pain, which was a first.

I don't know why I felt so good. Maybe it was because the ups were balanced with downs, and my feet were better, and I'd slept well. For some reason, I was just really in the groove of things and didn't want to stop. So I didn't. I'd finally gone 17.8 miles when I decided I shouldn't wear myself out and stopped, at a shelter with entirely new people. I ended up talking quite a bit with a guy named Seth and his father, Bruce, who was with him for a while on his thru hike. They were really nice, and had just had a not so good day. Bruce twisted his ankle or something and was hurting, so they had stopped early and were roasting some clothes by the heat of a small fire on the indoor fireplace.

It was a chilly and windy night, with people coming and going at all hours so I woke up frequently.

Day 21: April 11, 2015

Weather: Sunny and warm 

Miles travelled: 12.5

Total miles on AT: 207.3

I woke up at 5 in the morning wanting to get up and go. I suddenly had the uncontrollable desire to start hiking in time to see the sunrise over Clingman's dome, the highest point on the Appalachian Trail. I got dressed and declared my mattress and went out to find incredibly thick fog, so heavy that my headlamp only made visibility worse, so I refilled my mattress and tried to sleep a little more. I got up for real at 7, and the fog had cleared. I packed up quickly and left. My plan was to get to Newfound Gap early so that I could get into town with time to get all my errands done. 

I passed Woo early on in my hike. He said he'd night hiked to get to the shelter I'd stayed in and slept out under the awning because the snoring inside kept him awake, and left really early I guess because he was cold. Anyway, he seemed kind of unusyally slow and I passed him easily. He was taking lots of pictures because the forest looked cool, and so was I, but none of them really convey how eerie it looked. I imagined a haunted red riding hood would emerge from the bushes and demand my soul (my MP3 player died and I had to entertain myself). 

I got to Clingman's dome around 10 to find beautiful, cloudless views. After that, I came across lots of day hikers, and even a class of about 20 led by a professor, who shouted back at his class to "Get out of the way!" for me. I felt like the seas were parting as they jumped in every which direction to let me pass.

The hike down was fantastic. The trail was beautifully crafted, with complex water drainage and log stumps to hop on and avoid the slippery mud. It was hard to get good pictures though, the harsh sunlight and dark shadows created too much contrast for my camera phone. It looked incredible, however. I felt like I was in a fairy land.

I made it to the gap I was headed to at around 1:30. Just as I crossed the busy road into a huge crowded parking lot, a man met me and called "are you a thru hiker? Want some trail magic?" He and his wife had cold sodas, ham sandwiches, donuts, fruit, and all sorts of goodies for us. There were two hikers already there lounging in the sun and I joined them, talking to Godspeed and his wife (I wrote her name down but I've forgotten it just now). He thru hiked with his son a few years ago. We talked and ate for about 45 minutes, by which time there were six of us, and then we all piled into their truck and they drove us into town. One of the men was actually going into town to go home for good. He said he liked hiking but didn't like camping.

I split a room with a guy I've seen every so often but can never remember his name. It's something to do with Star Wars...

As soon as I got into town, I finally got my package! I washed all my dirty clothes and had a wonderful shower and hung out for a while, then went to a brewery to have dinner with Bruce and his son Seth with no trail name. We had pizza, then Seth talked his dad into going to a free moonshine tasting, which is a well known perk of coming into this town.

Gatlinburg is kind of a funny town. The whole thing feels like a joke because it's so ridiculous. Dollywood is nearby, and downtown Gatlinburg boasts all sorts of ridiculous shops and museums and fun houses. 

The moonshine was strange. One tasted like tequila and another like vodka, and others had vague hints of sweet tea, apple pie, blackberry, and so on. They were really powerful and not very tasty, I thought.

Anyway, tomorrow it's back to the trail I go, clean and recharged and ready to power on!