Day 20- Cosby Knob Shelter to Davenport Gap

Wed May 25th
Total Miles Hiked: 237.9
Miles Hiked Today: 7.9

  The day started with a bright sunrise and a clear blue sky. 

I retrieved the food bag from the bear cables and observed that all I had for breakfast in the meal bag was a packet of tuna, a packet of mayo, and some bacon bits.

  I decided to save the bacon bits for an emergency,  and enjoyed my breakfast of tuna. I supplemented it with some dried fruit and a couple payday bars. The empty fuel canister continued to burn, so I made some instant espresso as well.

   I still had a Chicken and Noodle Mountain House meal for Sage, so I made that for her breakfast.

With a few snacks left, and almost 8 miles to go, we set out on our final day in thr Smokies. 

The day started with a pleasant .8 miles downhill. Then we began a couple miles of climbing about 800 ft. Enough to get the blood flowing, but not difficult. 

We took a side trail to see  the Mt Cammerer Overlook, definitely worth the extra mile of non-AT hiking 

 It always amazes me to see how high the mountains look, and to look back and see what we've already climbed.

 I love this trail, it has taken us over and through a beautiful part of America. I wish we were doing a thru hike as it would be fascinating to see the landscape change as we move North. But i feel blessed that we were able to take this time, so I'm not complaining.  We will continue to chip away at the trail one Section Hike at a time.

   The hike down the mountain to Davenport Gap Shelter was gradual, and we made excellent time. Sage was in high gear and I soon forgot I was trying to go easy on my left foot to protect the toe. Moving at Sage speed, my toe gave me no issues. We made it to the shelter by 1:15 pm and took a break. 

   About 15 minutes after our arrival, a couple of day hikers greeted Sage at the Davenport Gap Shelter. They were familiar faces,  Nanna and Granddaddy.  They drove up to cheer us on, resupply for the final push to Hot Springs, and pretty much provide everything a dirty, hungry hiker would want when leaving the Smokies.

   I tried to take a picture of my fresh Chicken Caesar Salad from Costco they brought to the shelter, but it was almost gone before I could snap a picture.  It was great to enjoy a fresh salad before I had even left the Smokies.

   Nanna and Granddaddy also shared fresh fruit and snacks with John from Minnesota,  a thru hiker we've hiked with for over a week.

We enjoyed hiking back to the car with Nanna and Granddaddy. 

  After a shower and laundry at the hotel, we were treated to some NC BBQ at a local restaurant. I managed to snap this picture before I had eaten all the food.

Sage and I are now resupplied, well fed, and eager to make our final push to Hot Springs. We have never been in better hiking condition.

My toe seems fine, and we are eager to push to the end of our section hike. Both of us would love to keep going, but a full thru hike just isn't possible at this time of life. We will, however, keep chipping away at the trail, choosing the best seasons and times for other section hikes.

Day 18- Mt Collins Shelter to Peck's Corner Shelter

Monday May 23rd
Total Miles Hiked: 217.3
Miles Hiked Today: 14.5
Weather: Sunny and Cool
Trail Magic Received in the past 24 hours: 2 Pepsi, 2 Muffins, a bag full of Pay-day candy bars, a bag of dried fruit, a Chicken Rice meal, Fritos and 2 Lemon Biscotti

   This was probably our best day on the trail.  The section from Newfound Gap to Peck's Corner Shelter was amazing, great views in both directions,  most of it was a ridgeline that dropped off in both directions.  We were walking on the spine of the Smokies.  I highly recommend this section if you want to do a day hike or overnight on the AT.

     Our morning started early,  we were packed up and left camp by 0730.  We made good time down to Newfound Gap.

At Newfound Gap we took off our soaked shoes and socks to dry in the sun, and started making an early Lunch. My socks drying on the end of my trekking poles received as much attention as we did.

As we hung out, tourists would periodically come by and gawk at the AT hikers. Some asked us questions.

For example:
Do you sleep in the woods? What do you eat, do you forage along the way?

We were doing our best Yogi-ing (Hiker term for trying to get access to the picnic baskets) when it finally paid off. A fellow asked: "Would you like a soda or some kind of snack?"  We got very excited, and he brought us 2 Pepsi and 2 Muffins.

Score!

Fueled by our cans of Pepsi,  we charged up the next climb and took our next break at Icewater Spring shelter.

 In addition to sun and a beautiful view, this shelter had a strong 4G LTE Verizon signal, so we made a voice call home. 

The views along this section of trail are simply amazing.

 We stopped at Charlie's Bunion where throngs of day hikers lined up to see the view. I cringed at the steep cliff coupled with clueless tourists, I was just waiting for someone to fall.

It was not an easy section of trail, but we have enough hiking under our legs that it wasn't very hard. The Smokies are known for being one of the most difficult sections of the trail, but if you start at Springer, by the time you get here you can climb anything. Hiking through the Smokies with no preparation would be quite hard. Hiking the Smokies by starting at Springer makes them much easier.

Yes, the privies on the AT in the Smokies have wheelchair compliant hand rails. Only located 6 miles from a wheelchair accessible path.

Day 17- Derrick Knob Shelter to Mt Collins Shelter

Total Miles Hiked: 202.8
Miles Hiked Today: 13.5
Start Time: 10:25  End Time: 7:50pm

Breakfast Menu: Sage had 2 Pop Tarts and an iced honey bun. Dan had an iced honey bun

Lunch Menu: Dan had Mountain House Lasagna with hot pepper flakes, cheese and pepperoni added. Sage had Mountain House Chicken Noodle

Dinner Menu: 1 small summer sausage with mashed potatoes.  As we were eating, a hiker walked in from a town resupply and gave us a bag of fritos. Trail Magic!

Today's Milestones:
Climbed the highest peak on the AT, Clingman's Dome
Broke 200 miles on this section hike
Hiked 13.5 miles in mud

   At sunrise the wind was howling and the rain was pelting the roof of the shelter. We decided laziness was the better part of valor, and courageously kept sleeping. By 930, the rain was starting to slacken, so we started to prep for a wet day of hiking. At about 1020, a small ray of sunshine told us it was time to go.  It was cold and windy, but the clouds cleared throughout the day.

   The day started with a climb, later on in the morning we had to climb. After lunch, we climbed some more.  Then our climb began...up to Clingman's Dome.

    I fear I am being redundant.  Let me try again. We started the day hiking in the mud, then we hit a really wet section. Then we started a muddy climb up to Clingman's Dome. 

The highest point on the AT, Clingman's Dome

A lone tomato on the Appalachian Trail.

  Wet, muddy and tired from one of our most difficult days on the trail (again) , we arrived at the shelter before dark.

Day 16- Mollies Ridge Shelter to Derrick Knob Shelter

Total Miles: 189.3
Miles Hiked Today: 12.0
Weather: Well timed rain

   We got on the trail around 845 this morning. The trail was smooth, and one hour in, we had covered 2.7 miles.

The first shelter on our path had this lovely sign:

By 1145 we had arrived at Spence Field Shelter, the sight of a recent Bear attack. 

A fellow in a tent was bit on the leg by a bear. He managed to scare it away, but later it came back and trashed the inside of his tent. I don't know the details, but theses sort of attacks are usually attributed to food left in the tent. 

The attack just happened a couple days ago, and there was an empty tent with holes in the side, apparently the one in the incident. They still have not found the bear, so the shelter is mostly closed. It is only available for use by AT thru hikers, and is surrounded by an electric fence to keep the bears away.

We ate lunch in the shelter and then hunkered down as some rain blew in. Most of the Northbound group from Mollies Knob arrived after we did. 

Some of the hikers in the shelter decided to go out in the rain, and some decided to call it a day after 6 miles. Sage and I chose a third option. We waited from 1145 till 1500, when it appeared the rain was letting up. If we hiked fast, we could make it to the next shelter before dark. It was not easy persuading Sage to get out of her warm sleeping bag and to walk into a light drizzle. But she did it, and we banged out the next 6 miles in virtually no rain.

Trail? More like a rock climb.

I was quite pleased to put in a 12 mile day on a rainy day...and to skip the hiking in the rain part. There's 14 hours of daylight, enough time to get in a full day of hiking, and to skip any passing storms.

   We are hoping for better weather in the next couple days, otherwise our time in the Smokies will not have provided many good views. When you can only see a few hundred feet through the mist, the mountaintops are not very interesting.

The sun even briefly came out during our late day hike.
 

When we arrived at the shelter, there was a nice fire going in the fireplace.

   Once we were settled into the shelter, the wind and rain returned. As the night progressed,  the weather got really nasty,  cold, wind and heavy rain. We were warm and dry in our bags and slept well.

Day 15- Fontana Dam to Mollies Ridge Shelter

May 20th Friday

Total Miles Hiked: 177.3
Miles Hiked Today: 11.7
Weather: Rain

   We awoke to grey skies that threatened rain. The Smokies are known for rain, so we pressed on, expecting to receive an authentic Smokies drenching.

   We walked from the shelter to Fontana Dam and did some final preparations of our packs and feet at the visitors center. I also grabbed one final charge for my battery bank.

  We dropped our Smokies permit in the box, that starts the counter, we now have 7 days to get through. We hope to do it in 5.

We made good time for the first two hours. Just as we approached the top of a major climb, it started to rain. Just a light rain, I didn't even bother putting on my raincoat.

  It was a long climb,  we took a few breaks along the way.

   There wasn't much for views because of the clouds and mist,  but we enjoyed the hike and made good time.

  We saw some wild turkeys today, this is my best attempt at a picture.

 Within an hour of our arrival at the shelter, heavier rain began to fall. We beat the storm. Some of the group we have been hiking with were going to run some errands and start the hike later in the day.  I hope they changed their plans and decided to take  a zero.  I'd hate to think they are hiking in the wind and driving rain. 

(Written at 5pm)

For the next couple hours, completely drenched hikers continued to slosh into the shelter. By the time everyone arrived, all 12 slots in the shelter were full, and the 13th set up his tent.

   I was next to a guy in the shelter who was on his first overnight backpacking trip. He was carrying 70 pounds of gear. Bears are a real problem in the Smokies,  even an empty candy wrapper in your pocket can cause a bear attack in the middle of the night.  This guy had Skittles and MREs spread everywhere around his bunk. Since i did not want to be eaten by a bear, I asked him to please hang his food. He made a joke about fighting the bears, and then said don't worry about it,  he'll do it.

     In the morning,  I , noticed he had some MREs and an empty bag of skittles under his sleeping bag. To put this in context, a few days ago a bear bit someone through the side of their tent 6 miles away from that very shelter. The bear has still not been found.

    Other than that fellow putting us at risk of bear attack, it was fun to hang out with the other hikers in thr shelter on a cold, rainy night.

     Sage got a bit of a debate going by asking " Would you rather be attacked in the shelter by a Puma or 5 Racoons?"

Day 14- Cable Gap Shelter to Fontana Dam "Hilton"

Total Miles Hiked: 165.6
Miles Hiked Today: 6.4
Calories Consumed: A bunch

  Today was a great day. We eventually wandered out of camp by about 8:50. Our Destination, the famous Fontana Hilton Shelter.  Given that name due to the beautiful location overlooking the lake,  bathrooms with showers, and nearby amenities in Fontana Village.

    Our first sign we had arrived was a bathroom with real plumbing and a coke machine. From there, we called a shuttle and got a ride into Fontana Village. We went straight to the Lodge,  as I had placed a few amazon Prime orders and they were waiting. I picked up 2 1/2 pounds of Peanut Butter M&Ms, a new backpack, a foam sleeping pad, and 2 bulk cans of Mountain House freeze dried food to keep the weight down in our packs. To hike the AT through the Smokies,  you either need to carry 5+ days of food, or waste a day getting off the trail in the middle, going into Gatlinburg,  spending tons of money, etc. We don't normally do Mountain House for every meal, but it is a good way to keep our pack weight low and skip the resupply in the middle.

    From the lodge, we then walked to a restaurant and got burgers for lunch. Next, we walked down to the general store, laundromat and post office to finish our preparations for the Smokies. By 4pm, we were done in Fontana Village and caught the shuttle back to the trail. 

On our hike to the shelter, Sage spotted this spider.

A brief hike to the shelter, led us to our lakeside accommodations for the night. 

I picked up tortilla chips, salsa and cheese,  and tried making nachos armed only with my canister stove and a 1.5 oz titanium frypan. I also made chili hot dog burritos for dinner. Other hikers in the shelter happily helped finish off the hot dogs and tortilla chips.

Today felt like a zero day, we are fed, rested, re supplied and ready to tackle the Smokies.  I cannot promise daily updates for the next 5 days as cell coverage will be limited. I'm also on limited power,  as my battery backup is not fully charged.

So far we have not seen a single bear on our trip, this may change as we enter the Smokies.  We will be extra careful with food, wrappers,  anything that smells, as the Bears are very active right now. All food and smelly things will be hung on the bear cables at night, and they only allow camping at designated shelters while in the park.

Smokies here we come.