Week 2 Overview
Day 8
May 10, 2019
- Route: Winding Stair Gap (mile 109.3) to Cold Spring Shelter (mile 125.2)
- Daily Mileage: 15.9 miles
This morning I took the town’s morning shuttle from Franklin, TN back to the trailhead at Winding Stair Gap, and I was back on trail by 9:30 a.m.
When I arrived, I ran into Jeff (of the Stars and Bars duo) once again. He was hanging out at the trailhead in a pickup truck. Although his foot infection is improving, it’s still serious enough that he’ll be sidelined for the rest of the Honor Hike. So, instead of hiking, he’s now out “crewing” for his brother-in-law, Jeremy – mostly waiting to meet him at various trailheads to help with his water and food resupply.
MEETING KURT
I was just ahead of Jeremy (Stars) at most the road crossings today, which meant I was able to take advantage of Jeff’s recurring “trail magic” and get some free water and snacks too. While I was refilling my bottles at one of the trailheads, another hiker named Kurt came over joined us.
As it turns out, Kurt was also a Navy veteran (like Jeff) who served in England for several years. We had an interesting chat, and I hope I run into him again down the trail.
Kurt and is currently hiking with a girl named Meow, and they are really fast hikers! Seeing them climb these hills with so little effort makes me wish I was younger.
The weather forecast is calling for some pretty hard rain tomorrow. And truthfully, I really don’t want to pack up a wet, muddy tent again, so I decided to stay in one of the AT shelters tonight.
I arrived at the Cold Spring Shelter around 4:30 pm, and the next shelter was another 6 miles ahead down the trail. I could probably have made it there by dark, since the sun isn’t going down until 8 pm this time of year. However, my right ankle is pretty sore from the terrain, so I decided to call it a day at 16 miles instead of pushing for a big 22-mile day.
SLEEPING IN MY FIRST AT SHELTER
For anyone who’s never been on the AT, let me explain about the shelters. These things are not luxurious cabins. Most of them are really just three-sided logs huts that hold between 4-8 hikers. There’s just enough room to roll out your sleeping bag and pad on the wood floor, and then you sleep like sardines packed in a can.
It’s also rumored that most of the AT shelters are inundated by mice who scramble around all night looking for food scraps and crumbs on the floor. And they also try to squeeze their way into your pack looking for forgotten snack wrappers or treats. Thus, I have fairly mixed feelings about sleeping in the AT shelters. The idea of a mouse scurrying across me as I sleep or getting into my pack really creeps me out.
Despite this fear, the impending rain means I’m opting for the shelter tonight. There’s a couple of section hikers from Michigan and two thru-hikers (Refugee and Sisiphyus) from Maine. With the five of us inside it, we are packed pretty tight. I’m not a big fan of this style of sleeping, but hopefully waking up dry in the morning will make up for the minor discomfort.
Day 9
May 11, 2019
- Route: Cold Spring Shelter (mile 125.2) to Nantahala Outdoor Center (mile 137)
- Daily Mileage: 11.8 miles
As predicted, the rain storm started in the middle of the night and was still going in the morning. It slowed down around 7:30 when I got up, but as soon as I started hiking, it turned to a torrential downpour for hours.
I pulled out my trusty umbrella, and was actually in a fairly good mood while moving down the trail. I realized that once my shoes and socks were drenched, I no longer had to worry about staying out of the puddles. Why not just traipse down the flooded trail? Since it wasn’t a cold rain, I really didn’t mind. My head and chest stayed dry, so I was good to go.
I saw Jeff sitting in his truck at several more trailheads this morning. When I stopped to talk to him at Tellico Gap, I learned Stars decided to try to push a giant 30-mile day so he can finish the Honor Hike today. Apparently there’s supposed to be more rain and heavy wind in the forecast tomorrow, and he is really pushing to avoid the worst of it.
THE NOC
After 11.8 miles of traipsing through the rain, I finally made it to my planned lunch spot at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. The NOC is primarily a summer whitewater rafting and kayaking destination, but also supports AT thru-hikers in the spring.
I looked like a complete mess when I arrived. My shorts were soaked through. I had mud all up my legs. And I needed to dry out desperately. So, I left my wet pack out on the covered porch in front of the NOC’s restaurant, switched into my dry camp shoes, and used lots of paper towels in the ladies’ bathroom to wipe try to wipe the bulk of mud off my legs.
Feeling somewhat presentable, I finally went inside to grab a warm lunch. The waitress seated me on the outdoor patio with the rest of the smelly hikers. Kurt, Meow, Luna, and Squirrel were at a nearby table, so I decided to join them for a late lunch and find out where everyone else was planning to go for the remainder of the day.
The group was split on whether to try to wait out the storm or drive on. Luna and Squirrel were going to head out toward the next shelter, while the other two were going to stay and try to get a bunk at the hostel. I decided staying overnight at the NOC sounded like a good option. There will be plenty more days out here on trail to get soaking wet.
After lunch, I went next door to the outfitter to check out the store and pick up my resupply box. While there, I also decided to buy a waterproof pack cover (since it appears there’s going to be LOTS of rain on this trail) and a new pair of Patagonia Baggies shorts. Before my hike, my regular running shorts seemed like ideal hiking gear, but now that they’re constantly wet with rain or sweat, I seem to be chafing. I’m hopeful these new shorts will dry quicker and eliminate that discomfort.
GOODIES FROM HOME
While at the outfitter, I was able to pick up my first resupply box too. It was pretty interesting to open it to see what it contained. I’d completely forgotten what I sent myself just a few weeks ago. Turns out, I packed it with WAY too much food – especially given that I shopped at a grocery store just two days ago in Franklin, TN. I have another resupply box waiting for me at Fontana Dam in about 30 miles, so there was not point in carrying all this extra food weight.
Rather than just putting my unwanted items into the hiker box, I went ahead and offered “first dibs” to the other hikers hanging outside. It’s amazing how a free family-sized bag of Peanut M&Ms can make you some instant friends.
Afterwards, a bunch of us hung out by the fire pit enjoying some beers during a break in the rain. I met lots of new people, including girl named Trail Magic who had the misfortune of losing her wallet this week! Talk about bad luck. She has no ID, debit card, credit cards, or cash. Luckily, the hiking community is filled with good people and everyone is willing to help out until she gets her passport and a new debit card mailed to her down the trail. But, it has me rethinking how well I’m securing my own stuff.
Day 10
May 12, 2019
- Route: NOC (mile 137) to Cable Gap Shelter (mile 159.2)
- Daily Mileage: 22.2 miles
Most of my wet gear dried out in the hostel’s bunk room overnight, so I decided to get an early start this morning. Although I really wanted to hang out at the NOC restaurant and get a big, hot breakfast this morning, I feel like I need to make up for the short day of hiking I put in yesterday.
There was a major climb coming out of the NOC along with plenty of wet, slick trail to contend with. On the positive side though, when I got to Stecoah Gap this afternoon, there was a lady in a pickup truck doing some trail magic (yeah!!) and I ran into Kurt, Meow, Trail Magic (TM), and Patrick again.
It was really nice getting to know some of the people hiking around me a bit more while I hiked today. And, the small group of us agreed to head for Cable Gap Shelter, which made it a pretty big mileage day (22.2 miles) in this super rainy weather.
And while we were chatting, I also discovered this is TM’s second time thru-hiking the AT. She’d hiked it once before a few year ago, and wanted to come back out a relive it. I can’t imagine wanting to do this trail again in the future. It’s kicking my butt.
FLOWERS
Despite all the recent rain, I did notice some of the flowers on trail. It definitely made me glad that I’m hiking this section in May instead of earlier in the season. Most the February, March, and April thru-hikers had to come through here while the trees were completely bare. Meanwhile, I’m surrounded by lots of green leaves and blooming flowers.
This afternoon, I also climbed Jacob’s Ladder, which was insanely steep and left my calves burning. I keep waiting for this trail to get easier, or for my body to feel stronger, but that seems to keep eluding me.
The rain slowed a few times during the day, but picked up fiercely around 3 pm and just poured like crazy until I reached the shelter three hours later. The pack cover I purchased yesterday at the NOC was definitely a good investment – and the new shorts seem to be holding up well too.
I also think my hiker hunger is finally settling in too. I ate all my snacks today, and two hard boiled eggs at the trail magic before Jacob’s Ladder. Despite that, I was still really hungry while hiking this afternoon. Perhaps I needed to reassess my food strategy before I enter the Smokies and add some higher calorie snacks!
Day 11
May 13, 2019
- Route: Cable Gap Shelter (mile 159.2) to Mollie Ridge Shelter (mile 177.9)
- Daily Mileage: 18.5 miles
After two full days of rain, today looks like it will mostly just be misty and foggy. I was hoping to stay dry, but my clothes still got soaked because I kept brushing up against all the wet trees and plants lining the trail.
Patrick and I made it to the marina trailhead by mid-morning, but we had to wait for the shuttle to take the group of us to the Fontana Village Resort, where most of us mailed our resupply packages for the Smokies.
Much like my experience with my resupply package back at the NOC, I couldn’t remember anything I’d packed inside it. As it turns out, most of the items were spot on, and I was in a good position going into the Smokies. There were a handful of items in there that I decided I couldn’t stomach though, and quickly dumped in the hiker box. It’s amazing how quickly you can get sick of certain foods out here!
While replenishing my food bag, I also decided there were a few items in my pack that were just becoming dead weight. If I hadn’t used something in the past 11 days, I reasoned the chances were I wouldn’t need it. So why continue to carry the extra weight? I’m willing to carry some extra first aid supplies as “just in case,” but that’s about it. Everything else wasn’t just worth it
Luckily, there was a post office immediately adjacent to the Fontana Village Store, so I mailed those unwanted items to Damascus, Virginia, with plans to dump them off at the RV when I meet up with Keith there.
As it turns out, the time I needed to resupply, eat lunch, go to the post office, and get the shuttle back to the marina took much longer than expected. So, I wasn’t back a the trailhead again until 2 pm, just as the sun was really starting to heat things up.
FONTANA DAM
Once back on trail, I passed the infamous Fontana Hilton shelter. It’s named this partly in jest, and partly for it’s uber-nice accommodations compared to the other AT shelters. It even has a nearby toilet and shower. A small part of me wanted to spend the night there just for the experience, but I kept on hiking.
Before getting to the National Park though, I had to walk across Fontana Dam, which was truly spectacular. The lake itself is beautiful, but the dam was the real attraction. Watching the water rush down the chutes, and then spill out in the river below was breathtaking. I was in awe of how powerful the water was as it sprayed into clouds at the bottom with incredible force.
After crossing the dam, I entered the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (aka the Smokies). After depositing my permit into the box beside the trail, I almost immediately started climbing upward into the mountains.
I THINK I’M SICK
The climb was hard, and it didn’t take long before I was resting on the side of the trail. The longer I sat there though, the more I started to feel physically weak and really nauseated. At the time, I wondered if I ate something bad or whether I was coming down with some illness like norovirus.
[Note: I now realize that I was experiencing the early symptoms of a heat injury. I previously suffered a bout of heat exhaustion on the Camino de Santiago while hiking a 53km day in extreme sun. And unfortunately, once you experience a heat injury once, you’re more susceptible to them recurring again. This particular afternoon was in the 90s with high humidity, and I had a very heavy pack with 5-6 days of food inside. I was also dehydrated from not drinking enough and probably overexerted myself on the climb up into the Smoky Mountains from Fontana Dam. Although I didn’t recognize the cause at the time, I would feel these symptoms several more times in the extreme heat later on the AT and eventually realize what was going on.]
Before too long, TM and Patrick caught up to me, and I was real mess. I was feeling dizzy, my lips were numb, I felt nauseated, and I had stomach cramps. When I finally started hiking again, I was so going slow that I was barely moving.
Honestly, if it hadn’t been for Trail Magic sticking with me for the rest of the afternoon and making sure I got to the first shelter, I’m not sure I would have made it.
When we finally arrived, the sun was already setting, and the shelter was full. TM went down to the water source to fill my water bladder while I set up my tent behind the shelter. I was so grateful that she did that for me, because I was too physically spent to do anything but crawl into my tent and go to sleep. I didn’t even eat dinner. But at least I had water to rehydrate me during the night.
Day 12
May 12, 2019
- Route: Mollie Ridge Shelter (mile 177.9) to Double Spring Shelter (mile 197.2)
- Daily Mileage: 19.5 miles
I woke up this morning around 6:30 am feeling a lot better physically than I did yesterday. The extra rest overnight seemed to help, and I didn’t feel nauseated or weak anymore.
Nonetheless, I really didn’t want to get out of my sleeping bag and start the day, because it was freezing out! Seriously, it was around 30 degrees this morning and I was COLD!
Luckily, I had my rain pants, along with my puffy and rain jacket, as extra layers to go over my hiking clothes. I hurriedly made some warm oatmeal and coffee and packed up as quickly as possible so I could get moving to stay warm.
BEARS!
I almost forgot to mention that we saw a bear on trail yesterday! As TM and I were walking down the trail, Patrick was ahead of us and hollered at us to stop. Ahead of him there was an adult bear up in a tree eating. The bear was hanging directly above the trail, and looked like she could fall at any moment, so none of us wanted to walk beneath her.
Patrick said he saw also saw cub on the right side of the trail nearby. So, we had to bushwhack off trail on the opposite side to give a wide berth to the treed bear, the cub, and any potential others that might be nearby.
I sent most of today hiking by myself (which I prefer), but ran into TM and Patrick this afternoon while they were taking a break outside one of the shelters.
TM is starting to refer to Patrick as “Gear Boy” due to his constant obsession with everyone’s hiking gear and desire to discuss it for hours on end. I’m curious to see if the name sticks.
DOUBLE SPRING SHELTER
The three of us made it all the way to Double Spring Shelter this evening, which is the last shelter south of Clingmans Dome (the highest point on the entire AT).
This particular shelter was a nostalgic place for me, because it’s where Keith, Finn, and I ate lunch during our high point adventure last November. It’s also where we crossed paths with some 2018 SOBO thru-hikers nearly 2,000 miles into their own hike. And now, here I am, sleeping in the same spot as I thru-hike in the opposite direction!
I should also explain why I keep stopping at shelters each night. I haven’t suddenly fallen in love with shelter sleeping (or the mice) over the past few days. It’s because hikers are required to stay in the shelters while in the Smokies. So I’m stuck sleeping in them for at least another day or two.
Day 13
May 15, 2019
- Route: Double Spring Shelter (mile 197.2) to Tri-Corner Shelter (mile 223.4)
- Daily Mileage: 26.2 miles
This morning I was woken up several times between 4-5 am by hikers who were scurrying out of the shelter to hike up to Clingmans Dome for the sunrise. One of them apparently ran into something or stubbed his toe, because the string of loud expletives came out his mouth around 4:30 am. was enough to wake even the heaviest sleeper.
I wasn’t nearly as excited about seeing Clingmans Dome as some of the others, given that I just visited it six months ago. But, I did briefly stop this morning to take the obligatory photo. As you can see by my attire, this morning was quite cold again.
Then I was off to Newfound Gap, where lots of thru-hikers try to grab a ride into nearby Gatlinburg. As I’ve previously discussed HERE, I am NOT a fan of Gatlinburg and its kitschiness. Plus, it’s a rather long detour to get off trail to resupply, which is why I carried so much food for this leg of my hike.
Once at Newfound Gap, I found a nice spot of grassy law amidst the throngs of tourists, and sat down for lunch with two of the ladies I’ve been hiking around the past few days – Squirrel and Gazelle.
Squirrel is from Germany and has been hiking with Luna since her second day on the trail. She just finished grad school and decided to come to the US to hike the AT this summer while her boyfriend finished up his own degree back home. This is her first long trail, and she’s a machine when it comes to making miles.
Gazelle is also a friend of Luna’s and they know each other from back home in Oakland, CA. Both of them have thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and overlapped on parts of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). So, she definitely knows what she’s doing out here. Her ability to hike long distances, seemingly without any effort, definitely merits her trail name.
A MARATHON DAY
The three of us ladies were eating lunch and checking our phones for service when some random people came over to ask if we were thru-hikers. When we said, “Yes,” they offered us some trail magic in the form of sodas and cheese crackers. I’ve got to say, people around the AT are pretty awesome, and I was happy to take them up on the offer!
I needed the extra energy too because the afternoon had a major quandry. The shelters on this section of trail weren’t very convenient distances from Double Spring Shelter. The shelter options were:
- 13.5 miles (but it was closed due to bear activity);
- 21 miles (but the shelter was an additional 0.5 mile off trail); or
- 26.2 miles (a full a marathon distance)
Gazelle, Squirrel and I decided to push and see if we could make it to the furthest shelter, even though that would be our biggest day yet. After all, we figured we could always bail out at 21 miles if we weren’t moving fast enough to beat the dark.
The trail was pretty challenging, but we made it to the Tri-Corner Shelter around 7:30pm. I’m totally beat. I certainly wasn’t expecting to hike a marathon within my first two weeks on trail. But it means we made it far enough that we should exit the Smokies tomorrow! Yeah!!
Day 14
May 16, 2018
- Route: Tri-Corner Shelter (mile 223.4) to Standing Bear Hostel (mile 241.5)
- Daily Mileage: 18.1 miles
Last night, I kept expecting to see Luna, TM, and Gear Boy roll into the shelter behind us – especially since TM sounded like she was definitely planning to push the entire 26.2 miles. When they didn’t show up by dark, I figured their plans must have changed.
Then this morning as I was walking out of the shelter to brush my teeth, guess who I found cowboy camping out on the trail? The three of them looked so adorable curled into the roots of a giant tree. It looked like a giant bird nest filled with dirty, smelly hikers!! So, although they had to do some night hiking, they made it there after all!
Today’s hike out of the Smokies was mostly downhill. Gazelle and I stopped for an early lunch, and we kept leapfrogging Squirrel the rest of the day until we all got to a river and decided to stop and soak our aching feet.
STANDING BEAR FARM
After leaving the Smokies, we headed down to Standing Bear Farm, where I had a resupply box waiting and the other two planned on purchasing their next few days of food.
There aren’t any grocery stores close to the trail, but Standing Bear runs a small little resupply shop for thru-hikers. After seeing how limited the options were, I was glad I opted to mail myself one more box. This will be my last one though – and I plan to buy all my food in trail towns from here until Harpers Ferry.
I decided 18 miles was good enough after yesterday’s “marathon,” so I got a bunk at the hostel for the night. I also really wanted a shower to wash the last few days of grime off my body. I hoped to get some clean clothes out of my stay too, but Standing Bear only had a basin and washboard to manually scrub things. Although I used it, everything smelled only semi-clean in the end.
It’s hard to believe I’m already through the Smokies and that I essentially made it through there in 36 hours. Now I’ve passed the two big early obstacles for NOBO hikers – Neels Gap and the Smokies. The conventional wisdom says – if you make it this far without quitting, chances are you’re serious about completing the entire trail!
Week 2 Overview
- Lowest mileage day: 11.8 miles
- Highest mileage day: 26.2 miles
- Number of AT shelters slept in: 4 (they’re mandatory in the Smokies)
- Number of mail resupplies: 3
- Number of days with torrential downpours: 2
- Total miles hiked: 132.2