Through the Smokies...and Beyond

Stats: Friday night 4/8, MM 253.2

(88.5 new miles, 262 total miles)

Fontana Lake

First part of the hike was over Fontana Dam, I was hiking with Bald Eagle. It is huge – built in 1945. It’s the biggest hydro-electric plant on the east coast. We walked across and up the road for a while.



View from the top of Fontana Dam.
Note the classic car lineup below, car club rally

Then you come to the point where the trail goes into the woods, and put a copy of your hiking permit in the box. It costs $20 to hike and tent through the Smokies, and they give you 8 days to hike the 70 miles.

The Smokies lived up to their reputation of being cold and windy. The first day we made it 12 miles to Molly Ridge Shelter, on top of a mountain. There were about 50 people there, 12 in the shelter and the rest of us in tents. Very windy, we heard gusts were up to 55 miles per hour, lasted all night. Kept hearing the creaking sound of a tree right outside my tent, and hoped it stayed up.

Got up the next morning, wind still strong, cold morning. Didn’t sleep that well. When I pulled up the last stake of my tent, the tent blew out of my hands and wrapped around a tree. Very thankful for that tree! Took over an hour to warm up once we started hiking.

Rocky Top

Nice hike once we started moving, hiked to Rocky Top, Tennessee. Beautiful 360 view. Met Shimona and a few other hikers – continued to see them throughout the Smokies. A lot of uphill today, another 12 miles to Derrick Knob Shelter. Another full shelter, we camped outside.

Next day we hiked up to Clingman’s Dome, quite a crowd was already there. Passed a ranger who was counting heads – said he passed 43 through hikers in the past hour and a half. Should have gotten more water before here, feeling dehydrated and not as many places to get water at this point on the trail. Clingman’s Dome was a beautiful, sunny clear day, ranger said it only happens about once a month. What a blessing!

Met Sir Eats a Lot, a fellow Christian who lives in Raleigh. Turns out Bald Eagle goes to the same church as he does. Hiked another 13 miles to Mt. Collins Shelter, we camped out again, still very crowded. Still cold, warm in the sleeping bag, hard to get up in the morning. This is a common thought among all the hikers.

Next day we started out for Peck’s Corner Shelter. On the way, met up with Moondog after his day in Gatlinburg. Also stopped to use the privy at Ice Spring Shelter. What I didn’t know at the time was that my friend Roger had taken a group of students and 700 pounds of mulch to be used at that privy. Sometimes we have to use leaves, so thank you, Roger, for your hard work. Yes, I did appreciate it!

When we got to the shelter, decided to stay inside because the tent space was limited and it was cold. Not as many people b/c some took a day off in Gatlinburg so thought it would be good. But, I slept next to someone with really bad gas…all night long. The next day I saw a ranger, and told her about my shelter stay and the smelly gas. She smiled and said, “It’s all part of the experience.” 

Continued to see beautiful views in all directions. And a new sight: people coming down the steep, narrow trail on horseback. Found out this is the only place on the trail where you can ride horses. Don’t know how they managed on such a steep path. Other than the horses, haven’t seen many animals at all, even squirrels.

One thing that is challenging is knowing how to dress. It’s cold so I put on layers and winter jacket, but then start hiking and sweat so take off the jacket. Then when the wind blows it’s cold so the jacket goes back on. You learn to adjust as each day goes on, sometimes hour by hour.

We hiked another 12+ miles to Cosby Knob Shelter. It was supposed to rain and we got there early, so decided to chance the shelter again. I gathered firewood (the shelters in the Smokies all have fireplaces and tarps at the entrance) and built a fire. Moondog, Bald Eagle, and I then claimed our spots in the shelter. It poured like crazy that night, loud on the fiberglass roof. We were glad to be inside…and no bad gas this time!

The next day was a fairly easy 10-mile hike out of the Smokies to where Mary was picking me up at I-40 and the NC / Tennessee border. I was very glad to be through the Smokies, and thankful I didn’t encounter any snow.

I said good-bye to Moondog and Bald Eagle, who were heading for a nearby hostel. It was Bald Eagle’s last day of hiking – he only scheduled to hike for a month due to work commitments. But, maybe he’ll join us later.

Mary booked a cabin for three nights near Hot Springs. Staying in a cabin was a real luxury for me, and very welcome after hiking 6 days straight in the cold. Since she had it for 3 nights, I decided to hike another 14 miles on Friday to Max Patch. We left the cabin to go back to where Mary picked me up so I could start out.

On the way, Mary suddenly said, “Oh no, the gas light is on and we have 0 miles left in the tank!” She didn’t notice the light go on at 20 miles left. We were in the middle of nowhere, praying really hard to make it to a gas station. According to the GPS we were at least 12 miles from a station. But much to our surprise, we rounded a corner and there was a country store, complete with gas pumps. Thank you, Jesus!

Once I got started, it was a very cold, uphill hike most of the way, and there was a bit of snow on the ground because of the high elevations. The first part of the hike was a 3,000 foot climb over 6 miles.

I caught up with Moondog on the trail and hiked with him to where Mary picked me up. She had set up a Trail Magic spot – it’s when someone called a Trail Angel brings out bananas, sodas, candy, donuts, cheese, and other items we don’t get much of on the trail. Mary set up around 1PM, and I got there around 4. She enjoyed meeting and talking to hikers that passed by, and they all told her how much they appreciated seeing her at that spot on the trail. After a snack, Moondog kept hiking so he could get to Erwin in a week or so, where he will visit family.

Both Mary and I were very glad for the hot tub we had at the cabin after a cold day outside. Mary made us a wonderful steak dinner, complete with mushrooms and onions, baked potato, and asparagus. We turned in early for a good night’s sleep.

Saturday we enjoyed a zero-day playing games, napping, and of course, eating. I got together my stuff for the next week – it will be another almost 90 miles until Erwin and my next zero day.

My feet are doing a whole lot better now, thank you so much for all your prayers! The boots and socks I have now are comfortable and no new blisters. My knee, though, is bothering me a lot after this past week. Please continue to pray for it.

I started out 1/2 mile from Max Patch Sunday morning. I’m still enjoying the challenge of the hike, the people, and the amazing views. It’s hard to believe that people can look at all this beauty and not believe that God created it.

Sneak preview from next week: view from Max Patch

Here are a few more pics. Until next week, Happy Trails!

Typical signs all along the trail

To keep wild boars off the trail, in Smokies

Thankful for the many people who maintain the trail,
both paid and volunteers

Weather station near Max Patch