Days 123-126: Smokies and Gatlinburg

We had only two miles to go up and over Max Patch Mountain. The sky was clear and I was sure we would have great views this morning.

Our decision to hike fewer miles and postpone climbing and topping this AT highlight was worth it.

Camping is no longer allowed up there, but I’m sure it would be a spectacular sunrise and sunset.

After admiring the 360-degree views, we continued with our day. After about 7 miles, we reached Snowbird Peak. As described in our guide, there was a strange building at the top.

Basically, it sends signals to the planes that show how far they are from the station. These buildings are becoming obsolete due to GPS capabilities, but it was cool nonetheless.

We were also finally able to dry all our belongings in direct sunlight. I set the contents of my backpack on the gravel and spread it out. It’s so nice to finally have everything dry. The forecast is almost clear for the next few days and we will be in the Smokies. How well things are going!

Nick and I split up for the rest of the day. I had some business to take care of with my spring classes and I had decent cell service, so I made a few extra stops while he moved on.

Once I took care of everything, I continued entering the Smokies. Just before the park is the iconic Standing Bear Farm lodge. We opted not to stay or visit this facility, we have heard mixed reviews about this place and plan to head to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in a few days.

In the last 3 miles of the day, I finally completed my snake bingo card! I think I’ve seen just about every possible snake you can find along the AT and I just added an Eastern Copperhead to the list. I almost stepped on this guy, he just stared at me as I confidently navigated around his “bubble”, after adding him to my “Search” app IDs, of course!

As soon as I entered the Smokies, I discovered that the government had closed at midnight the night before. Our permits are still valid and we can still access off-field spaces. I’m just not sure how this will affect the crowds flocking to «America’s Most Visited National Park.» Especially during the beginning of leaf peeping season. We’ll see!

We woke up inside our caged refuge. This is one of the National Park’s answers to keep bears away from our food. The idea is to take the food with you inside the shelter and the bears will not be able to get through the metal fence. Interesting approach.

The next day we had to climb about 2500 feet for the first 4 miles. It’s not a terrible gradient. He took us to Mount Cammerer. We did a 1.2 mile round trip side quest to go see the watchtower. It was an eight-sided building with stunning views.

The rest of the day would be a bit of a climb, over 6,500 feet. We’ve been moving between 4,500 and 7,000 feet a day for the past few weeks, so I’m feeling pretty used to this. Since we are in the National Park, we don’t have many options for places to stay. It’s usually 18 miles or 27, or some other odd distance that’s too much or too little. Normally we opt for the lower mileage.

I stopped for a late lunch at an old helipad. It was beautifully situated on a hill between two mountains and I rejoiced in the sunny moments of this beautiful day.

I started listening to the Hunger Games series that day and was immersed in the story for most of the day. I hope to finish the entire series by the time I finish this hike, it’s so good! I’ve only seen one or two movies and I really want to read the entire series and then watch all the movies.

I arrived at the shelter a while after Nick. There were already two other pairs of hikers there, each of which also included Nick. Three Nicks in one night! It was very nice to talk to all our colleagues at the shelter. It can be a little daunting walking to a place where you know you have to spend an entire night and morning with whoever is there, or whoever decides to show up. I always try to assume the best in everyone I meet but sometimes it’s hard not to worry about the company you may have. I’m happy to say that almost everyone we’ve been with is wonderful and I’m glad I got to meet them, even if it’s just for one night.

We had a great evening of hiking camaraderie. Nick and I usually wake up at 6am, although it’s still dark for at least an hour after our silent alarm. We try to keep our beds quietly under the red lights of our headlights. We had breakfast and filtered some water to prepare for the day. As the sun started to rise, one of the other Nicks came out and handed something to my Nick and said, «Have a nice meal in Gatlinburg on me.» And he went back to bed. This incredibly generous man just gave us a $100 bill to make sure we had a good time today! Trail magic comes in many forms, but it always comes from a place of genuine interest and excitement. I am very inspired by the people I have met along the way so far. I definitely plan to continue spreading the magic when we get off track.

We came across some exceptional views on the way to Newfound Gap. We do another side quest for a feature called Charlie’s Bunion. It was Friday so this space was completely full at 8am so we took a quick photo and moved on.

After walking a few miles through a thick cloud of people trying to reach the Bunion, we arrived at Newfound Gap. This would be where we could hopefully get someone to drive us to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We booked the cheapest hotel we could find on a weekend and just had to find someone willing to take us the 30 minutes into town.

After a few minutes of passing the stop sign, a volunteer ranger stopped. He asked if we would like a courtesy shuttle into town because that’s where he was headed!

He dropped us off at the Microtel. We dropped off our stuff and headed straight to a nearby pizzeria, Mellow Mushroom. This weekend also coincided with a crashed car event. If you’re not familiar, do a quick search online, it’s fascinating.

We sat on the second floor of this restaurant for a while, enjoying our pizza and beer, and taking in the spectacle that is downtown Gatlinburg. We were even situated in front of Ripley’s Haunted House. The actors were in the street scaring pedestrians.

We take turns cleaning each other. The shower had the most extreme water pressure and heat settings I have ever seen. We headed to Walgreens to restock on groceries and surprisingly, they had almost everything we needed!

Nick went down to take a nap and I set out to find a place to do laundry and see more of the city’s sights.

For dinner we went to Trail Taco. They offer a free burrito to hikers! It was a perfect way to end this day.

I scheduled a super early for us to get back on the trail. The Microtel breakfast was ridiculous. They placed frozen waffles and pancakes in their pastry case at room temperature for us to warm up.

Our hiking mission for the day was to ascend to the highest point on the entire trail, Kuwohi (previously called Clingman’s Dome). The hike was enjoyable and really beautiful.

We went through some interesting gates to keep the pigs out.

The top of the mountain had a cool concrete structure and some decent views. We sat at the base and enjoyed lunch while watching the day hikers move around.

We finished our day at Derrick Knob Shelter and had the place to ourselves. I bought some overly spicy ramen and struggled to finish that meal.

We would have just one more day of hiking through the Smokies before reaching Fontana Dam. The days pass quickly. Our firsts are becoming our last now.

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