The Annual Smoky Mountain Wildflower Pilgrimage (or: Close Encounters of the OSO Type)

The Annual Smoky Mountain Wildflower Pilgrimage (or Close Encounters of the OSO Kind)

Day 23-25 ​​Zero

For the past 75 years, “pilgrims” have come to the Smoky Mountains to celebrate the amazing flora and fauna of this unique region, home to more species of salamanders, for example, than anywhere else in the world. New species are still being found! The three-day festival, primarily sponsored by the University of TN, Chattanooga, offers attendees options from more than 140 possible activities, from hikes to arts initiatives to fascinating lectures. The instructors, all volunteers, are usually the leading experts in their field. For example, the leaders of the photography class we took literally wrote the books on wildflowers in the Smokies and eastern TN. We also took a class on how to make trilliums out of crepe paper, taught by a horticulturist from South Carolina. We strive to attend every year.

Encounter with the bear #1

While I have never had a significant “bear encounter” in the park, Gatlinburg’s bears are unfortunately adapted to access to human food. We didn’t leave food in the truck during the Pilgrimage, but my failure to close the back door had interesting consequences. The morning we checked out, I received a strange call from the front desk. In a charming «island» accent, the woman at the front desk reported, «We have your suitcase missing in the main office. I reported that we were not missing any suitcases, but she insisted and said, ‘Yes, the suitcase is in the beer.'» After she repeated this, I decided to go see for myself. Turns out there was no beer involved, but a bear opened the tailgate and took the suitcase out. Apparently the bag wasn’t that interesting, because the bear left it unharmed. However, this bear invaded two other vans that night and were captured on video. We were luckier than the other customers, who suffered significant damage. Note to self: «Close the tailgate next time!» However, this would not be our last bear encounter in Gatlinburg.

Day 26 4/27 Fontana Dam 166.8 to Molly Ridge Shelter 178.0 11.2 miles

The climb from Fontana Dam was long and steady, with few slopes for relief. I met two women from Michigan who were hiking for a day. One had family in Bryson City, so she hiked through the Smokies quite often, but her friend said this was her first foray south of the Mason-Dixon line. However, they knew a lot about hiking and insisted on giving me a name for the trail. After sharing part of my story, I was very happy when they decided I should call myself “2.0.”
My theory was that today’s hike would be the most difficult in the Smokies, so I was taken aback when Rear View questioned my theory. Rear View was named so because she forgot her wallet when her husband dropped her off at Springer Mountain, so she walked back to get it. Oh! She lives on the outskirts of the park and knows this trail well enough that I was worried now. When I climbed this leg in 2024, we did it SOBO. I remember how difficult it was to go downhill, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that there were still more challenges to come.
Park rules require all hikers in the Smokies to stay in shelters if there is space. Tent camping is allowed next to the shelter only if it is full. Stealth camping is not permitted. During AT 1.0, we never reached a shelter early enough to be forced into it, but there was plenty of room tonight, mainly because most of the dozen or so hikers had already pitched tents despite the rule. I could have done the same, but especially since the requirement is intended to lessen the impact we have on the environment, I decided to comply. I found a spot next to Rear View and went ahead and inflated my mattress so I wouldn’t disturb other hikers later. Then I went to prepare dinner. Afterwards, I had to hang my bag of food on the cables provided by the park, but for the life of me, I didn’t know how to do it. In the end, I found myself in almost dark conditions to ask for help. Everyone was nice, but I hate that I can’t solve these problems myself.
When I returned to the shelter, it was already dark. I had left my headlamp, but I couldn’t help but find it… in the dark! I still needed to hang my pac, but I didn’t know how those cables worked either. After hanging around for a while, one of the guys offered to hang it up for me, which I was very grateful for. However, my problems were not over. I got on the platform and it immediately deflated. I must not have closed the valve completely. I didn’t want to make any more noise by blowing it up again, so I tossed and turned all night on the hard ground.
Not only that, I had left a few items in my backpack that I needed when “nature called.” I had to wait nervously until dawn to access my backpack. Why did I think staying at the shelter was a good idea?

Day 27 Molly Ridge Shelter 178.0-Derrick Knob Shelter 190.1 12.1 miles

After practically no sleep the night before, at least I had a good early start. Rear View complimented me on how quietly I left the shelter, and she hadn’t even heard me stumbling around the night before, so that was something.
I recognized this as the part of the Smokies I had been fighting for during 1.0, and was very happy to be climbing the hill. I haven’t had any knee pain this time, which tells me my preparation was more effective. I definitely learned firsthand that the best way to reduce knee arthritis pain is to have strong supporting muscles. Still, I was glad I didn’t press the issue that day.
It was a lovely walk and I took the opportunity to take some photographs of some flowers I had seen before but hadn’t stopped to photograph. I found a great lunch spot, which included a great view. However, I still had to fight to get to the Derrick Knob Shelter in a reasonable time.
This was another great shelter for 12 people, but again, many hikers had pitched tents. This time I did the same. I should have stayed at the shelter! The rain, expected for the next day, decided to arrive early. And there was a storm! The wind, lightning, and pouring rain woke me up from sleep and I found that I was drinking a lot of water. I hadn’t set up the wind fly, which meant water was coming in from the sides, but the biggest problem was that it was dripping from the top. I had treated my trusty Big Agnes Copper Spur 2p with waterproofing before starting my hike, but it leaked like a sieve.
Have I mentioned that I hate being cold and wet?

Day 28 Derrick Knob Shelter 190.1 to Kuwohi 200.1

I stayed in my tent longer than I should have, knowing that it had been cold and wet during the night. I was afraid to pack my tent wet and regretted not bringing my gloves. I got out just in time to say «goodbye» to Rear View, who had decided to go off the road due to a medical issue. I went in search of my bag of food, surprised to see how few hikers had left that day. Much to my chagrin, I couldn’t find my bag of food. I saw one that looked promising, but when I opened it, I realized it wasn’t mine. I quickly picked him up and tried to think of what to do. No one at the shelter had seen him. Finally, I realized there were bears hanging in two places in this shelter and I was looking in the wrong place. Relieved, I got it back!
Today’s hike to Kuwohi, formerly known as Clingman’s Dome, took us to the highest point on the AT at 6,612 feet. It’s strange how the 4K peaks in New Hampshire’s White Mountains look so much more impressive. Makes me wonder how high these Southern Appalachian Mountains must have risen when they were “young.”
I was delighted to notice a clear similarity between this section and the peaks further north that I had not appreciated in 2024, which was the distinct smell of Christmas. The fir trees smelled so good and I felt very nostalgic for the evergreen forests below the tree line in the Whites.
I met Heather in Kuwohi so we could do something between there and Newfound Gap the next day. Since all my stuff was wet and more rain was forecast for the next day, I decided to take another zero.

Day 29 zero

The saying “No rain, no Maine” is very true, so I had to decide what to do with my leaky tent. Was my wet night a failure of my old tent or simply the result of unusually heavy rain and bad terrain? It had never been leaked before so I was worried. I had seen several people with a new tent that really intrigued me. It was a Durston This made launching it easier, especially in the rain. I decided to order one and have it delivered to the hotel in Gatlinburg. I paid more for express delivery, knowing I still had several days left to hike through the Smokies.

Close Encounters of the “Bear Kind,” Part II

When we got back to Gatlinburg, I was careful to lock the back door of the truck. However, this morning we found the lid folded back like an old sardine lid. This time, the suitcase was still on the bed, but the empty heavy metal refrigerator had simply disappeared. A hotel employee told me that he had seen a very large bear in the truck, but had not seen the refrigerator. The suitcase and the back of the truck had been “smeared” with some kind of sticky substance. It didn’t smell like urine and I couldn’t get it off, not even with a bug and tar remover! This once again reinforced my opinion that it is easier to avoid bears in the park than in the city around here.

Day 30 Kuwohi 200.1- Newfound Gap 207.8 7.7 miles

Today was a lovely walk! There were many schoolchildren on the road on a scientific excursion. What a great opportunity for them to learn about nature in a beautiful and unique setting! It was a short, relatively level section of trail, and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.

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