The Smokies are smoking – The Trek

One of my best friends from high school was going to accompany us from Fontana Dam to Kuwohi. He had accepted all of this before we had really looked at the weather or the terrain. As the time approached, it looked like the next three days were going to be some of the most difficult of the journey.

From the dam to Kuwohi, it is approximately 32 miles of hiking and 11,000 feet of elevation gain. Not bad compared to some of the climbing days we had done, but for someone with fresh legs, the climb can be a challenge.

Added to this was also the fact that Saturday was supposed to have rainy weather. To Blake’s credit, he didn’t flinch. We ended up picking it up from Kuwohi and driving back to Fontana Dam to start The Smokies.

Broken windows framing the view from inside Shuckstack. It was windy and cold there.

The walk along the dam was quite interesting, pleasant and flat. However, once we reached the park, the gradient increased enormously. With Blake on fresh legs and Jessie and I on two zeros, it took us a while to get to the first point of interest, Shuckstack.

Clouds forming over the mountains, seen from the top of the tower.

The tower itself offered some pretty incredible views. Especially with the dense cloud cover that was forming over the mountains. We sat there for a good thirty minutes before realizing that we still had a long way to go to the first shelter and that we were losing sunlight.

Russell, Jessie and Blake inside Shuckstack.

Taking care of our feet our first morning at the shelter.

Smoky Mountains National Park has a lot of strange regulations that hikers must follow. Pitching a tent is not permitted unless the shelter is completely full. If a section hiker arrives late, you will be expected to give up your spot at the shelter as a hiker. You HAVE to hang your food, even if you brought a bear canister. Oh, and most shelters don’t have toilets.

Jessie and I weren’t looking forward to sleeping in our first mouse-infested AT shelter, but I told Blake not to bring a tent due to regulations, so we were committed. We arrived at the campsite around 7pm to find a whole new group of people we hadn’t met before.

This group had been hiking together since Springer Mountain and seemed pretty close-knit. We ended up walking with them through most of The Smokies, but for the first night we kept to ourselves.

Bedtime found us a little restless. The shelter was practically full, but we had gotten some lower bunks. This meant that every time someone moved on us, bits of dust and mouse droppings rained down on us.

A group of hikers from the section also arrived after 10 p.m. and woke up everyone else in the shelter by shining their headlamps in faces and talking loudly. They didn’t make friends that night.

The cacophony of snoring made for a rather restless night for Jessie and Blake. I somehow managed to sleep pretty well through all of this, but I woke up to some companions who seemed pretty exhausted.

The misty, rainy Appalachian Trail, somewhere in The Smokies.

It was the expected day for the downpour and the only question everyone seemed to have was when the rain would start. We continued forward and preemptively put on our backpack covers so we wouldn’t have to stop when the bottom dropped.

Blake, walking with his namesake crocodiles.

Blake had developed a nasty blister on her heel that couldn’t be treated with moleskin or luekotape. Jessie was kind enough to lend him her new crocodiles so he could walk with them for the rest of the trip. Very quickly, and I might add quite simply, Crocs earned the trail name.

Blake’s trail shoes.

It didn’t take long after walking for the fog and rain to settle. Our first rainy day on the trail was quite atmospheric and beautiful. At least for the first 4 hours. After that, we were getting a little tired.

The clouds part enough to see from Rocky Top.

Rocky Top was advertised as a big bald with panoramic views, but in practice, it was a collage of clouds completely covered in socks. However, just moments after reaching the top, the clouds parted and gave us an incredible view of the sea of ​​precipitation. We decided to stay until the clouds hid everything once again.

Incredibly limited view from the trail. We were quite worried.

Condor, Jessie and Blake try to dry socks and shoes on a pre-made fire in the shelter’s fireplace.

A few hours later, we arrived at a shelter and decided to leave everything there for the day. There was a lot of debate about whether to go ahead or not. If the irritations, blisters, and bone-chilling cold weren’t enough reasons to stay, the predicted storms were the last straw.

A very full shelter with hanging backpacks to hopefully keep the mice away.

Someone had managed to light a fire in the shelter’s fireplace to dry out all the socks and shoes that had gotten soaked during the day. When we went inside to warm up, Jessie and I were happy to see our friends Bobcat and Condor already comfortable inside. It was nice to catch up with them for a while.

We also spent the day meeting our new friends Rose, Rambo and Trouble. Rambo had taken an interest in Blake and me after seeing us walking together in Crocs and Sandals in the rain. He’s a character with a lot of fun stories and crazy life events and an apparent love of sweets.

Blake definitely won Rambo’s affections by offering him all the candy in her bag. He had eaten a lot of sugar before the spike the previous day and paid a high price for it. I think Blake was happy to be rid of him and Rambo seemed to have made a new best friend.

A furious downpour came down and we were all very happy to be in the safety and warmth of the shelter. A couple of very wet stragglers arrived late and unfortunately had to pitch tents in the downpour. I felt really bad for them watching them get soaked while doing their best to get settled in as quickly as possible.

Finally, the party began to end and everyone found their way to their sleeping bags. It was pretty clear that everyone was ready to go to sleep around 8 pm, but the same hikers from the previous night’s section thought it would be good to talk loudly until 10 pm. Not only did they not make friends that night, but I think they made some enemies.

Morning light breaks through the fog on the way to Kuwohi.

The next day was the last push for Kuwohi and Blake’s last day on the road. FarOut made it look like it would be 10 miles of steady climbing followed by a half mile of very steep climbing. It felt pretty abysmal putting on all our cold, wet clothes, but it was a great motivator to get us moving and warm up.

The humidity and fog from the previous day’s rain made for a great atmosphere in the morning light. Once we reached some of the higher elevation areas of The Smokies, the forest became a mossy paradise.

The trail just before the summit. It started to get more misty and mossy as we went.

The hike and trail were so beautiful that I barely noticed the climb, but I think Blake and Jessie were starting to get annoyed that I was stopping so much to take pictures.

Wow! More environmental and mossy forest on the way!

The fog kept coming in and out of the moss, creating a really eerie atmosphere throughout the forest. Yet somehow, when we reached Kuwohi. The fog completely dissipated and offered incredible views of the entire area.

A view of the forest and fog we had been walking through seen from the Kuwohi tower.

You could look back and see the cloud we had been walking through. It was a wonderful experience and a great way to capture mile 200! We now officially have a little less than 2000 miles left to go!

Russell and Jessie in front of the tower that officially marks 200 miles completed!

The walk to the parking lot was truly the worst part of the day. It was just a mess of steep asphalt that didn’t feel all that great on the feet. After getting a resupply we had left in Blake’s trunk and saying goodbye, we had to walk back uphill the half mile with MUCH heavier backpacks. That’s a full mile of round trip hiking that we didn’t even get credit for.

However, I was glad that Blake was able to make it out and had the opportunity to see what life was like on the trail. It was fun to see the surprise of how social the AT is. I think most people go on a hike thinking it will be a lonely and isolating experience. Which is not. Jessie and I have hardly had a day to ourselves since it all started. This trail is certainly not for the antisocial.

Jessie on the way to the next shelter.

Walking from Kuwohi to Mt Collins hut was another pleasant mossy dream. This dream slowly turned into a nightmare when we realized that the shelter was half a mile down the road. Another mile we get no credit for. I’m just (a little) joking.

View of the forest looking from the shelter.

It was a very beautiful retreat in a whimsical segment of forest. The shelter seemed to have been full, but the sudden change to pleasant weather in a beautiful area caused some people to decide to pitch their tents. Fortunately, all the people we had identified as snorers decided to extend mercy to the other inhabitants of the shelter and camped far, far away.

There was going to be a lot of elevation loss from this point on. Believe it or not, we’re starting to prefer the longer uphill segments because at least they don’t destroy Jessie’s feet and ankles.

This post is getting long enough so I’ll post the rest of the smokes another time, but this has definitely been the prettiest stretch of the trail so far.