It took me four and a half days to cross the 68-mile section of the AT that crosses the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The trail roughly follows the Tennessee-North Carolina border.  The first day was warm and sunny with good views as I hiked into the mountains. I climbed the Shuckstack Fire Tower, which was a little unnerving even though I am not normally afraid of heights.

Shuckstack Fire Tower

View of Fontana Lake from the Tower

In addition to the fine views, there were plenty of wildflowers and birds to see.

Not snow, Spring Beauties!

Spring Beauty

Pileated Woodpecker

After the first day, the weather took a turn for the worse. It rained on and off for next three and half days. I won’t dwell on the trials of hiking and camping in chilly, rainy weather other than to say I have learned to be grateful for dry gloves and socks.

Everything is lush and green, so I suspect that rainy days are not unusual.

The Smokies are one of only two places on the AT where thru hikers are required to get a permit. For your $20 fee, you get permission to hike plus two pages of rules to follow. I can’t argue with the rules. They are mostly about reducing human impact to the park and keeping the hikers separate from the bears. It is estimated that there are about 1500 black bears in the park, which is about 2 bears per square mile. With the park getting over 10 million visitors a year, keeping the humans and bears apart is no small task.

One rule is that hikers must stay in the shelters, if a space is available, otherwise tent camp next to the shelter. As a result, you can hike for miles in the park with no sign of human impact. There are no camp sites and fire rings like you typically see along trails. The Smoky Mountain shelters are pretty deluxe, with tarps to keep out the cold and wind – a nice feature at 5000 feet elevation.

After four days in the Smokies, I and my fellow hikers were ready to get the heck out of the park and out of the rain. Three miles out of the park, I stayed the night at a popular hiker hostel called Standing Bear Farm. The owner told me she bought the farm twenty years ago and converted the various sheds and outbuildings into bunkhouses. The place has kind of a hippie commune vibe to it. All commerce there is on the honor system. When you check in, they give you a slip of paper and tell you to write down anything you take – resupply items, food, beer, etc. When you check out, they hand you a calculator and ask you to tally it up, then you pay. Their business model must be working since they seem to be prospering.

Standing Bear Farm (My bunkhouse on the left)

Every twenty minutes one of the workers yells “Beer run!”, then unlocks the shed and hands out beers to anybody ready for one. Selling cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon for $2 is a good business model in itself.

Appalachian Trail Brew Pub

Over the past four days the weather has been great (meaning, rain free).  I have made steady progress north, covering about 15 miles a day.  Today, I came down out of the mountains into Fontana Dam, NC and resupplied at the general store.  I am tent camping at the Fontana Dam Shelter, nicknamed the “Fontana Hilton”, because it has flush toilets and showers.

Fontana Lake

Tomorrow, I begin hiking the 72-mile section of trail that cuts through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  My pack is pretty heavy since I am carrying  five days worth of food to get me through the park without resupplying.

The trail in Georgia mostly stayed between 3000 and 4000 feet of elevation.  So far, in North Carolina, it has mostly been between 4000 and 5000 feet.  In the Smokies, the mountains are taller, with about 40 miles of trail above 5000 feet.

In the mountains, it is definitely cooler with most  trees having no leaves and only a few types of wildflowers blooming.  When I come down into town, it is amazing how much more Spring-like it is.

No bears spotted yet, though I have seen posters about “an increase in close and serious bear encounters”.  The biggest mammals I have seen are gray squirrels.  The Smokies have lots of bears, so that may be my best hope of seeing one.  Instead of a picture of a bear, you will have to settle for these critters.

Ovenbird

Red Burrowing Crayfish
Cambarus (J.) carolinus

After the Smokies, I hope to meet Nancy in Hot Springs, NC next weekend. Since I probably won’t quite make it to the town by then, Nancy may have to test her navigation skills by picking me up at some remote trailhead.  Wish us luck.

The last few days have presented some weather challenges.  I made good progress on Friday and Saturday, covering 12 and 16 miles, respectively.  On Friday, I crossed the Georgia-North Carolina border, my first milestone.

GA-NC Border

Saturday turned out to be an all-day rain.  Here I am sitting in my tent waiting for the rain to stop.

Finally, about 1:30 PM the rain let up so I packed up my tent and headed for the next shelter.  Probably not a great decision as one mile down the trail the rain started falling again.  At this point, the sloped sections of the trail were like small rivers and the flat sections like ponds.  An hour and a half later I arrived at the shelter looking pretty damp.  Fortunately there was still space for me in the two-story shelter so I didn’t have to pitch my tent in the rain.

That night, twelve humans and two dogs stayed at the shelter.  There were wet clothes hanging everywhere.  I had run into the dogs a few days earlier on the trail. Like my dog Riley, they appeared to have hearts of champions.

Buckshot (Trail name: Cougar Bait)

Dingo (Trail name: Bear Bait)

By morning, there was a half inch of snow on the ground.  All of the hanging clothes were frozen stiff and the wet trail shoes were blocks of ice.  At this point, there is not much to do but pack up and get moving.  Once you start hiking, you warm up quickly, but that first thirty minutes after hopping out of your sleeping bag is pretty uncomfortable.  (Picture buttoning buttons, zipping zippers, tying laces, and buckling buckles with numb fingers – none of which you can do with gloves on.)  Bring on the warm weather!

Long Branch Shelter

Snow in the Trail

Today, myself and a bunch of fellow hikers caught the shuttle from the trailhead into Franklin, NC.  Franklin is a nice town, kind of like a mini-Asheville.  I am splitting a room at the Budget Inn with another hiker.  We have been able to dry out our gear, do laundry, and resupply  at Walmart.

Tomorrow, I catch the shuttle back the trail and get back to hiking.  At this point, I am about four days away from entering the Smokies.