Appalachian Trail Day Day 18 - Fontana Dam to Mollies Ridge Shelter - Smokies and the Bear! (mile 164.3 to mile 177.7)

 Our stay at the Fontana Lodge is heavenly but way too short.  Last night we returned to the hotel around 10pm. I packed and enjoyed a glass of wine, charged my electronics, cleaned up my email, then to bed around 1 am.  

I am slumbering in my cozy bed when Kelly and Penny alternate knocking on my door each hour starting at 7am. By the third time, at 9am, I give up on sleeping any further. I half-heartedly shove my few belongings into my pack.  Kelly drives Penny, Gordon, and me back to the trail and we say our goodbyes, but we know we will see her again very soon. At least we hope so, not only because we enjoy her company, but Kelly also has half of our food for the Smokies! 

Being the angel she is, Kelly has really gone over and above our new-found friendship, offering to meet us with half our food for the Smokies at Newfound Gap in Smoky Mountain National Park (SMNP).  Instead of carrying six to seven days of food, we only need to carry three. This will save each of us at least five pounds. This may not seem like a lot to most people, but to most backpackers this is huge!  These five pounds is an extra 25% of my overall pack weight. 

Speaking of pack weight, Penny and I jettisoned every single thing we won't need for the next 70 miles. We have 20,000 feet to climb up (and down)! I think my pack is now about 20 pounds with my food. We need more calories to feel satiated, but I must be more judicious with my food choices. I pack the most calorie dense foods I have. Nut butters and cheese are my favorites, since they are pretty much all fat. 

Kelly hopes to not only meet us at Newfound Gap but plans to join us on the other side of Smoky Mountain NP and hike with us for an additional week to Hot Springs, NC so she can make more of a dent in her AT miles. We will reunite with our extra gear when we meet after the Smokies.   

Saying "goodbye" to Kelly for a while

Entering the Smokies is exciting, but it has me more than a little edgy for several reasons. First, the obvious thing is the bears.  SMNP is one of the largest areas where black bears are protected and can freely roam.  While bear encounters are rare, they still happen. To mitigate encounters with the cute beasties, we have to hang our food away from the shelters and cook away from where we sleep.  Anything that can smell yummy to bears, including lip balm, toothpaste, and deodorant (BTW which I don't carry in order to save weight) should be hung in the food bags.  When hikers are careless with their food, bears will associate hikers with food, and subsequently sometimes hikers as food! 

Thankfully, most deadly encounters don't occur in camp. However, most happen when a hiker inadvertently steps between a mommy bear and her cubs.  This time of year, we must be extra vigilant, because this is when baby bears start to be more exploratory.  When hiking alone, I play my audiobooks without my earbuds so the bears will hear me before I see them!

The second reason I am ambivalent about camping in the park is that through-hikers must sleep in shelters unless shelter space is unavailable.  SMNP has a permit and reservation system. A through-hiker is anyone who originates their hike away from the park and plans to hike the whole park within a week. Backpackers who are doing a trip within the park must have a reservation. Someone who has a reservation for a specific shelter can kick out the ones with permits.  Until this trip I have never slept in a shelter - I was actually scared to do it, with the thought of sleeping with mice and the potential axe murderer.  I have conquered my fear and found shelters to be rather enjoyable, especially in a down pour. However, now I am scared I may have to sleep outside WITH THE BEARS! The uncertainty is gut-clenching for Penny and me!

Lastly, this is going to be some of the toughest hiking of our entire trip. We have some 4,000-foot days, with unpredictable weather, coupled with hiking on the highest point of the entire Appalachian Trail, at Clingman's Dome. I've been caught out on ridge lines in thunderstorms, and it's positively terrifying. You really don't want to be on top of mountains in severe lightening and rain. 

Fontana Dam Marina

The first few miles are scenic and uneventful. We pass by the Fontana Lodge - an amazingly nice place!  The Lodge is not a lodge in the traditional sense, but a spacious, newer shelter with a beautiful view of the lake and electronic charging stations!  It is funded by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which operates the nearby hydro-electric dam. 

The Fontana Lodge

We cross the dam. The visitor station is closed, but there are a few people walking around. The Trail crosses the dam, and the lake and surrounding hills are beautiful in the humid morning.  Around a bend and up a hill we find a registration box where through-hikers must deposit a copy of our permits and sign a register. We are finally in Smoky Mountain National Park!

The excitement is soon overshadowed by the daunting climb. Temperatures rise and the sun is at our backs as we ascend the 3000' to the ridge line. Fortunately, all this hiking is paying off and I only have to stop a couple times to catch my breath. 

Near the top, I see a couple sitting near a well-flowing stream. They are singing sweetly, apparently singing their prayers before enjoying their lunch. I approach cautiously, not wanting to interrupt their benediction. We introduce ourselves and chit chat about the hike and the trail. They are a newly married Amish couple who is celebrating their marriage with a backpacking trip.  This is so romantic and sweet!  Penny and Gordon catch up and we refill our water bladders.  It's only noon and I already downed three liters of water. I relax for 15 minutes while Penny heads up the trail, with Gordon shortly behind. 

Cresting the first rise, I catch some magnificent views to the west.  This is one of the few times the trail heads due north. For most of the park the trail heads to the northeast. The trail is dotted with spring flowers and the occasional invasive Black Locust tree, which perfumes the air with a lovely gardenia-like scent.

I catch up to Gordon at the turn off for the Shuckstack Fire Tower.  Penny, in her usual fashion, has motored up the trail, while I start my routine afternoon lollygagging. Gordon chooses to skip the fire tower, while I decide to check it out. After all, it's only one-tenth of a mile, according to the Far Out app. I dropped my pack and started what I thought was a quick trip. 

The app lied, but it was a stunning sight, nonetheless. The view was good, too. The old fire tower is perched on the edge of the ridge, looking to the southeast. While many people climb to the top of the five-story structure, I made it to the second level before I chickened out. One side of the railing was missing, and the treads were narrow and the steps very high. The view between the slats made me cling to the remaining railing like I was in the movie Cliffhanger.  After a few rapid photos, I descended backwards down the rickety stairs. 

Continuing on, I decided to resupply my water (again!) at Birch Spring Campsite, where Penny was finishing filling up her bag. This is a lovely place in a wooded, fern-filled glade. There was the biggest Chicken of the Woods Mushroom (Laetiporus sulfurous) I ever saw growing on the side of a massive dead and down tree. We talked about camping here, but with the bears and the forecast of three inches of rain tonight, we decided to keep going the next five miles to the next shelter.  Penny went on ahead while I had my third lunch. 

Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms

A Snail on a Fresh Big Pile of Bear Poop

The sun is getting low when I make it to the shelter. Mike, Penny, Gordon, and the Amish couple are already present and established their sleeping places in the shelter. Apparently, a resident bear made an appearance this afternoon, but there was no sight of the bear now. The wind is whipping the trees on the ridge, and the temperatures are falling fast.  Several hikers reported a bunch of wild pigs in the trail a mile back. Thankfully I didn't encounter the pigs, which can be very aggressive. 

I leisurely filter water and was eating dinner when someone said "he's back!" The biggest black bear I have ever seen moseyed into the area in front of the shelter and rapidly climbed the tree that secured the food cables. The bear is totally nonplussed by us.  It sits in a crook of the tree about 30 feet up the trunk for at least an hour. I rather feel like a goldfish in a fishbowl being watched by a cat. I still have to hang my food bag!  It isn't an option to not hang it because bears in this area have been known to come into the shelters in search of food. 

Mike and Gordon agree to accompany me to the food cables - they will look out for the bear while I hang my food.  In the dark, with the light of our headlamps, I hang my food bag while the guys stand on either side of me to look for the bear. The few minutes feel like forever, but we hoist the bag and run to the shelter without incident. 

Tonight the forecast is for heavy rain and high winds. The rain starts in earnest and we fall asleep with the patter of heavy raindrops on the metal shelter roof. 

Appalachian Trail Day 17 - Brown Fork Gap Shelter to Fontana Dam - Mud, Downed Trees, and Beer! (mile 152.9 to mile 164.3)

We awoke rested from 18 hours in the shelter. Everything is damp and smells awful!  The only dry clothes are the ones we slept in last night.  Today promises to be hot and muggy so I dress in my wet t-shirt and socks, but at least I have dry boxers on!  Most of my hiking clothes are quick-drying lightweight wool.  

The rain has stopped, but the leaves above the trail are laden with water. Every time the wind blows we get showered!  

Shortly down the trail, Just Gordon and I encounter a large tree downed by the storm.  I take off my pack and throw it over the deadfall. The trail is extremely narrow where rain washed out big holes on the downhill side. We start clearing the remaining small ledge of trail for the hikers coming up behind us.  Just Gordon elects to keep his pack on. While he is trying to lever a huge branch to the side, he literally somersaults down the hill!  I am saying "Stop, Gordon, stop!" Like he can hear me!! Thankfully the tree arrests his descent before he goes any further. 

Just Gordon wrestled with the tree

Six miles later we arrive at Cable Gap Shelter.  Smiles and some other hikers stayed here last night. While there is no hole in the floor, the shelter leaked all over them in the storm last night. Maybe we lucked out with the gross shelter after all!

Cable Gap Shelter

We have 5 miles until Fontana Dam, and a decent uphill.  If we hurry, we can be checked in and doing laundry and shower by 4 pm! 

We have hiked for 8 days straight without one full day off.  The lack of rest is really wearing on us. On the other hand, our bodies are adapting to the trail. Now, a couple of thousand feet is not a big deal - we are hiking faster without as many rest stops.  We arrive at Fontana Dam and Gordon called for a shuttle. We are wet and stinky!  The Fontana Lodge van arrives and the driver is a friendly former thru hiker. We check in and explode our packs all over the rooms. I elected to have my own room and Penny and Kelly are next door. 

 

The afternoon is anything but restful. The laundry facility is a half mile down the hill. We grab a light lunch, then shower and finish laundry. We meet up with other hikers. Mike, Bill, and Croft are going to zero here tomorrow. They are exhausted from the rain yesterday. Mike's tent collapsed in the storm and his sleeping bag and clothes got drenched.  Bill picked up a stomach bug at the NOC and needs to recover. Croft said all her stuff was soaked and she is worn out.  

Heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow night and all of the following day, so they decide to hunker down here for a couple days. I am super envious, but don't want to spend time in town when we still have so many miles to hike.  We have hiked almost 100 miles so far this section, but still have another 100 miles to get back to the car.

We finish dinner at 8:30 pm, but still need to go to the grocery store and pick up our resupply boxes from Hike Inn Hostel. They were booked for the rest of the week. Picking up our resupply boxes is  proving to be a challenge, since we didn't stay at the hostels as we originally planned. The hostel is 30 minutes away. Fortunately Kelly has her car here. She is finishing her section and already hiked the Smokies, so we will say goodbye in the morning :-(

Appalachian Trail Day 16 - Sassafras Gap Shelter to Brown Fork Gap Shelter - Stuck in a Wood Box (mile 143.8 to mile 152.9)

 The biggest concern about shelter sleeping is the mice. The reports of nocturnal activity of mice walking over one's face and the occasional mouse in a sleeping bag is enough for many hikers to prefer camping outside the shelter.  Unfortunately, tenting isn't a guarantee some gear won't get messed with: a few years ago I was at a shelter in Shenandoah when a mouse chewed through a tent in the middle of the night. The intruder ended up squashed by a boot in the tent.  Chipmunks crawled into my backpack in Vermont, and in West Virginia a mouse chewed through an outer pocket of my backpack one night and on another occasion chewed through my food bag and left droppings in my oatmeal. 

Last night was a first for us!  GG and I accomplished the monumental endeavor of sleeping in an actual shelter ALL NIGHT!  To be honest, I didn't have the best night of sleep, being wakened by snores (even with my super duper purple earplugs), 10 hikers getting up to use the facilities in the middle of the night, and the occasional escape of wind from the esophagus or the other end... But no mice!! And we are relatively dry.  Even in the shelter everything is damp from the humidity.

We woke in the pouring rain, walked in the woods in the rain, walked up a big hill in the rain, and arrived at the next shelter around 2pm during a deluge. The highlight of my day is trail magic left by an angel: a big bag of huge apples left at Stecoah Gap.  We each take one, even though I could have eaten all of them. To the church who left this here, we really appreciated this!  Thank you so much :-)

I did not take any pictures during the hike today because I didn't want my phone to drown.

Brown Fork Gap Shelter is the smallest shelter we see on the trail. Most of the other shelters fit 6 or 12 people. This shelter is advertised as six, yet most of the space is taken up by our sleeping pads - a huge gap in the floor with plywood "gangplanks" that can be retracted to keep four legged visitors out of the shelter removes a lot of usable space.  A comment on the "Far Out" app we all use states the design is to prevent porcupines from coming in and destroying the wood structure.  The odor wafting from the gap is evidence that past hikers have used the space for a latrine. 

A crowded and soggy bunch

We don't have enough room for 6 of us and all our stuff on the floor, so we get very creative at hanging our packs on the mouse hangers with all our gear hanging off every nook and cranny of the packs. We are drenched and cold. Shivering, we change into our night clothes and snuggle into our down quilts to warm up.  It's 3 pm and going to be a long afternoon! I'm not a day sleeper and read a Stephen King book on my phone and the sound of light snoring combined with the loud plinking of rain on the tin roof is calming. 

Croft in her tent outside the shelter

Appalachian Trail Day 15 - NOC to Sassafras Gap Shelter - Uphill to a Thunderstorm to (mile 136.7 to mile 143.8)

To say we lucked out with the weather the last 8 days is the understatement of the century. We hit the weather jackpot so far.  Unfortunately, our luck is running out today. Heavy rain is forecast for tonight and all day tomorrow, possibly through tomorrow night as well. Guess we gotta make hay while the sun shines!  

We leave the NOC. I am reluctant and dragging, the norm for me in the morning.  Penny and Karma are up and packing well before me, but I have less stuff and pack faster in general, so we are ready about the same time. We skip a real breakfast in the restaurant in order to hit the trail earlier, however hit our last toilet for the next couple days. 

Our hike today is 4000' up to Cheoah Bald.  This is one of those annoying sections that jaunt due west, adding miles to the overall AT but no real progress north. There is a shelter just short of the the top of the mountain,in 7 miles, at Sassafras Gap.  

Looking Down on NOC

We hike up for what seems like forever. Humpty Dumpty hikes with us for a while. He is in his 70's and passes us on the uphill.  I blame it on my full stomach, not my lack of physical prowess :-) We leapfrog down the trail, discussing the coming thunderstorms.  Karma, GG, and I pause for a snack after 5 miles.  A couple with large packs stop to chat with us -  they are finishing a section hike at Fontana Gap and he is positively melting in the afternoon sunshine.  A young woman crests the hill shortly after and introduces herself as Croft. She is a mom of three, with an absolute angel of a husband who is at home with the kids.  

We get to Sassafras Gap Shelter, a very short down from the ridge. Just Gordon is here, as is Humpty Dumpty, Green, and Smiles!  Croft arrives shortly after. We take off our packs to snack and discuss the plan. The next shelter is another 9 miles after Sassafras Gap. Today is hot, but tomorrow will be a slog in pouring rain. I vote to continue the nine miles and get to the next shelter late, rather than hike in a downpour on the ridge. 

Then we hear the rumble of thunder and the rain falls. I am outvoted and this is our home for the night. At least this is a nice 12 person shelter with a nearby privy and a piped spring very close to the shelter.  The rain is sporadic until dusk, then Mother Nature opens the floodgates.  A lot of hikers were already asleep in the shelter, so I went to the stinky privy to talk on the phone with my better half. 

Todays Stats: 7 miles, 3200' elevation gain

Section Stats: 74 miles, 17k' elevation gain

Trail Stats: 142 miles, 33k elevation gain

Appalachian Trail Day 14 - Wesser Bald to NOC - Nirvana in North Carolina (mile 131 to mile 136.7)

Life on the trail strips away all the "normalcy" of the modern world. Without the intrusions of TV screens and artificial light, our circadian rhythms have adjusted to the natural world around us. Mother Nature has a volume knob she progressively turns to zero as the sky darkens, and slowly increases the volume again with the next morning. Similarly, hikers go to sleep when it gets dark and wake up with the sunrise.  Just another critter in the woods...

The view from my hammock

Sunrise from Wesser Bald Shelter

Wesser Bald Shelter

The view north to the Smokies

Mountain Laurel in Bloom

The clouds are much thicker than yesterday, and shafts of light peeks through edges of the clouds over the ridge. I watched the sunset to the west of the ridge last night, and hoped to get a beautiful sunrise this morning. I must have missed it... I am packing up when I realize I didn't miss sunrise at all.  We are high enough on the ridge that the sun illuminates the sky for an hour before making an official appearance!  

The ill-prepared couple weathered the night well in the shelter. Just Gordon and Karma talk to them before we leave, admonishing them to return to their car and give up this foolish attempt. Continuing on the trail without a map or water filtration, let alone a modicum of experience, would be folly in this heat. So many people think the AT is just a walk in the woods. This trail breaks a lot of people who are unskilled in the ways of the wild.

Clingman's Dome is right here!

Down, Down, Down

The View North

We are eager to get to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), a destination resort for outdoor activities like whitewater rafting and hiking, and a popular tourist trap for day trippers. NOC is only 6 miles away, but we have a 3,000' descent.  Prophylactic ibuprofen to the rescue! My knees will thank me later :-)

Orange Azaleas

Should one elect to tour by car between Springer Mountain, Georgia and the northern terminus of Mt. Katahdin in Maine, the trip would cross 1400 or so miles. Hiking the backbone of the Appalachian Mountains increases the mileage by another 700 miles. The AT runs generally from north to south. Currently we hike due north, although sometimes the trail makes an abrupt jaunt to the south, then east, then northwest before resuming it's progress. 
Once we cross into Smoky Mountain National Park the trail meanders northeast for 75 miles before abruptly turning north again.  Almost the entire descent into NOC we behold the profile of the Smoky Mountains, still 35 miles away but the most prominent ridge on the horizon in any direction.  My heart skips a beat when I imagine the physical suffering after we cross Fontana Dam. Thankfully this prospect is several days in the future and our bodies will be more prepared for the elevation. Or they may be more broken!  

Right now we have burgers and beer on the brain! We stop occasionally for pictures but plan to eat on the fly so we can get down.  The first half of the hike is a very steep decline and rocky, hard on the knees.  The last 2 miles or so is less difficult. The rumble of motorcycles from the approaching road causes us to speed up.  

The NOC is an amazing waypoint in this section!  Today is a Saturday and very sunny. There are tons of cars, motorcycles, and general milling about. They smell and look clean. We check into our bunk cabin, which is a room half the size of my bathroom with 4 bunks. But hey! There's air conditioning, so it's perfect!  We walk down the very large hill to the general store for laundry.  A salad, beer, and wrap sets me back almost $40.  A train from Bryson City rolls in with many more visitors. We sit on the promenade next to the river. I could stay here for a while, but probably would go broke in the process. We shop, do more laundry, shower, eat some more food, drink some more beer, and drop another 50 bucks.  Next thing you know it's 10 pm and we gotta get hiking tomorrow morning...

Todays stats: 6 miles,  350' elevation gain (not a typo!)

Section stats: 65 miles, 14k' elevation gain

AT total: 136 miles, 30k feet elevation gain