The Treacherous Smokies

I forgot to mention on the last blog post that Nepsis' knees have not hurt since she started using the trekking poles. Some studies show that poles can reduce up to 40% of stress on the knees and as far as we can tell, that seems to be true. We now have a system of how we use the set of trekking poles. If we are hiking up or on a level we will each use one pole, but if we start to go downhill any considerable distance, Nepsis will use them both. Hiking with poles is a new experience for both of us and took some getting used to. We find ourselves walking faster, especially uphill when we can use the strength of an arm to help in hauling the rest of our bodies up. At first, I was always looking at the ground to see where I was placing the pole, but gradually I have been paying less and less attention as walking with a pole becomes more natural. Still, I find myself looking around me less, not at the trees and plants and distant mountains like before, but at the ground. It might not be the pole's fault entirely, but perhaps some of the novelty of the woods have worn off. Hopefully, I can look about me more soon.

Day 17

We slept in since we had a long hike the day previous and used the restroom one last time before heading off to the Smokies. We crossed over a large dam that had informational signs explaining that it had been built to prevent the flooding of a town. It felt kind of weird knowing so much time, effort, money, and resources were used to build and maintain such an ugly, massive thing just to change an aspect of nature just because humans wanted to live somewhere water was supposed to be. After a couple more miles we passed the sign for the Smokies and deposited our permits into a metal box. We had to pay $20 each for the permits, the only place on the whole Appalachian Trail that charges money for overnight guests. As additional logistical annoyances, we also could only spend seven nights in the Smokies, and could only stay at the shelters built along the Trail. There were no designated campsites and we weren't allowed to set up camp anywhere except next to the shelters in the event that they became full. Non thruhikers were given priority at the shelters and thruhikers had to give up their space in the shelters for them no matter what time of the day they arrived. Additionally, sometimes the spacing between shelters was weird so that sometimes there were three shelters, each less than three miles from the other and at other times shelters were very far away from each other. Just a few steps into the Smokies it began to rain, and I couldn't help a sense of foreboding, that the Smokies wouldn't be too much fun. We climbed up back into the mountains gradually in the wetness until we were past 4000 feet elevation again. A few miles into the Smokies the Trail found itself right on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, where it stayed for the rest of the Smokies. The rain mostly stopped by noon, with a few sprinkles as an aftermath. When we got to Mollies Ridge Shelter it was full, with many hikers already setting up their tents and hammocks so we followed suit.

Miles hiked today: 11 mi. Total AT miles: 176.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 2008.5

Day 18





It rained all night, but stopped before we got out of the tent. Still, it was so cold in the morning that it took us awhile to leave the comfort of our sleeping quilt. Once I did get up, I found the zipper of our tent had frozen shut and had to really yank it to get it to open. Even though we usually leave earlier, we were still one of the first ones to get back to walking on the Trail. Once we were among the trees we found ourselves immersed in a world of white. There was no snow on the ground, but every branch and arm of every tree and branch was coated by a layer of snow. It was not frozen rain that encased the branches in a clear ice as I have often seen in Michigan. This was something I had never seen before. It was an actually layer of white snow that formed itself on the same side of every branch in sight. We walked through this cold wonderland praying that the sun would show up, remembering that only two days ago we hoped that the sun would hide behind clouds as it burned our skin. When the sun finally did make an appearance it would warm the branches and at random moments parts of the "snow" would fall down like hail in small clusters. It always seemed to strike just as I was walking underneath them so Nepsis kept her distance from me. Apparently, a gentle breeze would also cause a heap of the "snow" to plummet on me and she could tell when it was going to fall where. I was not so observant. Eventually it warmed up some and we had lunch on a bald which is a beautiful spot on top of a mountain where there are no trees. There were a few spots like this in the Smokies which was new to us and offered some incredible views. From here we could look across the mountains and see which parts had been hit by the sun as the trees looked normal and which parts which had not as the treetops were still frosted. After lunch we started up Thunderhead Mountain and met a woman who was resting from her day hike. She gave us cuties, grapes, and nutter butters which we saved for later. We hiked up to Rocky Top which provided incredible views all around and many hikers had stopped here to take in the sights, including more day hikers who brought up extra food, knowing thruhikers would be hungry. We each got a slice of Domino's pizza which was cold, yet still an incredible treat. Just a little further we passed the point where we had 2000 miles more to walk and on to Derrick Knob Shelter where we stayed the night in our tent again.

Miles hiked today: 12 mi. Total AT miles: 188.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 1996.5

Day 19

The weather was good all day and there wasn't much elevation gain or loss. Once we were up in the Smokies we stayed up, some elevations in the 4000s, but mostly in the 5000s and 6000s. We walked and walked and walked in anticipation of getting to Clingman's Dome, at 6655 feet, the highest point on the Appalachian Trail! We weren't as excited about that, but about the possibility of snacks in the gift shop that the guide said was down at the parking lot. This was the first weekend that it was open to tourists. Since we rushed through buying food at Fontana Village, we didn't have so much food to fulfill our growing appetites. We ate most of our food the first few days knowing full well that we might be eating only plain tuna and dates the last day. Most people resupply by hitching into Gatlinburg, but both Nepsis and I had been there and had no desire to go back. Also, we planned to meet up with friends on Wednesday, our 22nd day, and needed to be out of the Smokies by then. When we got to Clingman's Dome, we found an ugly tower with a spiraling ramp leading up to it there. Tourists, old couples and younger couples with small children in strollers, walked up and down the ramp. We went up, snapped a few photos, and came back down, drawing stares from everyone. We then walked the half mile down the mountain on a paved pathway to the gift shop. Once there, we canvased the shop and found only jams, honey, $3 chocolate bars, and $3.50 "trail bars." We were wildly disappointed there were no real snacks that we could replenish our supply with and walked back up the mountain to the Trail. All day long I had been craving all kinds of foods and my morale was knocked down a notch as we walked on, thinking of our meager food situation. The last few miles of hiking felt really long. My morale was knocked down another notch when we got to Mt. Collins Shelter and found it full. We would have to set up our tent again. And all day people had been saying it was supposed to rain really hard during the night.

Miles hiked today: 13.5 mi. Total AT miles: 202.3 Total AT miles left to hike: 1983


Day 20


Well it did rain extremely hard all night long. I prayed for it to stop, but it did not. It rained so hard so long that it started to flood our tent, which I had never seen before. We stayed mostly dry atop our sleeping pads, but the tent got drenched, along with part of our sleeping quilt and the bottom of our packs. I had a hard time getting ready to go, but since Nepsis had to go pee, we got up. Thankfully, it was only lightly raining by then, and we packed all of our wet and heavy things away to get going. Once we got back on the Trail, it felt like we were walking in a creek. The water filled the path, rushing down it as we tried to walk around the small stream as best we could. Eventually, the rain died all the way down, but a cold and wet mist hung in the air all day long. It was as if we were walking through a cloud. Inevitably, my shoes got soaked, leading to my socks getting soaked, leading to my feet getting soaked. My morale hit rock bottom and I moved very slowly. We crossed the only road in the Smokies on the Appalachian Trail and stood by it for a long time, contemplating hitching into Gatlinburg or another town for some more food and a respite from the wetness. Eventually we worked up the courage just to move on, because we really didn't have the time to go into town. I thought about how I was is more miserable situations many times during my stint with the Marines, but my morale barely wavered there. I think it was because I knew there was no choice there. Out here I have complete control. I could stop any time I want. The freedom of choice is terribly enslaving. We planned to go much further, but had to stop at Icewater Spring Shelter because of our morale situation. Thankfully, there were only a few hikers there so we finally got a spot inside the shelter and wouldn't have to set up our soaking wet tent. After a few hours more hikers showed up with some much needed Trail Magic! We were too early to catch it at the road we had crossed earlier, but the trail angels had only seen two hikers so they shoved a bunch of extra food in their packs and told them to give it to other hikers. They gave us cold corn dogs, Capri-Suns, honey buns, and other Little Debbie snacks. It was heavenly and exactly what we needed to get through the Smokies without having to ration our food intake to so little every day. Another hikers also gave us a handful of mini Crunch bars because he had too many. Our day ended happily, as we slept in the warm, dry, shelter with packs full again with food.

Miles hiked today: 7.5 mi. Total AT miles: 209.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 1975.5


Day 21



We woke up early knowing we had a lot of ground to make up. The day wasn't as cold as it had been, but all views were blocked by a layer of white. We were still walking through the clouds. We pushed ourselves all day through the mountains until we arrived late at Cosby Knob Shelter. There was no room inside and when we asked if we could be squeezed in we were responded with silence. That was disappointing, so we cowboy camped right between the shelter and the picnic table. Our tent was still drenched. The hike wasn't too bad and we were happy knowing we would finish the Smokies the next day and get to spend a couploe of days with some old friends!

Miles hiked today: 20.3 mi. Total AT miles: 209.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 1975.5