It’s back to the trail for us. We slept in until 8a and were out of the room by 9:15a. We had to hit the breakfast buffet and while we were there we sat with another thru-hiker that we hadn’t met before. His name is James and he is a program developer from the Nashville, TN area. After all 3 of us hit the buffet a couple of times (I was over the moon about the brownies they had out – they must know hikers come here), Ben and I decided it was time to move out. As we were officially checking out of our room we saw GQ. I’m excited we’ll all be heading out on the trail at the same time, but I know GQ will out-hike us fast. He’s quick. The rest of our friends (Brock, Kyle, and Jordan) are taking a zero today. They will head out tomorrow.
We waited for the shuttle, antsy to leave. Hikers piled into it when it finally arrived. It is $3 a person to get back to the trail. Ben and I only had a large bill, she couldn’t break it and she let us ride for free. I felt horrible that we hadn’t planned ahead.
She dropped us back off near the boat launch, it was about 11:30a. We had a mile and a half or so before we’d hit the shelter everyone calls the “Fontana Hilton”. It was amazing. It sits right on the lake and has bathrooms with showers – hot showers even! Although, considering how cold it and rainy it was the other day, I was glad for our hotel room and the wifi.
My brother got married today. I was so sad to miss it. As we were hiking I kept searching Facebook to try to watch it, they were going to go Facebook Live with the ceremony. I couldn’t find it and finally gave up. The hardest part of the trail so far is being separated from our families. It’s the first celebration we had to miss for this journey, but I know it won’t be the last. This isn’t a new feeling for Ben, he’s missed a lot with deployments. However, it is for me. I’m trying to stay in touch as best as I can. I got to FaceTime with some family this last town stay and it was such a nice opportunity. I’m so grateful for technology that helps keep us connected. This journal/blog being one of them.
After passing the Fontana Hilton shelter, we got to cross the dam. It was incredible to look down over the side. On a road next to the dam and way below was a car show/rally called “Wookie in the Woods”. They had been all over the lodge for the last few days. It’s people who own Volkswagen R32 and they spend the weekend driving all over the turns here. They stare at us in wonder and we probably do the same to them. It was a bit of a culture clash, sort of. Mostly, I was jealous of everyone who got to wear jeans. Weird, right? I didn’t expect that.
After the dam we turned right and started in the Smoky Mountains National Park. Thru-hikers must have a permit to hike here. Although, it’s probably the same for everyone. You are only allowed to camp at shelters or designated sites. Additionally, as a thru-hiker, you can only hike on the Appalachian Trail. As if anyone has energy to go off on the side trails. You must sleep in the shelters unless they are full, then, only AT thru-hikers are allowed to camp next to the shelter. Finally, you have 8 days to hike the park. On your way in you drop a part of your permit with the date you started on.
There is one road that runs through the AT in the park. You can get a ride into Gatlinburg to resupply. Worried about the 8 day restriction, Ben and I are doing something people heavily warn against… carrying more than 4 days worth of food. In fact, we are carrying 8 days worth. It’s so much that we had to split it into two bags. Ben took on some of the extra weight. We are heavy, but in a few days we’ll have eaten it down.
Again, it was late when we started the trail. Going out of Fontana is similar to going out of the NOC. We had several miles of all ascent. In the Smokies we will hit the highest point east of the Rockies – Clingman’s Dome. Much of our hiking here will be leading up to that.
Today we saw our first snake on the AT! I think it was a rat snake; about 3.5 feet long, an inch or so wide, all black with a white throat. We spent time watching her slither from spot to spot.
Originally, our plan was to hike 11ish miles and then 6 the next day. Our late start made us doubt whether or not we’d be able to make the 11, so we decided to stop at Camp 113 – just 6 miles for the day. It was 4pm when we rolled into camp. Normally we probably would have pushed on. However, we didn’t have the bandwidth to do so since you have to camp at shelters. The next one was 5.5 miles out. Too far for how tired we were. The early turn-in gave us time to journal, take naps, and snuggle under our sleeping bags while looking up at the clear blue sky.
We joined other hikers around a campfire for dinner: Papa G, Antenna, and Thunder Buns. While there, they convinced Ben to go back .9 miles to get photos from the fire tower. Earlier we decided to forgo visiting the fire tower because it was on a side trail and we really wanted to get to camp. The sun was almost set and he was heading out, so I joined him because I wouldn’t be able to sleep until he was there anyways. It added 2 more miles for the day, but the view was beautiful. Funny thing was, Ben still couldn’t go up the tower. He really wanted to, but his fear of heights kicked back in – another reason I went.
We hiked back in the dark (not my favorite) and went to bed late at 10p. We got to listen to owls as we walked and look at the stars and the moon through the trees.
– ansel