Cosby Knob Shelter to Waterville School Road (I40), Northbound

Woke up to the sun rising at Cosby Knob.

May 14, 2013
10.4 miles
7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

It’s funny that we now consider 10 miles a short day.  Considering that back in Georgia it took most of the day for us to cover 8 or 9 miles, it is amazing that we can now do 10 miles by early afternoon. 

The trail was first uphill until we got to the side trail to the Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower, then downhill all the way. There were several trees down on the trail, one that we had to literally crawl under.



Yep, we walked that 31.4 miles from Newfound Gap.

When we reached Davenport Gap we had a most lovely site awaiting us – a TRAIL ANGEL!  Woo hoo! This guy was from Ohio and he does trail magic full time on 4 different trails.  He had a table set up with Famous Amos chocolate chips cookies and a bag full of different kinds of chips, and a cooler full of sodas.  My, my, did that ever taste good and was the perfect reward for making it through the Smokies.  He even had camping chairs for us to sit in.  Firemaker – I mean two-point-oh – a guy named Mark, Frizz and us were there about the same time and we all enjoyed a little break before heading on up the next mountain toward I40 and Standing Bear Hostel.  Us to our car and them to stay at the hostel for the night. 

The distance from Davenport Gap to Waterville School Road is 2.4 miles.  Anything can happen in 2.4 miles in the mountains.  We thought we were home free but, low-and-behold, when the walking was good and level, a root got in Wait-up's way and he went down - HARD!  He actually turned a flip right there on the trail.  Once a 35 pound backpack gets going in one direction, it keeps going.  His head hit the ground and his hand came down on a rock as he tried to break his fall.  Nothing was broken though, so he got up and we went on down the trail.  Too close to the end to stop now. 

We felt quite an accomplishment to have finished the Smokies finally after first planning to do them back last July when the heat wave came through and knocked us out of it. We were happy to be back to our car and on the way to Knoxville for the night to stay with our daughter and son-in-law for a short rest.

Wait-up surveying the goods at the Trail Angel table.

Frizz, Catch-up, Wait-up, and Two-point-oh enjoying trail magic.

The AT passes under I40.

Silers Bald Shelter to Russell Field Shelter, Southbound

May 10, 2013
14.7 Miles
7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

It was nice to get an earlier start today.  We got up, rolled up our bedding, mixed up an energy drink with water and ate a Cliff Bar on the trail.  Easy.  Today’s hike started out very moderately.  There were some uphills but they didn’t last long.  Right before reaching Derrick Knob Shelter we came across a family of deer playing on the trail. 

 

 

Right about noon we started our climb up Thunderhead Mountain.  It was a very steep and long climb. We reached the infamous Rocky Top, as the name depicts, it is a rocky ridgeline between Tennessee and North Carolina. On one of the rocks the number 2000 was printed in white paint; this is the 2000 mile marker from Katahdin for the southbounders.  I know they must be excited when they see that. 

 

 



View from Rocky Top.

The area around the trail up to Spence Field shelter is especially beautiful with a meadow-looking area filled with a ground-cover of white flowers and service berry trees in full bloom. 

 

We were surprised to find the shelters in the Smokies so close together, but I suppose it is due to the heavy hiking traffic here and also because they have to be located close to water sources.  For instance, only 2.5 miles separates Mollies Ridge Shelter and Russell Field Shelter; 3.1 between Russell Field and Spence Field and 1.7 between Silers Bald and Double Springs.  The shelters on the north side of Newfound Gap, on the other hand, are more normally spaced out. 

We were the only ones sleeping in Russell Field Shelter.  One other guy but pitched his tent quite a ways from the shelter. 

Russell Field Shelter
 

REST AND RECOVERY DAY IN HOT SPRINGS

March 16, 2013
REST AND RECOVERY DAY
0 Miles

A day off from hiking after only one day of hiking is unusual, I know!  It was not by choice, believe me.  I really didn’t want to do it, but was afraid to take a chance on my symptoms returning while out in the woods, so here we are in Hot Springs for the day.  We couldn’t have landed at a better place for this to happen.  We spent the day walking around the nice little town, visiting a few shops and the diner again, getting to know Chuck Norris and his wife Tigger, visiting with other hikers, and resting.   Solo and Pilgrim are also taking a rest day.  They are an unlikely pair, Solo being from Elijay, GA and Pilgrim from Massachusetts.  It was a good day, and all my symptoms were gone by the end of it.  Ready to get back on the trail tomorrow.

The white blazes of the AT are right in the sidewalk.
 

On the streets of Hot Springs
 

Hot Springs main street
 

Laughing Heart Hostel
 

NORTH CAROLINA/TENNESSEE BORDER

Well!  We finally made it to the AT again!  Long time since we planned to go to the GSMNP last July.  This time we decided to skip the SMNP and begin our hike north of it (for several reasons). 

With my 60th birthday coming up, I had a crazy hankering to spend it on the AT.  So on Thursday, March 14, we drove north to Waynesville, NC to spend the night before beginning our hike the next day.

We have been in training for 8 weeks before this hike, using our wonderful "walking around the soccer field, up and down the bleachers, up and down the hill from the creek" method.  We will see if it keeps us from getting sore this time. 

We will be "slackpacking" most of this trip.  That means we will be spending the night at various hostels along the way and taking only a daypack with us out on the trail each day.  There is only one section that is too long without road access to allow us to do this.  So we will have one night in the tent on the trail, not even at a shelter.

Keep reading for a day by day progress report of our hike. 

Stecoah Gap to Fontana Dam

APRIL 20, 2012

Stecoah Gap to Fontana Dam - Moderate

15.4 miles in 7.5 hours

The Cabin in the Woods, Stecoah Gap

Today we slackpacked.  Whoo – What a relief!  We woke up bright and early in the beautiful Cabin in the Woods, made our breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, packed up our lunch, water and a few snacks and called for a ride.  Phil, Donna's husband, had us up to Stecoah Gap in ten minutes.  We started our hike at 8:20.  As was to be expected, it was a steep climb out of the gap.  But without our backpacks it was an enjoyable hike and a welcome break.

The Cabin in the Woods,  back porch with a view of the mountainside.

The Cabin in the Woods, Stecoah Gap

By 9:30 we were at the Brown Fork Gap Shelter but since it was off the trail, decided not to go in to see it.  We would have seen some of our comrads there; a few who had made this shelter their goal the day before. A few had stopped at Locust Cove Gap.   So, we were without our usual company today and we missed the camaraderie, but did meet another young man today who was thru-hiking and trying to be the first to make it to Mount Katahdin wearing the skele-toes.  We are interested to hear if he made it all the way, since they did not look too stable to us.

At Cody Gap we needed water, but found that the water hole was off the trail down a steep bank, so decided to take our chances and walk on, hoping to find water on the trail.  We did find a very good water stream right before Yellow Creek Gap. 

Can you see Fontana Lake down there?

At 12:00 we stopped for lunch at Yellow Creek Gap, SR 1242.  We had hiked 7.6 miles in 3.5 hours.

The remainder of the day was up and down (literally), but nothing compared to the day before.  The ups were steep but not too high, and the downs were not too bad.  Many welcome gaps of rolling ridge-walking.  Some spots were rocky, some spots were muddy and slippery.  

See Fontana Lake through the trees?

We first spotted Fontana Lake from the top of the mountain long before we got to it.  It was a welcome sight, but we didn’t know at the time that it would be a long time before we actually got to it.  It was a long descent into the valley.  We finally came to NC Highway 28 right before the Dam Marina.  We still had 1.4 miles to go over a mountain to get to the dam and the Visitor’s Center.  After a bathroom break at the marina, we began climbing again to cross over to the Fontana Dam.  We were tired and ready for it to be over; therefore did not welcome the climb that was ahead of us.  Putting one foot in front of the other, one step at a time, we finally made it to the Fontana Dam at 4:00. 

Hwy 28 goes through Fontana Village.

We wanted to see the “Fontana Hilton” shelter, so made ourselves trek down the hill for a glance.  It indeed was the largest shelter we had seen.  It was two levels on each side of a center breezeway; built to shelter 24 people.  The showers and water fountains that were advertised in our 2011 Thru-Hiker’s Companion though were not in service and looked like they had not seen water in awhile.  There were showers, though, at the Visitor’s Center, but we didn’t have a towel or soap with us, so we were unable to use them.

Our vehicle parked in the Visitor’s Center parking lot was a welcome sight. The first thing we did was take off our boots for more comfortable shoes and then went to the soda machine for a cold drink.  Unfortunately, my camera quit working before we got to the dam and we could not take pictures to prove that we had made it—but I promise you that we did!! 

91 miles in 8 days.    

Nantahala Outdoor Center to Stecoah Gap

APRIL 19, 2012
Nantahala Outdoor Center to Stecoah Gap  - Strenuous
13.6 miles in 10 hours

River's End Restaurant at NOC.

We visited River’s End Restaurant again for breakfast before setting out on the trail at 9:00 a.m.  This section of the trail was everything we heard it would be – very steep and a long uphill climb.  Eight miles of elevation climbing from 1723’ to 5062’ at Cheoah Bald.  It was definitely the most strenuous day we have had on this section.  We reached Cheoah Bald at 3:00 p.m.  It was a beautiful view from the top of Cheoah Bald.

A view of River's End Restuarant from across Nantahala River.

Nantahala River at NOC

Nantahala River at NOC

Wesser Bald Shelter to Nantahala Outdoor Center

APRIL 18, 2012
Wesser Bald Shelter to Nantahala Outdoor Center - Strenuous
5.7 miles in 3.5 hours 

This morning everyone was up bright and early, I believe we were all weary of the sleeping arrangements by that time.  Eight people in a shelter built for six is a bit crowded, but we made the best of it. After our breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, we were the first out on the trail.

We have a short hike today, mostly downhill.  But it was still raining and the trail was wet and treacherous.  In fact, Wait-up slipped down by stepping on a root again.   We saw the privy of the A. Rugus Morgan Shelter from the trail above a LONG time before we actually got to it.  It appeared to be just a little way down, but it seemed like it took us forever to actually get to the shelter.  It was a small one, and we heard later that it was jammed packed with people too the night before in the rain. 

Our first view of Nantahala Outdoor Center from the descending trail.

 It was a long descent into the Nantahala Outdoor Center gap; but our first site of the building from the trail above was a welcome sight, knowing that we would have a night in a bed tonight.  We decided to upgrade from the basecamp, which is actually a hostel with no linens to one of their cabins so that we could enjoy it more.  They sometimes rent out Cabin D as a motel, they said.  We saw several of our fellow hikers in the cabin where we shared a common living area and a small kitchen and laundry room.

Even before we went to our cabin though, we took advantage of the River’s End Restaurant for one of their famous pizzas.  Clyde and Nightwalker were already there eating with Nightwalker’s wife who had met them there from Greenville, SC.  They told us they were going into Bryson City to spend the night. While we were eating Joshua and Caleb came in also. 

The AT crosses right over the NOC bridge.

After lunch and a shower, we restocked our backpacks from our supplies in the car.  This was the first time we had seen our car in six days.  We could finally retrieve our Thru-Hiker’s Companion and feel like we had the information we needed about the waypoints.  We had arranged for a shuttler named Donna to meet us at Fontana Dam this afternoon to leave our car there and bring us back to NOC to spend the night. 

The Nantahala River is famous for Whitewater rafting.

We drove into Bryson City to Ingle’s Grocery store to pick up a few groceries that we had decided on, then on to Fontana Dam to leave the car.  Donna met us there.  On the way back to NOC we found out that Donna lives and has a hostel and cabins for rent at Stecoah Gap, we drove right past it.  We could have stayed at her place tonight if we had known; but we already had reservations at NOC.  

We had heard good things about the hamburgers at the River's End, so we heated up our leftover pizza in the microwave in the cabin, then took it with us to the restaurant where we ordered a burger and fries to split along with our pizza.  While there, we met a nice couple from Kansas who had bought some property near by and were working on building a log cabin on it.  They told us they were staying in The Little Cabin in the Woods.  Small world - we told them that we had just met Donna when she shuttled us here.  They always stay in one of Donna's cabins when they come to work on their house.

We walked back to the cabin with Ryno (well, not exactly, he ran up the hill because it was raining). We went to bed early hoping for a good night's sleep which we did - except for the guy above us who had heavy feet and walked around until late at night above our heads.  Oh well, we finally got to sleep and it was good.

Cabin D, Room 6

Beautiful peonies at the River's End Restaurant.

Us on the bridge after getting cleaned up.

Wayah Shelter to Wesser Bald Shelter

APRIL 17, 2012

Wayah Shelter to Wesser Bald Shelter - Moderate
10.6 miles in 7 hours

No storm last night as forcasted.  That was an answer to prayer, we could just see our tent washed down the hill with a gullywasher. 

We climbed 3 or 4 steep inclines before reaching Cold Spring Shelter where we stopped for lunch and water.  We met Nightwalker going back down the trail lickety split.  He had forgotten to take his GPS equipment off "Pause" at their last stop.  Uh oh!  He had to retrace his path almost a mile and back.

Several men had reached the shelter before us.  As usual, I immediately looked for the privy and noticed that, standing in front of the shelter, you could see directly into the privy to the seat.  Well, I just said, "Turn your head, boys, cause I gotta go." And I went.

The mosquitos were very thick at this shelter.  Out came the repellant again.

Burningtown Gap, Elevation 4236

View from Copper Ridge Bald Lookout, Elevation 5080'

 Copper Ridge Bald Lookout was a pretty place for pictures so we took a few.  From there, it was a lot of downhill hiking to Tellico Gap. 

Rocky Bald Lookout, Elevation 5030'

At Tellico my breath was taken away with the beautiful wild azaleas in bloom in pink and red.We had seen lots of them sprinkled throughout the forest already, but here they were concentrated in one area and close to the trail. 

Beautiful orange wild azaleas at Tellico Gap

Beautiful pink wild azaleas at Tellico Gap