Newfound Gap to Pecks Corner Shelter, Northbound

May 12, 2013
10.4 miles
9:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The lookout at Newfound Gap.

This morning we left early to drive our car up to Standing Bear hostel where we will park it while we hike the northern Smokies.  We met our shuttle driver from A Walk in the Woods at 8:00 a.m.  He drove us down to Newfound Gap, where we started hiking at 9:15 a.m. 

It was a very pleasant walk today through old trees.  The uphills were not too steep or long. Much of the time we were walking along the ridge line with beautiful views.

Our shuttle with A Walk in the Woods.

Sign at the beginning of the trail going north from Newfound Gap.
 

We reached Peck’s Corner Shelter at 4:30 p.m. with one other person there before us.  He had already gathered some wood for the night and began to start a fire. He invited all who came later to gather wood also and help keep the fire stoked throughout the night.  He said he had started a fire in every shelter he had been in so far.  We called him “Firemaker” but his real trail name was two-point-oh (he was a computer guru, of course). Most all the shelters in the Smokies have a fireplace in them and most of them still had a tarp over the entrance to help keep out the cold.

 Fortunately we did have prior warning that tonight was going to be unusually cold, in the 30s, so we brought our heavier sleeping bags.  They make our load heavier to carry, but they were needed.  Before the evening was over, the shelter was full, it held 14 people. 

 

North of Newfound Gap

Lunch break at Icewater Spring Shelter

Charlie's Bunion

View from Charlie's Bunion

Newfound Gap to Silers Bald Shelter, Southbound

May 9, 2013
12.5 miles
8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

 

 

Yesterday we drove from our home in Florida up to Robbinsville, NC to The Cabin in the Woods.  http://thecabininthewoods.com/



The Loft at The Cabin in the Woods

This is where we stayed at the end of our previous hike up to Fontana Dam.  Donna is a wonderful host and her cabins are very clean and well maintained.  She is also a great shuttle driver.  This time we stayed in her loft cabin, which is smaller than The Coop that we stayed in last time and has two twin beds. 



As of February 2013, Great Smoky Mountains National Park requires a permit and advance reservations for all backcountry camping in the park.  Because of the extent of our hike, we were able to register as thru-hikers which means that we can stay at any shelter in the park on any night rather than having to register for a certain shelter.  The permits were $20 each.  We are supposed to submit one copy of the permit at Fontana Dam and keep one copy with us.  We drove over to Fontana Dam to submit our Hiker Permits before taking off in the morning for Newfound Gap.  We looked for an hour for the permit box; to no avail. We finally pushed the permit through the door of the Visitor Center with a note that we could not find the permit box; I hope they got it.  We found out later that the box is located across the Dam bridge just inside the beginning of the trailhead.  We didn’t go quite far enough into the trail to see it.  Since we are not actually starting at Fontana Dam, we did not see the box until we hiked south from Newfound Gap and came back to the Dam.  Anyway – now we know.

The permit box is just past this sign post at the beginning of the trail.

Entering the Great Smoky Mountain National Park!!

Sign at Newfound Gap

Sign at Newfound Gap

This morning, Donna drove us up to Newfound Gap to begin our hike southbound through the Smokies. We started hiking around 8:30 a.m.   At Indian Gap (just 1.7 miles in) we came out of the woods to see our first Trail Angels.  Cookie Dough and his brother were there with Gatorade and chocolate or apple pies.  Yum!  We have hardly started out journey and trail magic is already appreciated.  These two brothers told us that they were thru-hikers who are taking a break from the trail to let knee and ankle injuries heal up.  They plan to continue in a few days. 

Clingman's Dome

We sloshed through plenty of mud on the trail due to the abundant rain they have had recently.  Every north-bounder we encountered commented that they were thankful that it was not raining today, although it was still foggy and cloudy. 

At 1:20 we had our first sighting of Clingman’s Dome.  It was a welcome sight as we had been climbing up most of the day.  It was an especially hard climb right before the Dome. At 6,643 feet, Clingman’s Dome is the highest point on the AT.  From the tower (if you want to walk up the ramp to the top), you can get a 360-degree view of NC and TN.  Needless to say – since we have been there many times before, we did not climb the ramp to the top of the Dome.  We took pictures from the bottom and kept on going. 

At Double Springs Shelter we met our first ever Ridgerunner named Billy Jones.  Since I was wearing my Relay for Life ball cap, he commented that he had previously worked for the American Cancer Society in Jacksonville and we found out we know some of the same people.  Small world. (Ridgerunners are generally seasonal employees assigned to hike and camp along high-use sections of the Appalachian Trail or to remain at heavily used overnight sites. The ridgerunner and caretaker program helps promote a quality recreational trail experience by talking to visitors about the A.T. and its intended primitive experience, its location, regulations, and traditions, as well as ways they can minimize their impact on the Trail.)

At 6:00 p.m. we arrived at Silers Bald Shelter where we will spend the night.  The rules for the Smokies say that you should not set up a tent unless the shelter is full.  Because of this, we were tempted not to bring our tent in order to save the weight.  We finally decided to bring it anyway because you never know what might happen, but we never used it in the Smokies.  However, there were people who set up their tent at the shelters in spite of the fact that the shelter was not full. We were afraid that we would have trouble with mice like we did in Georgia.  Although I saw a couple at this first shelter before we went to bed, they did not bother us through the night and I never saw another one at the other shelters.  Maybe it is too cold for them yet. 

Silers Bald Shelter

Unfortunately, none of the shelters in the Smokies have privies.  Ugh!  Usually there is a popular trail running down a hill where folks go to bury their treasure.  However, when I went to do so, I found one guy had set up his tent right on the edge of the little hill so that I had to go WAY down the hill to find a tree where I could not be seen as I did my business.  That was inconvenient. 

The temperature was pretty chilly during the night so we were glad to have bivy sacks that Wait-up had made for us out of Tyvek, since we had opted to bring our lighter summer-weight sleeping bags.  The bivy sacks made them just right for the chilly nights in the shelters.   

Silers Bald Shelter

Overall, we were pleased with our first day back on the trail and the endurance that we had.  I guess our training has paid off, although I am not saying it was an easy day at all.  I certainly was ready to rest at the end of the day. 



View in  the Smokies.