The Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Well the 7 miles out of the NOC were not difficult but they were long. We were lucky because the forcast was for thunderstorms but no rain
fell during the day. Dave and I were the last two hikers to get into the 14 person shelter. That night the sky did let loose making it even better that we made it in the shelter.

The AT is not a race unless you want a spot in the shelter. On the 28th we raced the 15.2 miles to Cable Gap Shelter which only holds 6 which was significantly less than the night before. Both of us made it and got a spot in the shelter. The next day we descended close to 2000ft in 6 miles into Fontana Dam, NC. We took a quick resupply trip into the resort village so we could continue hiking and get into the Smoky Mountains. That night we were hit with a thunder storm and heavy rain. Luckily we stayed fairly dry in our tent.

On the morning of the 28th we woke up to fog and very little rain. With a couple more miles that morning we hit the unmarked border of Tennessee and North Carolina. This was slightly shocking to the both of us. Following the border, we hit some short climbs up to several balds. However we could not see anything as we were still hiking in a cloud. That night we packed 15 people in to a 12 person shelter. (in the smokies you must sleep in the shelter) The next day was very similar. Very little to see because of the fog and another packed shelter. One of our thru-hiker friends had the idea to wake up real early and hike up Clingmans Dome in the dark (highest point on the AT, 6,643 ft) to see the sunrise. So that's what we did. However that night the tempitures dropped below freezing and a winter storm moved in.

After reaching the top of Clingmans Dome we were greeted with a complete white out with 20 mph gusts of snow and wind. We rushed down to Newfound Gap and hitched in to Gatlinburg TN.

Gatlinburg is not a very nice city. It is a town that caters almost exclusively to tourists. The majority of the buildings are high rise hotels, resorts, and condos. There is even an aquarium. What, exactly, is an aquarium doing in the middle of the Smokey Mountains. Both of us and our trail friend Tim spent the night in the Grand Prix motel. The only place in Gatlinburg that caters to hikers. At $30 for a room it came out to just $10 per person. We had a late lunch at a bar and grill and the rest of our day in Gatlinburg was spent trying and failing to take the trolley across town to the grocery store. We finally made it there and back but the that should have taken about 1.5 hours ended up taking about 3.5 hours due to the crappy trolley system. And that was our day in Gatlinburg.

On April 2nd we hitched a ride back up to the trail at Newfound Gap. We hiked about 10 miles that day and it was without a doubt the best hiking day we've had so far. For most of the day we followed a ridge line at the top of the mountains, and for once, it was completely clear out. The views we had from the ridge line were amazing. We could see for miles and the surrounding hills and mountains were absolutely beautiful. It was just a great day. The following day was similar but the views were not quite as good. We walked about 13 miles in total and spent the night in yet another crowded shelter.

On April 4th we woke up early again in another attempt to catch a sunrise on top of a mountain. This time we were successful even though we left the shelter late and had to run flat out (after dropping our packs of course) for the last 0.6 miles to the mountain top tower. But after all that it was definitely worth it to see the sun come up over the hills and slowly light up the surrounding countryside. We made it out of the Smokies that same day after passing the only remaining shelter with a bear cage across the front. We dropped quite a bit in elevation and ended up spending that night at Standing Bear Farm Hostel to avoid the bad rain storm that was forecasted. The farm or hostel was a very strange and quirky place but the people running the place were nice enough and we even got to watch the NCAA men's basketball championship game. We also slept warm and dry that night while it rained hard outside.

On April 5th we left the hostel after a large and delicious breakfast and hiked about 15 miles to Roaring Fork Shelter. On the way we climbed over Max Patch, a giant bald on hilltop. It is a very popular spot on the AT and it was pretty spectacular but we didn't stay too long because is was extremely cold and windy. It would have been nicer on a warmer and sunnier day. We also ended up leaving behind pretty much the entire group we had been biking with. Hopefully they will catch up to us later.

On April 6th we hiked 19.1 miles into Hot Springs, NC. It was our longest day yet. With all the extra walking in town we probably walked over 20 miles in total. Despite the long day it really wasn't too strenuous. When we got to Hot Springs we stopped by the outfitter to get some stove fuel the had an enormous dinner at the local diner. Most of it was fried but it was great and we were both stuffed afterwards. Next we resupplied at a Dollar General and hiked down the trail to the river where we camped for the night.

On the 7th we hiked about 10 miles out of Hot Springs. Most of it was uphill. It was short compared to yesterday but a good easy day to help recover. We met Ewok who will be ending his flip flop thru-hike tomorrow in Hot Springs. It was pretty cool meeting someone on there last day of hiking. Some day we'll be there too but right now, more hiking.