Week Four, 2023
Sunday, 19 March - Today is the final day at Fontana Villiage. I have been on R&R for three days now and I feel good. I am ready to get back to the trail and get started tomorrow on the 78 mile portion of the trail that goes through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. If all goes well, I should be at Newfound Gap by Thursday or Friday. That will allow for a resupply run to Gatlinburg at the end of the week. It will just be an in and out trip this time. My sister Laura is coming to meet me and bring some items from home. Once I am back at Newfound Gap and again headed north, it will be about four more days until I am out of the park.
I have not yet decided if I am going to stay at Standing Bear Hostel again this year. I did last year and it was an interesting experience. Each hostel has a totally different atmosphere and personality. I suppose each hostel is influenced by its owners. Some are modern, with technology and air conditioning. Some are old, not quite clean, and well worn. Some are just quirky. I like them all. Much like the shelters, I like to look at them and see how they are put together and run. Like every business, those that understand their customers and their needs are the ones that are the most successful. I look forward to seeing many of them again this year.
As far as the GSMNP portion of the trail goes, it has its own quirks as well.
First, no dogs are allowed on the trail in the park. I do not know the reason for this. Dogs are allowed on the trail elsewhere. The only other place that I know dogs are not allowed on the AT is Baxter State Park in Maine.
Second, HORSES are allowed on the trail in certain areas of the GSMNP. Again, I do not know why. There are certain shelters that have hitch rails!
Third, (and this is also a good way to keep track of where you are in the park) when you come to a shelter inside the park, pay attention to whether or not there is a privy. Besides the obvious reason, there is another reason why this is important. If there is a privy near the shelter, you are in North Carolina. If there is no privy, you are in Tennessee. The AT meanders back and forth across the TN / NC state lines as it travels through the park. I have been told that Tennessee has an old state law that prohibits outhouses on public land. All I will say is that that the trail in Tennessee has its own versions of a mine field all along the trail in the park so be careful.
Monday, 20 March - Well, today was the day to get into the Smokies. I took the first shuttle leaving Fontana Villiage this morning at nine. In about 20 minutes, I had been deposited back at the marina where the AT crosses the road. I stepped off and into the woods toward Fontana Dam. This part of the trail basically follows the shoreline of the lake as it heads toward the power house and spillway. When I made it around, the trail emerged from the woods at the shelter that is on the dam. It is known to all AT through hikers as The Fontana Hilton because the shelter was built with hot showers!
I kept walking toward the main part of the dam where the water enters the dam to make power. There was some kind if maintenance or repairs going on and the road across the top of the dam was closed. I wove around the welcome center and the parking lot to a flight of stairs that allowed me to get back up on top. No one said stop or started shooting so I kept walking. No one seemed to mind a dude with a backpack walking through their construction area. I did not waste time in their space and I am sure I am not the first one to go that way.
Once across the dam and into the woods, it took me about 20 minutes to walk up a road to the point where AT hikers actually are required to deposit a permit that has been issued by the US Forest Service or The US National Park Servie that allows a hiker to be on the trail in the park. The permit costs $20.00 and will allow a hiker access to the AT and the shelters while there it also gives a hiker about eight to ten days to complete the 78 miles inside the park. If a hiker wastes time and overstays his welcome, he can be fined. If he loses his copy of the permit and cannot produce it when asked by an official while inside the park, he can be fined. I guess the idea is to get through as quickly as possible to minimize the impact on the land and the shelters within the park. I walked 13.4 miles today to the Mollies Ridge shelter. This is the first shelter a hiker sees after entering the park. You have to work to get here. The first three miles are uphill and steep so that you can get up to the high sides of the mountains. It is also in Tennessee. The state lines are not marked through he park. I knew because there is no privy at Mollies Ridge.
Tuesday, 21 March - Today was hard, and I don't know why. The vertical ascents and descents were not terrible. The trail was not rough. There was a lot of mud and ice, but it was not terrible either. I can only speculate that it was hard because it was the day after climbing into the Smokies. My 56 year old body was reminding me that hiking like this is not normal behavior for someone who is of late middle age. I managed to reinjure the foot I hurt last year. It is not hurt as badly, but I can feel the swelling. I also have a problem with my ankle on my right foot. I think this is all due to fatigue. I am going to sleep. I walked 12.1 hard miles today.
Wednesday, 22 March - Here are three words for you: windy, rainy cold. These words describe the hike today. The rain started sometime after dark yesterday. During the night it got cold enough to leave a quarter inch of ice on my bear hang food bag. I broke the ice off when I went to get it this morning. About an hour after daylight, I decided to start walking in the rain toward the Double Springs Gap shelter from Derrick Knob shelter. Today was to be a short hiking day. I walked 7.4 miles today. The terrain was not terribly hard, it was very muddy and very slick. I improvised with zip lock bags on my hands to keep my gloves somewhat dry. I had my rain coat and pants on as well. I am not a fan of rain clothes. By design, they keep water out. Becaues of their water resistance, they also keep water (sweat) in because of their limited breathability. You are pretty much going to be at least damp if you wear them any length of time.
My shoes are wet too. I have a pair of dry socks that I wear in camp. Tomorrow is supposed to be a dry and sunny day. I hope to dry them out walking to the Mount Collins shelter 5.6 miles away. That sets me up to get to Newfound Gap Friday.
Thursday, 23 March - Well, it did stop raining and it warmed up a bit, but there was no sun to speak of today. After consulting my map, I decided to skip the upcoming shelter and head straight to Newfound Gap, 10.5 miles away. When I woke up at the Double Springs Gap shelter this morning everything from my clothes to my pack was at best very damp. It is like diving into a cold river. Just put everything on as quickly as you can and get moving.
Double Springs Gap shelter is a double decker shelter as well. Think of a set of bunk beds that are about fourteen feet wide. There is a top platform and a bottom platform where shelter dwellers sleep shoulder to shoulder.
When I was getting ready to leave this morning, an older man climbed out of the lower platform. He had come in late to the shelter from Newfound Gap. Keep in mind that the shelter is SOUTH of Newfound Gap. This guy had gotten dropped off at Newfound and immediately started hiking the wrong way. When he walked into the shelter having no idea he had gone ten and a half miles he asked if this shelter was called Peck's Corner. Everyone said no, that Peck's Corner was twenty miles north. The guy looked surprised, but not upset. He said, "Well, I guess I know where I'll be going tomorrow". As far as I know, he headed out this morning going north.
When a hiker leaves Double Springs Gap shelter heading north, he immediately begins to climb Mount Buckley. When he gets to the top of Mount Buckley, he continues to the top of Clingman's Dome. If he gets there on a clear day he can see for many miles in any direction. Today however, there was no clear sky. The walk was literally in the clouds. When one is that high up, all the trees are fir trees and they look like a Christmas tree farm. Because this mountain is so high at 6,643 feet (Clingman's Dome is the highest mountain on the AT, the highest mountain in Tennessee, and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi) there are many days that the top of Clingman's Dome is in the clouds. All that moisture allows moss to grow on everything. There is moss on the bark of all the trees, it is on all the rocks, it is everywhere. Also because it is so high, there is ice on the trail until late spring. There were many stretches of the trail this morning that were a solid ice floe. If you were good enough, I bet you could ski. I did not try it. I just eased along until I lost enough altitude to get above freezing. I finally made it to Newfound Gap at about 2:00 p.m. As I was sitting on the ground resting and watching tourists take pictures with the state line sign for Tennessee and North Carolina, two more hikers walked up. One was from Alabama and one was from Yorkshire, England. The guy from Alabama looked to be about forty. The guy from Yorkshire could not have been a day over 21. He had come to the US specifically to hike the AT. I will tell you that there is no way I would or could have come to another country to hike when I was his age. I admire that young man.
We all needed a shuttle to Gatlinburg. The guy from Alabama had shuttle driver numbers. I had a phone that worked. He would read numbers to me and I would call. As we were working through the list, a man pulled up in a very small Ford car and asked if we needed a lift to Gatlinburg. We jumped up and said yes and thank you! We packed into his little car and down the mountain we came. He even got us a hiker rate at the Bearskin Inn. I am here right now washing clothes and enjoying a real chair.
Now for the hard part. This is the end of my through hike. My sister Laura is coming to pick me up tomorrow. I have reinjured my left foot. I have also done something to my right knee. I walk like an old man at this moment. I guess I have to accept the fact that an AT through hike is not in the cards for me. My 56 year old self is just too old. I still love it, but I just cannot endure the stresses that a through hike requires on my body every day. I wish I could, but I can't. I am just too old. My advice to anyone thinking about trying an AT through hike is DO IT! Don't wait until you are too old like me. You will see evidence of God's creation every time you turn your head and meet people from literally all over the world. It is hard, hot, cold and dirty. It is also astoundingly beautiful and different every day. Find yourself about 150 days of free time and get stepping. It takes about five million steps to complete the AT. Start with one step and see where it leads you.
I am here to help!
John Walls
