Wonderer

Chapter 2: The Great Smoky Mountains

Chapter 2: The Great Smoky Mountains

We hiked the Great Smoky Mountains in 2021. This entry is based on what little I remember, as I am writing this in 2023, some notes from Preston, and my journal.

Wednesday, June 23

We started up Fontana Dam after 1 pm. We ate delicious burgers in the village. So far the hike had been difficult which we knew since we heard the climb out of Fontana was difficult. I wasn't wearing my pack correctly either so I was hurting and stopping a lot. Preston was getting frustrated. Angry, he threatened to turn us around and take me home because I couldn't hike. I cried and we talked it out and he apologized. He adjusted my pack and made my straps extra small which helped so much. I immediately noticed a difference. We both were happier and I wasn't stopping as much. I got excited when I saw a red Eft newt and abruptly stopped to stare at the newt. This caused Preston to hurt his leg. He had to stop a few times to stretch. The newt was adorable! It was smaller than my pinky finger. We finally made it to camp about 5:45. We set up and I watched Preston try to get a bee out of the tent. While sitting in the food area, waiting for dinner, we saw a bunch of baby mice running around. So many creatures today. I then realized I forgot my spork. I had to use the silicone spoon we had brought along. Later, a buck passed through our campsite while we were talking to people. We finished our dinner of Mediterranean couscous with lemon tuna before going to bed. We followed another buck up to the tent.

The next morning we woke up at about 6. We packed up our tent and went to the food area for breakfast. I opened my pack and pulled out my fanny pack only to discover a mouse had bit my fanny pack and the silicone spoon. When I checked my food back, I found there was another hole in it and the mouse has chewed through the bag, into a sandwich bag, and eaten one of my Lara bars. I was just happy the rest of the food was still good. Only one snack had been eaten. We started our hike up to Mollies Shelter and ate a snack there. It was a really nice shelter. As we were leaving, we started going up a switch back. We heard a growl coming from above. We kept going slowly and could see something running up the hill. Preston grabbed my bear spray and held it tight for safety. Luckily, we went down the hill instead of up it, toward whatever had growled at us. When we were about 10 yards from Russell Field Shelter, we actually saw our first bear. It ran up the hill a little ways from the trail and stared at us. We stared back and kept going. It was scary and cool at the same time. We ate lunch at Russel Field Shelter and rested up and stretched for a bit. 2 hikers joined us, Barry Allen, with his son Kevin before leaving the shelter. They told us where they were staying and we changed our reservations to a different shelter that was further away since it was still early. We packed up and kept going to Spence Field Shelter. At the shelter, Southern Gay was there. He was nice. He was staying in the shelter. We chatted a little before I went to set up the tent and Preston started preparing dinner. Kevin and Barry arrived later. A couple of other people joined us through the afternoon.

The next morning, we packed up and ate our breakfast with others at the picnic table. One of the guys that showed up the evening before gave me a bit of his cheese. It was delicious. Soon we started hiking up to Derick Shelter. I really struggled with my pack and cried a few times. Once we got to the shelter, I ate and felt better. Kevin and Barry caught up and Preston got some medical supplies from them before we kept going. Made it up to Rocky Top before lunch. We hiked passed Silers Bald Shelter and arrived at Double Spring Shelter. Already full with 15 people. We socialized a bit before setting up our tent in the grass. We didn't have to stay in the shelter since covid restrictions had lifted the shelter rules. We ate our pesto chicken and went to bed.

Low morale and struggled the 3 miles to Clingmans the next day. I'll admit, I cried a lot and sometimes, I don't even know why. The views were beautiful. Once we got to Clingmans, it was overcrowded with tourists. People were everywhere. It was so different from there being so few people on the trail to suddenly a hundred people. I got some stuff for the bug bites on my legs and met a couple who did the PCT previously and were getting their butts kicked by what the AT had to offer. Climbed to the top of Clingman's dome once the crowd thinned out a bit. It was beautiful at the top. We carried on and finally ate lunch at New Found Gap around 4 pm. We took off our packs and our shoes and laid on the sidewalk. It was nice to rest. I snuck into the bathroom and stocked up on toilet paper before hiking up to Ice WaterShelter where we set up our tent. We socialized for a little while and went to bed early as we were very tired.

Sunday we woke up to fog. We packed up and started our hike up to Charles Bunion where we watched the fog roll in. It rained until about 12:30. We finally got to sit on a rock and rest for a few minutes before the rain started back up. Eventually, we found a good rock to sit, eat, and dry in the sun since it had stopped raining again. It was a nice hike to Tricornner Shelter. We saw a hog running and a few views after it stopped raining. Made it to Tricorner and set up our tent. We talked to a strange man who tried to put a giant sitting log into a fire. He was nice though. He had his wife with him. Later, a navy guy showed up in jeans, looking tired. A married couple who was tenting came to the table and ate their dinner as well as another couple. Everyone went to their tent in the rain. We decided to pack up the tent and sleep in the shelter. My first shelter stay. We had 2 other men join us not long after we went to bed after eating chicken cheddar broccoli rice and some summer sausage.

Happy Birthday to me! I thought as I woke up Monday morning. I was wide awake and ready for adventure. We socialized a bit at the shelter before heading out for the day.

We stopped at Cosby Knob Shelter, which was closed to camping, for a snack. We refilled out water and checked the comments for the next shelter. While Preston was looking, I noticed a tent nearby with equipment around it. Preston informed me it was a bear camera to monitor bear activity. Preston also found out that there were bears at the shelter we were going. Someone said they stayed at the Davenport shelter. Instead of hanging their food inside the shelter behind the fence, as advised to do by the park, they decided to hang their food in a tree and a bear got it. I rolled my eyes but we agreed to push to the hostel. We started hiking again. The climb down to Davenport Shelter was a steep one. It felt like it went on forever. The shelter itself looked really cool but we didn't take the trail down to it. We had miles to cover. We pushed for the hostel. We skipped the road hike and took to the trail by going up some steep stairs When we got to the hostel, not a lot of hikers were there and we were able to snag the tree house as a private room. It was really nice, hot but cute. We ate Thanksgiving dinner in a bowl for dinner and Preston bought some ice cream sandwiches from the hostel. It was a great birthday and a great way to end our Great Smoky Mountain trail trip.