Tuesday March 26, 19.6miles/31.5km

Hot Springs NC (274. 9) to Little Laurel Shelter NC (294.5)

Yes, I saw both Chuck Norris and Tombstones today. The two aren’t related this time, but they usually are!

I woke up late in a comfy bed, and CloseCall and I went to breakfast at the Smoky Mountain Diner.

After eating way too much, and doing some town errands at the library and post office, I went back to the hostel to pack up. I talked to the hostel hosts/caretakers, Tigger and Chuck Norris (he got his trail name because he looks like the actor). We chatted about the upcoming ALDHA event, the Gathering in October. And trail reminiscing of the PCT, CDT, FT, etc… “Bears hang their food at night to keep it safe from Chuck Norris”… Ha!

I left town at 1pm, and it was an easy walk thru town, crossing the French Broad River as I left.

The trail followed the river for awhile….

… then climbs up up up to a overlook called Lovers Leap.

At the top of the climb, there was a dam and a pond. And some signs of spring!

The trail broke out of the trees, and there were views of fog.

I climbed up to Rich Mountain, and the fog got even thicker, so I didn’t bother to climb the firetower for a view.

Then, every mile or so, a tombstone would randomly appear next to the trail. I think there were at least 5 of them. So creepy.

And then, at 4pm the sun came out!

An hour later, I passed by Spring Mountain Shelter, and there were at least 10 tents set up.

I had plenty of energy since I started so late today, so I kept hiking another 2 hours to the next shelter, arriving at 7pm. There were way fewer hikers there, and there was even an empty spot in the shelter, so I slept inside. I met a few other hikers – Hurley, Bumblebee, Snuggles, and a few more that I can’t remember.

Monday March 25, 12.3 miles/19.8km

Kale Gap NC (262.6) to Hot Springs NC (274.9)

The three of us got going early, at 7:15am. It’s always exciting on a town day! Captain and CloseCall were being fueled by thoughts of coffee, but I was daydreaming about milkshakes…

The trail started off with a nice 1000ft/300m climb up Bluff Mt to get us warm.

There weren’t really any views from the top, but we could see the sunrise through the leafless trees. On the way down the mountain, we found… danish of mystery!

I guess someone left it in the middle of the trail? Captain devoured it without a second thought, haha.

A few miles later, near Deer Park shelter, we passed a random and creepy old graveyard.

On of the graves said, “lost but not dead”. Huh. The rest of the trail was an uneventful cruise into Hot Springs, and we covered the 12 miles into town by 11:15am.

We had some rain the last 5 minutes, but otherwise we avoided the rain. Perfect! We checked into the Laughing Heart hostel, showered, and walked down to town for lunch.

The trail goes right thru town, and even has its own sidewalk markers, cool

After lunch at the Smoky Mountain Diner, the 3 of us were joined by Birdman (AT ’15), a friend of Captain’s who had driven in from nearby Asheville. We checked out the gear at Bluff Mountain Outfitters, and then off to the hot springs!

It’s a small resort, and they pump the mineral springs water into plastic hot tubs (hygienic reasons). It was a nice soak for an hour, and then it was time for 2nd lunch/1st dinner at Spring Creek Tavern. The pizza & wings hit the spot. After a quick resupply at the Dollar store, I went back to the hostel to relax for the night, and watch the rain from indoors. Good day!

Sunday March 24, 21.1miles/34.0km

Standing Bear Hostel TN (241.5) to Kale Gap NC (262.6)

I slept in until 7:30, it was so nice waking up next to a warm woodstove. I get packed up, and head to the kitchen, since I’ve heard a rumor about breakfast burritos. And the rumor is true! Chorizo, hash browns, eggs, peppers, onions, and sauces… heaven in a tortilla.

As I’m leaving, I get a few more photos, this place is so unique.

I leave at 9am, and it’s a big 2500ft/750m climb up to Snowbird Peak. The trail is nice and gradual, and it’s pleasantly warm out.

At the top, the trail break out of the trees, for some nice views.

And also at the top… trail magic! It’s quite surprising, given we’re on top of a seemingly inaccessible peak, but this lovely group of people found a way to drive up an old gravel road!

I sit and chat for awhile, and eat a sandwich, some delicious homemade bread, pop, and cookies. What a treat!

The views from up here are nice too, and there is a piece of aviation navigation equipment.

I say goodbye to the nice folks and continue down the other side of the mountain. Not far to Max Patch!

There is a descent and re-ascent to another peak, and all along the way are signs of spring.

And then, a mile before the summit of Max Patch, is a young couple parked near a dirt road with Trail magic! Truly surprising again. They are Cornsilk (AT ’15) and Hunter, and they have plans to do the PNT (Pacific Northwest Trail) in summer 2020. Close-call and Captain show up too, and we relax with some snacks.

Soon after, we hit the famed Max Patch, a Bald summit with 360-degree views, a rare thing on the southern AT.

We hang out there for a bit, but it’s getting cold, so the 3 of us head downhill 6 miles to camp. Along the way…more trail magic!!

Fresh Ground runs the “leapfrog Cafe” every year for the last 5 years during AT hiker season. He makes stops all along the trail, gradually headig north to Maine. So cool! We stop for an hour and enjoy some pasta, fresh fries, kool-aid, and other snacks. There are already 8-10 other hikers camped out nearby, since they also cook a nice breakfast. We continue hiking another 2 miles to camp, since we are trying to be in town before noon tomorrow, when the rain comes.

What a ridiculous and amazing day!

Saturday March 23, 19.3miles/31.1km

Tri-Corner Knob shelter NC (223.4) to Standing Bear Hostel TN (241.5) + 1.2 side trip to Mt Cammerer

Even though it was a cold morning, I started off early, since it’s a town day! The trail stayed up high for the first 5 miles, and there was still some snow on the trail.

And plenty of good views to the north and east.

Even though hiking in 2 inches of snow is cold on the feet, it’s nice to look at. I see a hiker ahead of me agreed.

There were several trail junctions, and clearly only the AT hikers were out in this snow. The other side trails had no tracks at all!

After 5 miles, the trail started descending. Down at 5000ft elevation, there was less snow…

No special reason for this photo, I just like camels.

I did meet a hiker at this junction named Gretchen, she plans to hike the AT next year, and seemed super stoked about it. I look forward to following her journey next year on her youtube channel.

At lunch, I took a side trail to a summit lookout point, Mt Cammerer. It was 0.6miles off the AT, so 1.2 “bonus miles”. But it was a great spot!

I met three other hikers having a break in the tower – Nails, Teach, and Gopher. Everyone seemed excited about lower elevations and warmer temperatures!

And after lunch, the trail continued its descent toward Davenport Gap, and the trail became snow free. Sweet.

It descends below 2000ft and crosses the Pigeon River, and Interstate 40.

I arrived to Standing Bear Hostel at 4pm, and it’s basically a small village in the middle of the woods. It has a kitchen building, resupply shop, shower building, beer cave building, a BBQ area, and 9 dogs, 3 cats, and at least 1 chicken roaming around. Plus 20-25 hikers.

This is dinner #2 or #3, I can’t remember.

It’s so great to be warm again!

Friday March 22, 21 miles/33.8km

Mt Collins Shelter TN (202.8) to Tri-Corner Knob shelter NC (223.4) + 0.4mi side trail

Close call wakes up before I do, and he is leaving as I’m getting packed up. I’m on the trail at 7:45, and it looks like it snowed another inch overnight.

But, it’s easy walking, and with the clouds leaving and incoming blue skies, I’m hopeful the sun will melt this two inches of snow.

I get to Newfound Gap at 9am, where a paved highway crosses the mountain range. The road is currently closed for ice, so there are no hordes of tourists like usual. In fact, the only person I see is a ranger. The views are amazing though!

I stop in the bathroom for a bit, and it’s heated! So I stay and take a break, make a few phone calls, have a snack. There are funny signs throughout the room..

After 30 minutes I continued up the trail. It’s still snowy, but getting warmer and trees are dropping their melting snow.

I stop at Icewater Spring shelter for lunch. It’s on a south facing slope, so it feels quite warm, and I’m finally able to shed a clothing layer.

Another few miles down the trail is a Rocky outcrop named Charlie’s Bunion. It’s steep, but has cool views to the north. And a funny sign about children.

The rest of the day is a nice walk on a slushy trail. There are plenty of views, and I don’t see anyone else all day, though I do see an increasing amount of footprints in the snow.

I get to Tri-Corner Knob shelter at 4:45pm, and there are 8 other hikers here. Yay, people! We chat and have dinner, and I see Close Call again.

A side note, the trail follows the high ridgeline through these mountains, which is also the NC/TN border. So, I will be crossing back and forth for the next week or so.

Tomorrow is the last day in the Smokies!

Thursday March 21, 22.4miles/36.0km

Russell Field Shelter NC (180.8) to Mt Collins Shelter TN (202.8) + 0.4mi side trail

With a forecasted storm this afternoon, most people were up early to get in as many miles as possible in dry weather. I left the shelter at 7:30, and after the first climb I could see the increasing clouds. But still good visibility and views!

I’ve been seeing these little spots of ice crystals the last few cold mornings. They kinda look like ice flowers.

I stopped and had lunch at a shelter, then pushed on uphill, trying to get over the next high point before the storm. The trail starts off dry…

And then a little snow…

And then some more…

I’m actually glad it’s snow and not rain, because at least I’m dry. I get to Clingmans Dome (6643ft/2025m), the highest point on the AT, at 3pm.

The mountain has a tower on the top, so it’s possible to get above the trees and get views. Even this high up, it’s still not above treeline!

I’ve been here several times before, so I’ve seen what a nice view it can be. It’s windy as, so I hurried back into the woods, and down the mountain. Another hour, and I’m in camp at Mt Collins Shelter.

There is a group of 3 guys here on a spring break hiking trip, and one other thru hiker named Close Call. He and I have the same plan for the next few days, so I’ll be seeing him again for sure.

These shelters all have fireplaces, but the wood is so wet that we give up after an hour of trying to make a fire. Oh well, tomorrow will be a warmer sunny day!

Wednesday March 20, 16.5miles/26.6km

Fontana Dam Village/Hwy 28 (164.3) to Russell Field Shelter (180.8) (NC)

So much happened today! I woke up at 7:15 to this nice sunrise over the lake.

I called for the shuttle ride, and I got picked up at 8:30am, and was eating a big breakfast by 9am. It was neat to see the Smokies from the restaurant.

I did a small resupply of snacks, since their general store is closed until April 1st, and the gas station is closed on Wednesdays. (Note to future hikers – start later, like the last week of March!). The lodge was nice enough to even print my permit for the Smokies.

I got the shuttle back to the trail, and hiked a mile to the “Fontana Hilton”, a massive shelter where many hikers stay. It has water taps, toilets, even a solar USB charging station!

And some of the graffiti was funny. Possums will always remind me of the Te Araroa trail.

Another mile later, and I was at the dam itself. Some of the interpretive signs could be updated…”100 hikers per year”. Ha!

The dam, and views from on top:

Then, as soon as the trail leaves the dam, it enters the Great Smoky Mountains NP. It travels through the park for 72 miles, and hikers need a permit to camp. (Camping is only allowed in the shelters. If a shelter is full, then you must camp adjacent to it.)

The day was perfect for hiking, sunny and actually quite warm.

It was an easy 3000ft climb, but still it was warm and I was hiking in a t-shirt for the first time on this trail!

One of the summits, Shuckstack, had a nice firetower in the top, and some old stone ruins.

I had caught a guy named Hoppy (he moves fast, and always toward beer). I think I freaked him out a little when I guessed precisely where he was from, based on his accent. I asked, “are you from South Island [of NZ] on the east coast?” And he is from Christchurch!

And an hour later, I ran into Rampage. She and I probably crossed paths (sobo/nobo) on the CDT in 2016, though neither of us remember. She has already done the AT, but is just hiking a section before she leaves for the PCT (her 3rd trail) in a few weeks.

The last hour was a pleasant walk, and it finally feels like spring.

I got to the shelter at 6pm, and there were already 20 people there, many of them camping. There was still a spot in the shelter, and with a chance of rain tonight, I setup indoors.

We made a fire in the fireplace and passed out, a nice end to this great day.

Tuesday March 19, 24.9miles/40.1km

Spring near Grassy Gap (139.4) to Fontana Dam Village/Hwy 28 (164.3) (NC)

I realized last night that I am less than 25 miles from Fontana Dam Village, where I can get another big dinner! So I woke up early and was on trail at 7:30am, to make it to town in time.

Within 5 minutes I passed a memorial, to a fallen park ranger who died fighting a wildfire.

Then, the trail went up, up, up to the summit of Cheoah Bald (5052ft/1540m). I’m glad I broke up the climb, and did the first 1000ft last night.

On the way, I stopped by Sassafras Gap shelter for a snack. There is something unusual about this shelter….

I hadn’t seen anyone all morning, and then on the summit… heaps of people!

It was only 10:30am, so still kinda cold, and I didn’t linger on the summit more than 15 minutes. Once the trail dropped 1000ft, it felt much warmer.

Some of the passes here have odd names.

I saw there were picnic tables up ahead at Stecoah Gap, so I waited a little longer until 12:30 to stop for lunch. I get oddly excited by picnic tables.

From there, it was only 13 more miles to Fontana village! The trail was nice, and had switchbacks for most of the uphills. There were 2 spots where they were missing, and some of the switchbacks appeared quite new, so I think more will be added soon.

I passed by Cable Gap shelter in mid afternoon, and there were already plenty of people camped there.

Just a few more miles of nice trail, and it’s all downhill to town.

I get to the road at 6pm, and it’s quite warm down here at 2000ft elevation.

There is a phone at the toilet building that dials directly to the shuttle service (it’s 2.5miles to town). The nice lady informs me that it’s still early season, so no shuttles after 5pm. Well… darn. These early season closures are becoming a pattern…

So, I setup camp nearby, make dinner in the nice heated bathroom, and plan to get the shuttle tomorrow morning at 8am when they start running.

It’s a nice sunset!

Monday March 18, 27.9miles/44.9km

Panther Gap (111.5) to Spring near Grassy Gap (139.4) (NC)

I knew that I wanted to get to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) tonight for dinner, so I woke up early. Even though it was only 25F/-4C, I left my tent and started walking at 7:30am.

The first summit of the day came an hour later, 5200ft Siler Bald.

The trail was quite nice again today, it even had bridges for the little creeks.

And even though it’s still early spring, and almost everything is brown, the rhododendrons decided to make me a “green tunnel”.

The next summit was Wayah Bald, and it has a stone tower on the top. I noticed many summits here are called “balds”, the sign here explained that it’s a treeless summit usually due to historical grazing.

At lunch, I had a lemon energy bar, and it had good news.

It was a quick lunch, since I was getting cold in the 45F temperature. The third summit was Rocky Bald, and then all the big climbs were done for the day. The afternoon miles went pretty quickly.

At Wesser Bald tower, I ran into a guy doing trail magic! He goes by the name “muffin man”, and is camera shy. A delicious surprise!

I saw that I still had about 2 hours before dinner, so I stopped at Wesser Bald shelter and had a snack. The shelters here are pretty nice, and have a covered cooking area.

And nearby, a sign of spring! I don’t know the name of these yellows…

I cruised down the hill for 6.5miles/3000ft down, and got to the NOC at 5:30pm. It’s a outdoor recreation campus that has lodging, dining, Whitewater rafting, canoeing, ziplining, mountain biking, and hiking.

Most of the campus is still closed, as it’s before April 1st. But one of the restaurants is open! So I got the “hiker burger” which has the most calories of anything on the menu.

There weren’t any cabin bunks available, and it was only 6:30pm when I finished dinner, so I hiked a couple miles up the hill. It will make tomorrow shorter!

Sunday March 17, 25.6miles/41.2km

Standing Indian Shelter (85.9) to Panther Gap (111.5) (NC)

I woke up at sunrise (7:30), and stayed in my sleeping bag until the day warmed up. It was 27F/-3C outside the tent! It takes longer to pack up with cold hands, so I didn’t get hiking until 8:45am.

It was another beautiful blue sky day, and it warmed up quickly. The climb up to the summit of Standing Indian mountain (5,479ft/1670m) helped.

I didn’t see anyone all morning! I stopped at Carter Gap shelter for lunch, and met a group of 3 section hikers, and a solo thru-hiker.

I signed the shelter log, and saw that there is a large group of hikers about a half day ahead.

The afternoon is nice, and warms up to almost 50F/10C. There are some signs of spring, like these little leafy plants. Not sure what they are.

The trail stays up on a ridge most of the afternoon, with nice views to the east.

There is one more big climb today, up to the summit of Albert Mountain (5213ft/1589m). The trail had been nice and flat most of the day, but now it decided to go UP.

The summit has a firetower that you can climb for a view. I also took a short nap in the room on top!

Most of the forest around here is managed for environmental studies, by the Coweeta hydrologic laboratory. There is a sign to explain its unique long history of protection (since 1934), and elevation range (2200ft to 5200ft) which makes it a good laboratory.

Shortly after the summit, I pass the 100-mile marker! These are always exciting.

The trail today has been really nice and smooth, and I’m enjoying cruising along and not thinking about my feet.

The trail crossed a paved road, at a diagonal angle. So I had about 50ft of pavement walking today, the most so far on this hike, haha. So different from the Te Araroa!

I climbed a small hill and made a final water stop before camping tonight. This stream had a convenient pipe for filling my bottles. This seems to be quite common on the AT.

This was a strange sign.

I got to camp at 7pm, at Panther Gap. There is no one else there, probably because there’s a shelter another 1.5 miles ahead. But I’m tired, and apparently traveled 25+ miles today, even with all the breaks. It has quite a view of the valley to the south!

I made dinner quickly and hurried into my tent, it gets cold fast after sunset. And some animals are howling or crying or something. I wonder what lives in these forests…