Date: 2011-10-24
To: Smoky Mountain Shakedown Hike
Miles today: 0.0

LongStride here...SilverGirl & I just completed our final shakedown hike, a 5 day 54 mile circuit in the Smoky Mts, before we hit the AT in March. This hike was truly a test for us as we experienced weather extremes that we will likely encounter during the first month of our AT hike. Here's an account of our hike:10/16: We arrive in Gatlinburg and check into the Grand Prix Motel. For those who may not know, the Grand Prix is an easy to get to and very hiker friendly motel that offers thru-hikers a $29 per night rate. The motel itself is a bit dumpy, but it has everything a thru-hiker needs - roof, bed, shower, TV, microwave, refrigerator, laundry room, internet/WiFi access, and acceptance of mail drops. We plan to stay there again when we reach Newfound Gap next spring.10/17: We awake at about 7:15 and dine at the AYCE breakfast buffet before driving over to the trailhead parking lot on Greenbriar Road. The first day of our hike is easy - fairly flat lowland woods along the Old Settlers Trail for 6.7 miles. As we follow this trail, we are treated to sunshine and temperatures in the low 80's. The woods are in their full autumn spendor as we walk past old stone walls and abandoned homesteads that date back to the original settlers of this area. We arrive at campsite #33 just after 1:00 pm and leisurely go about our business of setting up camp, having lunch, and cleaning up. After a nap, we enjoy our dinner of rehydrated tuna cheese casserole and cookies.10/18: The night is fairly warm and we sleep a bit fitfully, which is often the case with us when we first set out on a backpacking trip. It usually takes us a couple of nights to begin sleeping better. After a quick breakfast, we break camp and begin our day's hike, which is 13.2 miles to Otter Creek Campsite #29. Today is just a bit cooler than yesterday, but still with bright sunshine. We hike in comfort in our short sleeve shirts. During the day, we pass many more old settlers homesteads and old stone walls. It is not until about 1:00 pm that we run into the first hikers that we have seen in 2 days. Ascending the Madron Bald Trail, we marvel at the variety and the size of some trees that we see - 6 feet in diameter at the base and too tall to see the tops. Within 2.5 miles of our days destination we pass 3 backpackers who tell us that they are also headed to campsite #29. Arriving in camp at about 3:30, we quickly set up our tent, wash up, hang our food bags, and enjoy our dinner of Chile Mac and candy bars as the temperature begins to drop. It is almost 2 hours later when the 3 backpackers we passed 2.5 miles ago finally arrive. They inform us that this is their very first backpacking trip ever and that they were within 5 minutes of blowing their whistle for rescue before they finally reached the campsite. Not sure who could have "rescued" them if they had blown their whistle since we were the only ones around and might not have been able to hear their call for help. We settle into our tent early and secure the rain fly since there is a forecast for showers tonight and tomorrow. Sure enough, the rain moves in during the night, but we stay warm and dry.10/19: We awake to intermittent showers and cool temperatures (upper 40's). We have 12.5 miles to cover today to get up onto the AT and over to Pecks Corner Shelter, so we forgo cooking oatmeal for breakfast in favor of cold breakfast cookies and dehydrated fruit. As we ascend up to the AT, the temperature continues to drop and the waves of rain pick up in intensity and frequency. Our boots and socks soon become saturated, but the rest our bodies stay warm and dry since we are wearing layers of clothes under our rain jackets and pants. We arrive at Tricorner Knob Shelter just past noon and quickly cook up some hot instant soup, oatmeal, and tea. We also add some more layers of clothes since the temperature continues to drop. Continuing on at about 1:45, we hike the final 5.5 miles to Pecks Corner Shelter in wave after wave of cold, heavy rain. Finally, at 3:45, we arrive at the shelter only to find it jam packed with hikers already. In all, there are about 20 hikers here in a shelter designed for about 12. Some have been here for 2 days waiting for better weather. Luckily, we are able to squeeze onto the upper level of the shelter. Changing out of our wet clothes, we rehydrate a delicious dinner of hot macaroni & cheese with ham & peas. One of the 2 day tenants of the shelter has been busy getting a fire going for everyone here, so the warmth that it generates is much appreciated. Because it is so cold now, we get into our sleeping bags at 6:00 pm and don't emerge until 7:00 am the next morning. I never thought I could last that long without having to get up to pee, but somehow I did. As the noise in the shelter gradually dies down for the night, we can see that the rain has now turned to snow. We burrow deep into our 15 degree bags and hibernate for the next 13 hours.10/20: At 7:00, I am the 2nd person to rise. The morning dawns with the temperature at 32 degrees with a fresh 2" of snow on the ground and coating all the tree limbs. It is beautiful despite the cold. While others still sleep, SilverGirl joins me and we force our feet into now frozen boots and retrieve our ice covered food bags from the bear cable hoists. We pack up quickly and down some cold cereal and water from our partially frozen water bottles before setting out for our day's destination, the Mt LeConte Shelter, about 13 miles away. While we hike, we quickly warm up and begin to enjoy the beauty of winter in October. It is cold and cloudy this morning, but it is not raining. As we walk, we break out into open sections of the trail where we are treated to views of snow covered summits that cap peak foliage colors in the valleys below. Nature is truly marvelous in the variety of ways that its beauty is presented to us. Late in the morning, we take the short side path over to ice covered Charlie's Bunion before continuing on to Icewater Spring Shelter for lunch. The shelter is protected from the elements by a tarp that hangs from the roof to the floor, but man is it cold inside. Despite a cup of hot tea with our lunch, we can feel ourselves getting colder by the minute so we don't tarry there long. The Boulevard Trail branches off the southbound AT shortly after the shelter and we follow this trail for the the final 5.5 miles over to the Mt LeConte Shelter which stands at 6400 feet elevation. The temperature remains at about 32 degrees throughout the afternoon as we hike. To our relief, we arrive to an empty shelter at about 3:45. We set up our sleeping accomodations in the shelter and then head over to the nearby Mt LeConte Lodge, where we buy some hot chocolate and warm ourselves a bit by the fire inside. At 5:00 pm, we leave the lodge because all of the paying guests are now coming in for their nice hot prepared dinner in the warm toasty lodge. We retreat to the shelter where we prepare our dinner of pan fried noodles and peas as the temperature drops into the 20's. After dinner, we once again burrow into our sleeping bags for the next 13 hours (amazing what cold weather does for bladder control!).10/21: Our last day. We awake to 25 degrees with clear skies above and clouds below. It's a beautiful site. Today's hike is all down hill as we head back towards Greenbriar Road where our car is parked. We begin our descent in ice encrusted snow that is crunchy and slippery under our feet. We duck under sagging snow covered evergreen branches as we go. Occasionally, I forget to look up as my head brushes a branch and a cascade of snow falls into the back of my exposed neck...man is that cold! Continuing down, the snow gradually disappears and the temperature moderates. We watch in admiration as a man leads a train of about 10 llamas past us up the trail carrying supplies to the Mt LeConte Lodge. We arrive at Trillium Gap, about half way down, and it's now warm enough again for me to change into my shorts. The sun is also coming out and it's warmth is most welcome. The beauty of autumn reasserts itself as we descend further and we finish our days hike walking along gentle trail in the midst of peak autumn foliage color next to Porter Creek.This final shakedown hike was a good one for us - one that we needed because we learned a few things from it:1. Carry extra warm socks. On this trip, we each had 2 pairs of hiking socks and a pair of sock liners for camp. We will carry 3 pairs of hiking socks when we start the AT.2. Bring a couple of pairs of gloves - one waterproof and one for warmth in cold weather. The "waterproof" gloves that I brought on this trip were not waterproof at all. Back to REI they go to be exchanged.3. Wrap the sleeping back stuff sack and the clothes stuff sack inside a waterproof plastic bag. Our pack covers did an adequate job of keeping things dry, but in harsh conditions such as what we had, things have a way of getting damp or wet anyway.4. Minimize hot meals at breakfast. We found that cooking oatmeal or anything else hot before starting the day's hike is time consuming. Also, when the weather is bad, the last thing we want to do is to cook and clean up.5. We will postpone our start date one week to 3/23. It will still be cold then, but perhaps the extra week will give us a slightly better chance of warmer weather as we reach the Smokies.