Date: 2023-10-29
From: AT-Trailer Hostel, Hot Springs, NC

To: Cheoah Bald
Miles today: 129.7

Google Photos Photo AlbumDay 137Hot Springs to Max Patch RdAT miles 20.3Miles hikedI slept later than planned so I decided to go to the diner for another good breakfast. Bummer. The diner is closed on Sunday. On to the Country Store to see about a breakfast sandwich. When I got there some loud guy dressed like he was the guy the store was named after was running his mouth while walking through the parking lot. I ignored him and saw that the target of the guy¢s comments were a couple of hikers standing outside the store. We greeted each other then I went inside. I bought a couple of breakfast sandwiches, paid and went outside. While outside there was an old guy talking to the hikers. At first, I thought he was asking the usual set of hiker questions but as I eavesdropped it was apparent that he was bestowing his years of hard earned wisdom on them while simultaneously giving them a hard time. He accused them of throwing trash on the ground and essentially guilt tripped them into picking up that trash (they were obviously trying to not cause a scene and beat a hasty retreat). Looking around, there was enough trash in the parking lot to fill a 30 gallon trash bag. I felt bad for the hikers but left before the old guy noticed me.It was 1015 before I was hiking. I once again complimented AJ on how well he maintained the hostel and thanked him for his hospitality then headed up the trail. The first 10 or so miles up Bluff Mountain were going to be hard as it was almost entirely uphill carrying 5 days of food. It was a beautiful but very warm day and the leaves are really starting to fall which makes for tricky footing in places. The hike today was a real grind. Speedo caught me about halfway up the climb and said he and Crocstar were hiking up and over Max Patch. This was farther than I planned to hike but the potential of catching a sunset on Max Patch sounded like fun. I told him I¢d see how I felt when I got to the Roaring Fork Shelter. So we agreed to meet there and make a decision. I stopped at a spring for water and the two hikers from the store caught up with me. We talked while filtering water and they told me about their store experience. Apparently, they set their packs on the bench outside the store when they went inside for something to eat. When they came out, a hillbilly man was sitting on one of their packs. They asked him to move and he started displaying his intellect and wonderful personality as he was leaving. The old guy had come out of the store and at first they thought he was just being friendly and asking the usual questions but after a couple of minutes he started giving them a hard time. They were trying to be non-confrontational and leave but the guy wouldn¢t let up. Just as I suspected, they picked up the trash he was complaining about just to get him off their backs and not cause a scene. That was the only time I recall seeing people giving hikers a hard time in my entire hike.Back on the trail, Crocstar came flying by me and mentioned the Max Patch plans and I told him what Speedo and I had discussed. I finally made it over the top of Bluff Mountain and my legs began coming back to life. Now I was rolling. I passed Crocstar when he stopped for a snack and soon after passed Speedo. When I got to the shelter there was a section hiker staying there and we talked a while. Then a SOBO showed up and we traded info about what lies ahead for each of us. Speedo came in and we waited for Crocstar. Not knowing how far back he was and needing water I told Speedo I was going to go get water and that I¢d hike slowly so they could catch up with me.They caught me at the water source and we hiked to Max Patch together.  Max Patch was packed with people who were taking in the incredible views and watching the sunset. We were looking for the moon but didn't see it so we continued watching the sky change colors when Crocstar turned around and saw the moon. It was amazing! We watched it rise for a while more then grabbed our packs and left to find a place to camp. My headlamp batteries died so I hiked between them until we found a site.  We quickly set up just after the trail crossed a forest road, cooked dinner then went to bed. I would say that setting up, dinner, and going to bed happened in less than 30 minutes. I may have still been crawling into my tent when I fell asleep.Day 138Max Patch Road to Davenport Gap ShelterAT miles 16.2Miles hiked 16.6After a good night¢s sleep we were up fixing breakfast excited that today we would be entering the Smokies. Checking the weather it looked like we were in for some rain, possible snow, and definite very cold weather. I was happy I got my new sleeping bag when I saw a possible wind chill below zero coming up. I would also get a chance to test my Sealskinz socks since there would be rain accompanying the cold, windy weather.As usual, I was the last out of camp. The hiking wasn¢t all that hard today but it didn¢t take long to start raining. It was mostly misting but there were the occasional moments of rain showers. The temperature was also starting to drop a bit but that actually made it more comfortable to wear a rain jacket.The trail crossed under I-40 before crossing the Pigeon River and starting the climb up into GSMNP. On the way up the rain stopped so I found a rock to sit on and fixed some lunch. I checked my phone for messages and Speedo and crew had text saying they were going to Asheville for two days to wait out the coming wintry weather. Not wanting to backtrack , I told them I was hiking on. The rain had returned by the time I finished lunch. I was expecting a ¢Welcome to the Smoky Mountains sign or something more welcoming and celebratory than the little green metal box for thru hikers to deposit the backcountry permit receipts. A couple of miles later I reached the Davenport Gap Shelter and decided to make that my stop for the night. In the past, the shelters in the Smokies had a fence in the front to keep the bears out. Davenport Shelter is the last shelter in the park that has the fencing.  While hiking in the Smokies, hikers are required to sleep in the shelters. Section hikers have priority in the shelters. So, if a thru hiker is in a full shelter and section hikers show up, no matter what time it is, the thru hikers have to vacate the shelter and set up their tents someplace to make room for the section hiker. I really am not a fan of sleeping in shelters and prefer my tent. But, no choice in the matter.  When I arrived there were three hikers camped there and they had already started a fire. Nice! I dropped my pack and went off to throw my bear line and find some more fuel for the fire. Two of the hikers, Richard and Linda, were a husband and wife team who have been section hiking the trail for awhile and they were just finishing up the Smokies. The third was a hiker I¢d met a couple of times on trail, Sully. While eating dinner the conversation is often spent getting to know one another. The couple was from Thomasville, GA. Sully is from Virginia, a fellow ultrarunner, and it turns out his daughter-in-law was from the county where I taught high school. Usually, when I mention Dinwiddie, Virginia, even to residents of Virginia I get a blank stare. This was only the second time on trail that somebody knew where Dinwiddie was.As soon as it got dark we all crawled into our sleeping bags and went to sleep. Thankfully, no mice bothered me during the night. If they were running around the shelter we wouldn¢t have heard because of the rain pounding on the roof of the shelter.Day 139AT miles 20.1Miles hiked 20.5Davenport Gap to Pecks Corner ShelterWe all slept in for the same reason. The rain was supposed to end before 7:00 and the optimist in us figured that eventually it would stop raining. At 8:00 it was apparent that like it or not, we were going to get wet today. The daytime high was in the low 40s at 6:00 AM with the temp dropping throughout the day.  We quickly fixed breakfast, filtered water, cleaned up the shelter and were on the trail by 9:00. I had a lot of elevation gain ahead of me and I hoped to get in a 21 plus mile day. I had enough food that if I could make good miles I wouldn¢t need to resupply until I got out of the park. Otherwise, I¢d add a day to my journey getting into Gatlinburg or Cherokee to resupply.  The first climb was up Mt. Cammerer. My NOBO friends told me to make sure I took the side trail to the fire tower here. With the whiteout conditions I decided to skip the spectacular view of nothing shaving over a mile off my trip today. By mid-morning the rain had mostly stopped except at higher elevations where it was mostly cloud rain. Several more ascents and descents later I was wondering what all the crowing about New Hampshire elevation was all about. There were several climbs well above 5,000 feet. My total elevation gain for the day was over 6500 feet.Despite all the climbs, I made good time hiking because of sections of trail where the maintainers did a great job making hikeable trails. I arrived at Pecks Corner Shelter just before dark and noticed headlamps and smoke. Since it was getting cold the smoke meant there was a fire. When I arrived there were two women doing a section hike of the Smokies. One was from Minnesota who couldn¢t stop bragging about how much colder Minnesota is than right now. That¢s all well and good but low 30s, wet and windy is cold no matter where you are and the temp was still dropping and the wind was still picking up. Like last night, I gathered some firewood as my contribution to the welcome fire.  Luckily there were bear cables to make hanging my food bag much easier. The section hikers told me they were early risers and would likely be on the trail by 6:00 or 6:30. I told them that was fine with me and that I wouldn¢t be bothered by them waking up early.Once we finished dinner and hung our food we were in our sleeping bags. Even Minnesota was cold. Ridgerunner Chris had been going through the park hanging tarps on the fronts of the shelters to block the wind. Thank you Chris! The wind was blowing so hard during the night I thought it might tear the tarp down. Thankfully, I was able to burrow deeply into my sleeping bag and keep warm during the night.Day 140AT miles 14.9Miles hiked 16.0Pecks Corner Shelter to Mount Collins ShelterI was awakened early by my full bladder and had no choice but to make a privy visit. It was blowing snow and very, very cold. Once I was back in my sleeping bag I had already decided that I was sleeping in today. I heard a phone alarm go off at 6:00 and Minnesota was raring to get up and go. Her companion however convinced her that given the current weather conditions it might be prudent to wait until the sun was up and it was a bit warmer. After a bit of discussion Minnesota agreed and they went back to sleep.I woke up at 9:00 and knew that I really needed to get moving both to be warm and to make forward progress. This would be another day with a lot of climbing so I figured that should warm me up plus the weather forecast called for a sunny day in the 40s. To speed things up I decided breakfast would take place later when it was warmer. As it was, I could hardly feel my fingers while I packed. Messing around with breakfast would have prolonged the discomfort. Besides, my water bottles were both frozen solid.I was out of camp in less than 30 minutes and taking on the first climb of the day. My water bottles were tucked in my shirt and I was hiking in my puffy and wearing my rain jacket as a windbreaker. As soon as my water bottles were thawed I stopped eating. The trail was beautiful this morning with all the snow encrusted trees, the snow on the trail and some snow still falling. My Sealskinz socks were up to the task of keeping my feet dry and warm yesterday and continuing to keep my feet comfortable today. Near the peak of Laurel Mountain I found a sunny spot to continue thawing my bottles while eating a honey bun. I poured the thawed contents of each bottle into my cookpot, boiled it, then poured it back into the bottles to expedite the thawing process. I did this a couple more times until I had enough water to drink as well as enough water for hot chocolate and oatmeal.Once finished with breakfast it was on to Charlies Bunion. On this clear day I should get some great views. At the trail intersection to Charlie¢s Bunion it looked like it was going to be a pain to climb so I was trying to decide if it was worth the effort. A hiker coming down towards me said it was well worth the effort. I dropped my pack and started up the trail. The climb up turned out to be not so bad and the view was amazing and worth the detour. I was following the trail expecting to see something else but the trail intersected the AT a few hundred meters up the trail from the previous intersection. I wished I¢d know. I had to hike back to get my pack and head back.  By now I was starting to strip layers of clothing as I was warming up. I had about 10 more miles to hike including passing through Newfound Gap where they had a real, heated bathroom. The hiking was really nice and the weather was great. Once I arrived at Newfound Gap I was ready to use that heated facility. However, a young hispanic guy was excited to meet a thru hiker and told me that he dreamed of one day hiking the trail. I patiently answered all his questions. Just as he left, a husband and wife asked if they could take a picture with me in front of the AT sign. I agreed then practically ran to the heated facility. Back at the AT display was an info board about trail names. The featured person was Daniel White, The Blackalachian. I met him when he was doing his thru hike when Shigley and I were running in Shenandoah NP. It was exciting to see him getting this recognition.  Heading back on the trail, the sun was going down as well as the temperature. I came to an interesting fenced-in area. Apparently wild boars have become a problem in the area and they¢ve fenced off huge sections of forest to prevent the hogs from damaging the vegetation. I hiked through Indian Grave Gap. I expected to see some Indian mounds or the grave of a famous Native American. Nope. Nothing. Nobody even knows any more why the area is named Indian Grave Gap.A few miles of climbing later and I¢m at the intersection of Mt. Collins shelter. No smoke from the fireplace. Lots of signs warning about bear activity. Oh well. Not hiking any further today. It¢s still light out, my fingers are functioning, and there is flowing water nearby. I kept my pack with me and went to the water source, grabbed a bag of water and hiked back to the shelter. A thoughtful person had piled branches up outside the shelter for a possible fire. The sticks were damp but maybe I could get a fire going. I started filtering water, got out my food and stove and tried to start dinner. I say try because none of my three lighters worked. I was hoping it was because they were cold so I put them in my pocket and started arranging some sticks to start a fire and get out my sleep stuff.Eventually, my lighter worked enough to start my stove to cook dinner. By now the temp was in the 30s and my fingers were pretty cold. I messed around with starting a fire but the damp sticks were not helping with the effort. I finally emptied my hand sanitizer on the sticks and wadded up some toilet paper in hopes that I could get something going. That sort of worked but I couldn¢t get the fire to burn long enough to dry out some of the sticks. I went off in search of something better for kindling and tried again. Better results but still a fail. More tinder, better kindling and finally I got a fire to burn. I kept feeding branches into it and started to feel the warmth return to my body. There were some spruce branches piled up and I was leery of putting them in the fire but finally did to see what would happen. I quickly understood why forest fires spread so quickly. That spruce burned fast and hot. I started adding more and now the interior of the shelter was getting warmer. After about 30 minutes I was warmer so crawled into my sleeping bag. No matter how I arranged myself to sleep last night, it did not happen tonight. I couldn¢t get comfortable or warm no matter what I tried.  Day 141AT miles 19.4Miles hiked 20.0Mount Collins Shelter to Spence Field ShelterNot having a really great night of sleep I gave in and got up early despite the cold. I fixed some hot chocolate to drink while I packed up. Amazingly, my water only turned to slush instead of a block of ice. I should have poured it out but sometimes I¢m a slow learner.  I was expecting a hard climb this morning since I had two big summits: Mt. Collins followed by Clng Clingman¢s Dome. Clingman¢s dome is the highest mountain in the GSMNP, the highest mountain in Tennessee and the third highest mountain east of the MIssissippi. Surprisingly, the grades were relatively gentle. The worst part of the climb were those log steps that I hate. I don¢t know how short people negotiate these as high as some of them are. Anyway, it was another clear, sunny morning and I was standing at the observation tower of Clingman¢s in no time at all. There is a road that brings tourists up to the summit so there were several sightseers at the tower. Tower is a misleading term as the observation deck looks almost futuristic from the ground. The views from the top were spectacular as it seemed you could see forever into the distance.After climbing back down it was warm enough to take off my puffy and rain jacket. As I hiked I was shedding layers about every 30 minutes until I was down to shorts and a T-shirt. Though it was in the 40s, there was no wind and the sun felt really good.There were a lot of ups and downs today and the trail tread wasn¢t great in some places but overall the hiking was nice and I had a good time. Elevation-wise I was hiking net downhill on my way to the southern end of the Smokies.Night was coming on fast and I still had about two hours of hiking before I reached the shelter for the night. I stopped to put on my headlamp and it wouldn¢t turn on. When I looked at the batteries there was some corrosion. Strange. These batteries were fairly new and the light worked fine this morning. Fortunately I had a backup light and was able to continue on. I caught the end of a pretty sunset going over Rocky Top but dark was coming fast and I had to descend in the dark. The trail was weedy and rocky until all of a sudden it was wide and clear. Nice for night hiking. I finally came to the Spence Field Shelter and again was the only occupant. I ate a snack, dumped my water bottles, hung my food, made my bed and crawled into my sleeping bag. This time my sleep system was flawless and I slept great.Day 142AT miles 18.0Miles hiked 24.2Spence Field Shelter to Fontana HiltonMy goal today was to make it to the Fontana Dam marina before it closed to hopefully get something to eat. I figured with an early enough start I could make it by 3:30. The marina closed at 6:00.  It was still dark when I woke up but I was on a mission. I fixed some hot chocolate and my last oatmeal for breakfast then walked down to the spring to get water. Dry. I walked back up to the shelter to look at Far Out to determine where the next water source was. Not close but one of the comments mentioned a stream about a half mile below the spring. I walked down to the stream and got about 3 liters of water. It was supposed to be warm and I didn¢t want to get caught short.Just as it was starting to get light I was hiking out of the shelter area. The trail was very nice and I had a great time. When I came to the Russell Field Shelter there was a trail intersection with multiple options. Sitting at a picnic table eating breakfast were four section hikers. I asked if the trail I was about to hike on was the AT and they all said yes and pointed down the trail. Barely breaking stride I was flying down the trail. By now I should have known better and not been in such a hurry and checked my map. After a bit the trail was less ¢cruisy¢ but there are stretches of trail in the Smokies that are only slightly better than a goat path so I wasn¢t concerned. After going downhill for what seemed like an unreasonable time given what I recalled from the last time I looked at the map I stopped for a map check. Well. I won¢t write here my exact thoughts and words. Just know that after walking an hour past that shelter Far Out said I was 1.3 miles North of the AT. I turned around and started hiking up. As I was hiking I was getting farther from the AT so I turned around. I was getting closer distance-wise but then the trail turned away from the AT and I started getting farther from the AT. This was ridiculous. One problem with Far Out is that it doesn¢t show all the trails and roads in the area. It is very focused on the AT. That¢s fine as long as you are on the AT or if you want to be on the AT. I got out GAIA GPS but not having an Internet connection and not anticipating that I would need GAIA I had not downloaded this map section. I was able to figure out that I was on the Russell Field Shelter Trail which really went off into the backcountry. I followed the trail which ended up being a two and a half hour, at least five mile, mistake. Climbing up I passed those hikers. We exchanged greetings and I kept on going. My hope is that they thought they were on the AT. Who knows. Maybe they were where they were supposed to be.Back at the shelter I carefully figured out where the AT was and was back on my way. At 3:30 I was just coming to the Shuckstack Mountain spur trail to the fire tower. I had wanted to climb this fire tower because of the views of Fontana Lake and Dam. Now I was intent to press on in hopes that I could still make the marina. Not making the marina meant going to bed without dinner. It was not likely that I could make it but I had to try.I got to the marina store at exactly 6:00. The door was already locked. Cue sad hiker face in case somebody was looking. As I was walking back up the pier thinking of what I could do, a lady who lived on a boat asked if I was a thru hiker. I told her I was. She had hiked most of the trail a couple of years ago but hadn¢t finished and was now hiking it in sections. I told her of my plight and she gave me some water and some tortilla chips. While we were talking a guy on the shoreline cleanup crew came by and asked if I had made it inside. I told him the door was locked when I got there. Apparently his truck keys and beer were now locked inside.  About five minutes later he drove up on a golf cart and asked me where I was staying and offered to drive me to the Fontana Village Lodge to get some dinner. I jumped in the golf cart and he gave me his beer. We drove up to his truck where he passed off the golf cart to another shoreline cleanup person and we were then headed to the lodge. Once at the lodge I asked if he knew of anybody who would give me a ride back. He told me not to worry. Somebody in the restaurant would give me a ride. He said this as if it were an absolute fact. OK.I went inside and the waitress asked if I were a thru hiker. I told her I was and asked if she knew of any shuttle drivers in the area who might be able to take me back to the marina. She told me not to worry because somebody would take me back. I hoped they were correct. When I got my order the food was really piled on. As I was eating a couple stopped by my table and asked questions about my hike then left. A short while later the guy came back in and asked if I needed a ride anywhere. Unbelievable. I wolfed down my sandwich and asked for a ziploc for my appetizer, paid my bill and followed the guy out to his car. As we were backing out of the lot he asked if I needed to stop at the General Store. I didn¢t want to inconvenience him but he insisted. On the way to the store I found out that his daughter thru hiked the trail in 2003 and he did 1000 miles of the trail in 2011 but had to get off because of an injury.I ran in the store and grabbed what I thought would get me through the next three days, paid, and we got back in the car. Turns out they were from Marion, Indiana, moved to Naples, Florida, and recently bought a house near Fontana. Crazy.I thought I was going to have a night hike from the marina back to the shelter but the guy said he could drive me almost right to the shelter. There is a parking lot above the shelter and it's a short road walk down to the shelter.  There were a couple of section hikers there so we talked a while then went to bed. An absolutely excellent ending to what could have been a bad day. Once again¢¦Day 143AT miles 20.8Miles hiked 20.8Fontana Hilton to Cheoah BaldAfter a fairly long day yesterday I slept in this morning, not getting out of my tent until after 8:00. The Fontana Hilton is really the Fontana Shelter. It is so named because the TVA has provided a few amenities not typically found at an AT shelter. For starters, there is a solar charging station for electronics so hikers can fast charge their phones and charging blocks (or whatever other electronics they have). Then there is a heated bathroom facility complete with a shower that dispenses hot water. I took full advantage of the shower before fixing breakfast and breaking camp. It was after 10:00 when I finally hit the trail. The trail to the marina was in excellent shape and well graded making the hike to the marina like a walk in the park. Stopping at the marina for a couple of things I forgot at the store I saw that they were limited in their offerings but I did get a couple of snacks and a new lighter.I was hoping to make it to Cheoah Bald to camp and catch the sunrise the next day but that all depended on how easy the hiking was going to be. The trail started off with a climb but the rest of the day the trail maintenance was superb and the walking was very nice. I stopped at the Cable Gap shelter for lunch and water. There was supposed to be a pipe spring nearby but I couldn¢t find it. I did hear water flowing and found water bubbling out from under a boulder. I dug out a place under the water and was able to get water without much trouble. I filtered my water and ate a nice lunch. As I was leaving a couple of section hikers arrived and we had the usual conversation about the upcoming trail and our hikes. As usual, the section hikers painted a grim picture of difficult climbs. After New Hampshire most of these climbs were a piece of cake and today was no exception.I arrived at Stecoah Gap right at dark so I put on my headlamp and started the long climb up out of the gap. As I was going up I saw some tents off to the side of the trail and three hikers eating dinner. I stopped to talk to them and they asked my trail name. I told them then I heard a familiar Ukrainian voice say, ¢Taps! I know Taps. Turn off your headlamp so I can see your face. Taps! It¢s you but you said we¢d meet in Tennessee and we are in North Carolina!¢  It was TJ, the hiker I¢d met in New Hampshire and talked into staying at the ski lodge. It was really nice seeing him again. The other two hikers were Nobody and his daughter, Poison Ivy, both from Virginia. They invited me to camp there but I was determined to make it to Cheoah Bald. I bid them farewell and hiked on. I stopped at Locust Grove Gap for a snack since I figured I might not be cooking dinner.The last couple of miles to the bald were more like a bushwhack than a hike as the trail was severely overgrown and I had to climb over and around several blowdowns. How did the trail change so drastically? I finally made it to the bald around 9:30. The sky was amazing with how bright the stars were. I found a marginally suitable tree for a bear hang and hung my food then set up my tent and went to sleep.