Date: 2017-03-18
From: Knoxville, TN

To: Russell Field Shelter, NC
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: overcast clouds

3/18/17 Russell Field Shelter, NCMiles hiked: 180.1, Miles to go: 2009.7It poured the rain last night in Knoxville, which sort of matched our moods as Marguerite and I prepared to say goodbye for another month. In sort of a cosmic joke, the Coleman air mattress we brought to sleep on at Chris' decided to spring a leak. It sank under my 200+ lb body, so poor little Marguerite kept rolling into the middle all night like she was trapped in my gravitational field. This morning dawned gray and overcast; but, at least the rain had passed. Chris and Marguerite accompanied me back to Fontana Village, where I had left off on Monday. We said our goodbyes and I headed off into the woods. I walked along the edge of Fontana Lake for about three miles. I passed the Fontana Hilton, one of the fanciest shelters on the trail, with flush toilets and a cold shower. I then walked across the Fontana Dam, which is the highest dam east of the Mississippi, and headed up into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The GSMNP, or the Smokies, is the most visited park in the National Park System, with 11 million visitors a year. The vast majority of those visitors never get more than a mile from their cars; however, even a small fraction of 11 millions people can have a big impact on the park's backcountry. Therefore, to lessen this impact, the Park Service has come up with some rules. Everyone needs a permit to hike in the backcountry and everyone must camp at shelters. Short-term hikers must specify where they plan to hike and which shelters they plan to stay in. Thru hikers purchase a permit ($20) that is valid for eight days to hike the 68 miles of the AT that run along the spine of the Smokies, high above the car tourists. They are required to stay in shelters along with the short-term hikers; however, if a shelter is full, they must surrender their spot in the shelter and set up a tent. As I entered the Smokies, I dropped the top portion of my permit into the permit box and started the long climb up to the ridge. I was coming off of five zero days in Knoxville, so I plan to push straight through the Smokies in five days. With no opportunity to resupply, my food bag is very heavy. So, the climb up the mountain proved to be pretty tough! Luckily, the sun came out and temps rose into the fifties. Also, the trail conditions turned out to be pretty nice - muddy, but no snow and ice.   The highlight of the day was climbing the Shuckstack Fire Tower. This is a decommissioned 50 ft fire tower on Shuckstack Mt. We had high winds all day with gusts up to 50 mph. Normally, I'm not bothered by heights; however, climbing that tower in 50 mph winds was a bit unnerving! My kilt was flapping in the wind for sure!I was expecting to see a lot of people on the trail today; but, my hike proved to be quite solitary. I saw a father and three young sons out for a three day hike and I saw one other NOBO - a fellow Mountaineer from Ritchie Co, WV, who I had previously met way back in GA. At one point while I was hiking, I heard a couple people hacking and coughing. Surely, it couldn't be... it was! It was the stoner couple I had met shortly after Plumorchard Shelter in GA! They were sitting on a log taking a break. There're still out here and still toking. They also still have their dog who is afraid of everyone. After some small talk, I headed on my way. Then it hit me - they still had their dog! One of the other rules in the Smokies is no dogs in the backcountry. I arrived at Mollie's Ridge Shelter and talked to a very nice Ridge Runner who told me there were still a couple of spots available in the shelter. I told him that I was thinking of pushing on the 3.4 miles to the next shelter. He told me that that Shelter was full and I'd have to tent. That made up my mind. I definitely wanted to push on so I would be able to tent and not have to sleep in the shelter. The shelters are full of disease carrying vermin every night. They also have mice! I sort of wanted to stick around and see what happened when the Ridge Runner saw the stoner's dog; but, I pushed on. I arrived at the Russell Field shelter and found that it indeed was full with a Boy Scout troop and other thru hikers. So, I am happily ensconced in my tent listening to coyotes howling in the distance. It's good to be back out here.