Date: 2014-05-10
From: Fontana Village Marina

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: light rain

We began at 9:40. The 8:30 shuttle no longer runs since the thru-hiker bubble has waned, and the 9:00 shuttle was late. It started raining shortly before the shuttle arrived and was raining fairly hard as the shuttle driver drove us down to the marina. He asked if we were sure we wanted to go out on the trail in this weather and whether we had trained as tri-athletes in order to do such a long backpacking trip. He wasn't helping Laura to feel very good about setting off on the trail in the pouring rain. We set out from the Lake Fontana Marina at 9:40. It rained pretty hard for the first hour, but slowed to a drizzle around 11. We passed the "Fontana Hilton," a shelter near the Fontana dam that sleeps 24 and that has hot showers - hence the moniker.After crossing over the damn, we hiked up a road into Great Smoky Mountain National Park. As we hiked up the road, we saw a hiker coming down the road toward us. It turned out to be Jared who had been with us at a number of shelters and campsites over the past 2 weeks. Jared said he was done - needed to get off the trail and back to his family. We said we understood as big drops of rain sounded on our backpacks and heads, and I, and I imagine Laura as well, entertained thoughts of getting "off the trail" as well.A half mile further, we entered the GSMNP (Great Smoky Mountains National Park) after arguing whether or not we really needed to tear off the bottom portion of the permits we had purchased back in Franklin, sign and date them, and put them into the metal box trail-side. I, the rule follower, won out, and we did, though Laura noted that the box was full and that probably nobody had emptied it in a week. Pressing on uphill in the cold rain seemed pretty crazy, I must admit, but I was pretty sure we would be glad we did. Fortunately for me, we did not have to endure much more rain. It stopped raining around 11:30 or so, and the wind began to dry things up a bit. Laura saw a red spotted newt on the trail (see photo in photo journal) and we encountered three SoBo (south bound) section hikers who had just seen a bear cub. As they approached us, they were making all kinds of racket in order to scare off any bears that might be in the area. Though the rain had stopped, I was soaked from perspiring in my rain gear. The air was chilly ¢ perhaps in the 50s ¢ but the exertion of the uphill hike kept me warm. Laura led the way up the mountain, maintaining a good pace that kept me breathing heavily. Though the weather was not the best, the mountains were still beautiful and we came to understand how they were named (see the photo ¢This is why they are called the Smokys¢ in the photo section.)Six miles and 2000 feet of elevation gain into our day, we stopped at the turn-off for Shuckstack fire tower for lunch. Our moods were much improved by the lack of rain even though we were chilled in our damp/wet clothes by the wind. (Note: my rain gear sucks. Yes, it's waterproof, but despite all the claims, it does not breathe enough for me to stay dry on the inside. I guess it's a tall order for me though. I perspire a lot, especially going uphill, so when it rains, I have my choice of getting wet from the outside or from the inside. Either way, when we stop for a break when it's raining, I¢m usually wet, and when it's chilly, I either get chilled or change out of my wet clothes.After lunch, we came across a huge pile of fresh bear scat. Shortly thereafter, we met a ranger/naturalist hiking south who advised us that bears are active in the area and that if we see any, we should yell and throw rocks at them. Unfortunately, we did not see a bear, though we saw additional evidence of their presence in the area. The clouds lifted ¢ meaning they rose to higher elevations - during our afternoon hike to Russell Field Shelter. We stopped for a half hour break at Mollies Ridge shelter around 4ish, but were feeling strong and decided to press on another 2.8 miles to Russell Field.   This has been a really great confidence building day: > 4000 feet elevation gain, 14.9 miles and successfully dealing with the weather. A great first day in the GSMNP. We arrived at the shelter around 7:00 and set up on the top platform. Hikers are required to sleep in the shelters in the GSMNP unless the shelter is full.   Russell Field is almost full tonight, and there are some familiar faces: Chutki and some of the guys she attracts (Titan, Fifty and some section hikers from TN), Andrew (sans dad Ross who has returned to FL). The shelter is made of stone walls, has two platforms and a roof which covers a large area with a picnic table in front of the platforms so people have a lot of room to maneuver. There¢s a nice fireplace in the shelter as well, and a wounded warrior veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan is keeping the fire roaring. Really nice guy, and I hope that his experience on the trail is therapeutic. It¢s cold outside, but the tarp over the face of the shelter and the great fire in the fireplace make for a great comfy feeling. I¢m set up on the platform between Laura and a young gal from Germany named Joanna who Laura has taken a liking to (mothering instincts kicking in?) I¢m listening to music on my iPhone and trying to drift off. I hope nobody snores too loudly tonight.