Date: 2013-05-04
From: Fontana Dam Shelter- The Hilton

To: Russell Field Shelter (GSMNP)
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: few clouds

Day 6 Fontana Dam Shelter to Russell Field Rider: ¢It¢s really not that bad¢; Me: ¢We have to get above the weather¢; and ¢It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents ¢ except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up these ancient mountains (for it is in GSMNP that our scene lies), rattling along the corrugated shelter roof, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of Frodo¢s now-dying fire that struggled uselessly against the darkness. The enemy was closing in around us and I had to pee¢¦ *"I¢m not sure when the wind stopped last night (it howled through the shelter) but it was not as vociferous today. Sometime around midnight or 1 a.m., the vacant spot next to me was filled by the body of a day hiker. That¢s ok; he was a shield against the wind at the time. It must have been the adrenaline, but I awoke at 6, made coffee, threw on my jacket and started to pack. There were maybe 6 people awake at this time: the guy next to me, Rider, Nightlight, SIS and a few others. We discussed in not quite hushed tones the weather outlook. It was not promising. 70% chance of rain today; 80% tomorrow and T-Storms possible the next day. Ugh! My alternatives were few: I could go on with the hike as planned; I could hangout out at the Hilton but likely for 2 more days (and with no guarantee that the weather would cooperate even then); or I could try to hitch around the Smokys which would really screw up my hike given that it was the largest stretch of this section. I am supposed to be in Gatlinburg the day after tomorrow. That stop is my next/final food drop and will give me 5 days of meals to get through the end of my hike. Missing that drop would be at best an inconvenience. I decide to hike out and hope for the best. Rider & another hiker, Bill also decided to hike out despite the depressing weather information. After delaying as long as I reasonably could, I shouldered the pack and Rider and I set out in search of the trail. The first mile or so was great, the sun was playing hide-and-seek but we had nice flat walking along the dam and the road. There was a visitor center but I wasn¢t really up for further delays and it probably wasn¢t open so early either. We took the obligatory ¢dam pictures¢ and continued up a road that led to our re-entry into the woods (see photo at top of page). Today we would start at 1700¢ and climb to above `4,700¢. As a thru-hiker, Rider didn¢t need to specify the shelter he would stay at for the evening, but I had to and my shelter was about 13 miles up through these mountains. Let the fun begin! As we climbed Shuckstack Mountain the weather began to turn, but it was an interesting phenomenon. First the wind came and though it started out as a light one, it grew exponentially in strength. When we were on the windward side of the mountain I was very nearly was blown up the side of the path. While on the leeward side, it was noticeably different in the decibel level as well as the relative temperature. As clearings opened up around us we were able to ¢see¢ the storm approach the mountains and then move away from them. Bright spotlights of sun on the mountains to our south and west seemed incongruent with the darkness of those just to the north a little ways. Rider was a hoot though! When you hike with someone you get to know them, a little bit about their personal lives, something about their professional lives and a lot about their hiking style. Me, I am a terrible uphill hiker. A good day for me going uphill is a day where I don¢t stop and die on the trail somewhere. Rider it turns out, is a marathon runner who LOVES uphill hiking. I thanked him profusely for dragging my sorry a$$ up those mountains today knowing that had I been walking alone, I would likely have still been there. Not only is Rider adept at hills but he is a total optimist. As the clouds gathered in around us, as we watched the sheets of rain move over the mountains dangerously close to our location, as it started to rain and as the wind gusts grew to something approaching an F-18 jet wash level of intensity, Rider kept saying: ¢Oh really, this isn¢t that bad¢¦I thought it was going to be much worse.¢ While I secretly agreed that a whole lot of wind but not a lot of rain was better than expected, I kept cautioning him not to tempt Mother Nature to show us a more terrific storm. I prayed to God, the Buddhas, the weather Shamans to hold off the worst until we were under cover and safely tucked into a shelter. What I noticed, what interested me greatly was that we did in fact seem to ¢fly above the weather¢ when we arrived near the top of some of the peaks. It was as if we could look down and watch weather ¢happening¢ to the valley people. We both had a laugh thinking that perhaps the Fontana Hilton was the site of a downpour while we were relatively dry in the mountains above. That break did not last forever though and we ended up getting rain (and strong winds) in addition to falling temperatures. There was a fair amount of up and down but then a few areas of relative flatness that made the trail seem just a pleasant ¢walk in the woods¢. There were areas of brilliant green foliage that seemed to reflect the limited light from the sky transforming the forest into a bright oasis amidst the generally gloomy grey desert of the storm. While walking through the woods and trying to locate a high point for Rider to call his daughter on her birthday, we came across some truly unique trees. One I¢ve called ¢The Teepee Tree¢ (above)and the other ¢Woodland Creature¢ (below).Day 6- Tree Fun SnapsWe arrived at Mollies Ridge Shelter and found Carl, an Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) Ridge-runner as well as hiker, Ring Master. We spoke for about 15-20 minutes, and Carl confirmed that bad weather was in the area for a few days and mentioned that it was likely going to impact the shelter registrations (i.e. people would not want to go out in the rain- who knew?!). We left off and headed down our final ~3 mile stretch to Russell Field. Carl had warned me about the hike I wanted to do tomorrow (16 miles and over some ¢tough terrain¢) but by the time we arrived at Russell Field and I had filled my water bottles, the skies really opened up and did not stop with the rain. That made my decision easy I was stopping here instead of trying another 3 miles to the next shelter. (Thank you Matt, for keeping that horrible weather at bay!)We met Sid, a local fellow who again confirmed bad weather (just checking!) and later on quite a few hikers that we had stayed with at Fontana showed up as well- Frodo, Thumper, Fire Hydrant and Alana and others, a father and son section-hikers joined us as did one of Sid¢s friends. We ended up with about 14 people in the shelter by dinnertime. The rain didn¢t really ever stop, but the guys managed to get a fire going even with wet wood (¢just keep putting white gas on it until it burns on its own¢). All in all it was a good day, Rider kept me entertained with his stories of motorcycle adventures in Alaska and Key West (just goes to show, never judge a person by their profession- an accountant that turned out to be a wild and crazy guy!). It was nice to have a hiking partner again and it made the miles, the climbs and even the generally crappy weather all seem not bad at all. The fire, albeit smoky as hell, is a nice touch. I lie here and pray for a break in the rain so I can go pee in the woods, something tells me I am going to be waiting a while¢¦ Day 6- HighlightsGood night from a stormy GSMNP!.More photos for day 6 of the trip can be seen at: 2000Miler Day 6* ¢it was a dark¢¦¢ taken from Edward Bulwer-Lytton novel Paul Clifford c. 1830.