Date: 2014-05-03
From: Fontana Hilton Campground

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: clear sky

As we roll outa our tent in the morning there's a rumor of trail magic nearby so of course we go to check it out, breakfast this time, it's really great and they have everything you could want for breakfast, eggs, french toast, coffee, link sausages, mmm.Trail Magic BrekkieSomehow the question of bundie (Bundaberg Rum from the a land down under) and coke comes up, it's a great tropical rum drink that seems to blend perfectly with coke, about the only thing I can find a use for it (coke that is).Back to the campground to pack up and do some work on the filter, getting a bit old and dirty so gotta replace the element.It's lunch time already and we head off to the visitors center to check it out, nothing fancy just nuts and jerky washed down with a coke. There's a viewing platform up above and we climb the stairs to get a better view of the dam and lake. There are 3 women there who seem thrilled to learn they're standing on the AT.Beautiful Rhododendrons Flowering Trail SideThe dam is an impressive structure, deep concrete tunnels to funnel the water. We cross slowly to check out the view, the lake is very pretty even if artificial, the water is blue like the sky and there's lotsa greenery on the shores for a backdrop.Off the dam and we're on a road, a US Park Service vehicle stops and the ranger asks to see our permits, because of the heavy traffic in the Great Smokey Mountains there are limits on the numbers that can stay or camp at each shelter so ya gotta reserve in advance. We're accompanied by a couple doing massage that we'd seen earlier.At the AT trailhead there's a ridge runner checking permits as well, his name is Carl and not as officious as the rangers. There aren't many cars there and they mostly seem to be day hikers headed up a bit to get a view of the lake and dam.Munching with a Great BackdropIt's a nice steady climb up into the smokeys, 3.4 miles and 2000' up to our first vista, the Struckstack fire tower, a bit rickety and hard to climb but great view out over all the places we've just been, the lake, dam, and village all at our feet. It's not easy to capture any of it in a photo needless to say, and the tower itself is in the way.There are 4 other long distance hikers there, Ronin, Animal Mother, Deadwood and one other, sitting to relax for a bit, we push on.We come to the trailhead for the Benton Mackaye Trail, which loops off the AT and then rejoins at Davenport Gap on the north side of the smokeys. It's named for the guy who conceptualized the AT, he had a grand vision of a trail that would be more like a retreat in the mountains for healing those who were victims of the industrial revolution back in the 1920's.  Beautiful Spring DayMacKaye helped pioneer the idea of land preservation for recreation and conservation purposes, and was a strong advocate of balancing human needs and those of nature. His article An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning, which called for the construction of the Appalachian Trail, was published in the October 1921 issue of Journal of the American Institute of Architects. The article was partly inspired by the Green Mountain Club which had helped construct Vermont's Long Trail, which coincides with the AT for much of Vermont before branching off near Sherburne Pass.We make pretty good time to the shelter, passing Slow Snax along the way, the shelter is full, good news, we're supposed to stay in the shelter if there's room, since there's not we can pitch out tent and have a peaceful nights sleep.Taking a Break Well Into the SmokiesIt's salmon for dinner and because we're just outa town we have wine, nice dinner, someone has a smoke to share and I get a little paranoid about falling in the fire. Ronin is young and East Asian and very funny, he has a great talent for humor and it just seems to roll outa him like a stream of consciousness, he calls us oldies.We crawl of to bed after all the merriment and lie with pleasant thoughts after a small bout of paranoia.