Date: 2013-03-20
From: Fontana Lodge

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

(In which I enter the Smokies)Dozer is already gone when I wake up. He is trying to make over 40 miles in two days to get into Gatlinburg before the forecasted bad weather shows up. I have chocolate milk and Greek yogurt for breakfast, but also go to the dining hall for more breakfast of French toast. We were planning to catch an early shuttle back to the Trail at 0830, and while Roosta and Chickadee get moving that early most of us do not. Anna has also taken Smooth Sailing and Heading Home back to the Trail pretty early. I finally get a shuttle with Dumbledore and Grasshopper at 0930. We get to the Route 28 AT crossing and resume northbound progress.The Trail finds a way to bounce sharply up and down in the short two miles between here and the dam, but that goes by quickly and I reach the dam site. Just off the Trail is the Fontana Hilton, a shelter I am curious about checking out. It turns out it is a pretty nice shelter, with four sleeping platforms and made of nicely finished wood instead of bare planks and logs. There are plenty of hikers here but I am not familiar with them and do not want to take the time to interact with such a large and unfamiliar group. I check the register to see who else has passed through and move on to the Fontana Dam visitor center adjacent to the dam.The visitor center is closed until May 1sr, which could be a problem for those expecting to pick up their Smokies thru-hiker permits there. I have my permit already so there is not much for me to do here. I shoot a few photos while waiting for Dumbledore and Grasshopper. The next stretch of Trail is a road walk, first going across the dam and then climbing a paved road into the Smokies. The road moves on long enough for us to question if we missed the trailhead. I figure it will be well-signed and it is. Here is the box to drop off the bottom half of the permit, and after a brief rummage for a pen I am on my way into the Smokies with no turning back.The climb away from Fontana is similar to the climb after Nantahala in that it is long and pretty sustained. This climb is a little more gradual, gaining about 2800 feet in elevation in eight miles. There are a few smaller ups and downs along the way instead of it being one climb, too. The most notable is the Shuckstack, which is topped with a fire tower slightly off the Trail. A lunch break here is my first goal for the day, and it feels like a while before I get there. I pull ahead of Dumbledore and Grasshopper, and surprised to pass Chickadee and Roosta taking a break by the first stream. I pass Brad, a Louisiana hiker, on the final approach to the Shuckstack. He is skipping the side trail and pushing for the first shelter before the forecast remarkably cold night arrives.I turn up the side trail and immediately turn back. It is a very steep trail, so I drop my pack at the intersection and go up with just my camera and portrait lens. I am surprised to see an old building ruin perched on the tiny mountaintop - the ranger's housing was right next to the fire tower. It must have been quite an experience to serve in a remote station like this back when it was in operation. A father and son have made this the goal of their day hike but have not gone up the fire tower. The father says he is too chicken to climb the tower. I go halfway up the fire tower to a fee photos, but do not make the top of the tower. It is a very narrow fire tower, and I can get above the trees without getting into the full force of the wind at the top.Dumbledore and Grasshopper are heading up to the fire tower with their food bags as I am walking down. I have left my food down at the base of the side trail, so I opt to eat lunch alone there and move on. When I get down to the AT I find Roosta and Chickadee have caught up. Roosta is bemoaning the loss of his water bottle, a Powerade bottle in which he kept his rock from Springer Mountain. This functioned both as a place to keep the rock and a way to more easily mix smoothies. They move on and shortly thereafter a group of college kids on spring break approach from the north. All but one of them move up to the fire tower. The father and son come down and the father announces that he followed my example and went up the fire tower.I head down from the Shuckstack and continue north. My third state for the trip comes unannounced at the top of Doe Knob. The only way I know I have even crossed the knob is by recognizing the sustained downhill section that is to the north. Mollies Ridge Shelter is near the top of the next climb, and I plan to stop there for dinner and to decide if I want to push on to the next shelter after that. Dumbledore catches up to me as I pause by a side trail and enjoy a couple great Elixir tunes on my phone. She passes me but I overtake her and remain slightly ahead for a while. The shelter is elusive but finally it arrives with a small flat piece of ground. Roosta and Chickadee are here, as well as Brad and an unfamiliar hiker. I eat dinner here while waiting for Dumbledore and Grasshopper.When they arrive, we push on to the next shelter. It is about 1800 now but the next shelter is only 2.8 miles away. There are a couple small climbs before the Trail drops into a gap. The Russell Field Shelter is on the far side of this gap. We pull in a little before sunset and get situated. Our neighbors in the shelter tonight are Dan, Dahigh, and an older ultralight hiker, Snow Frog. Dan has decided to go with the trail name Van Gogh-Go after someone suggested it in Fontana.In the Smokies you have to stay in or near the shelters, but I am not hesitant about doing that on a cold and possibly snowy night. I lay out my hammock to use as a sort of mattress pad, as it has a thin foam pad in it and will block any air flow through the sleeping platform's planks. It is a wear everything kind of night, including gloves and hat. Writing has to wait until I am warmer eventually.Peace,