Date: 2018-05-09
From: Fontana Dam

To: Pigeon River, Tennessee
Miles today: 75.0

The Smokies...what an experience. Denise brought me back to Fontana and I started the trail around noon after enjoying the dam for a bit. As soon as I entered the Smokies, I passed several signs relaying campsites that have been shut down due to aggressive bear activity, and of others under caution due to non-aggressive bear activity. This sort of limited the places one would want to stay, making some of the shelters a little crowded. This is also problematic as the park has slightly different regulations than the rest of the AT. The park demands you stay in their shelter's unless they are packed full. They have individuals roaming the park making sure you are doing that very thing, which is kind of paradoxical to the whole AT experience. The first shelter I approached was in fact packed full so I gladly volunteered to pitch my tent. However, had I known we were going to get more than half an inch of rain and lightning storms that night, I may have slept in the shelter. The majority of the next day was dominated by fog and moisture, clearing up around 1:30, just in time to reveal how different the forest had turned around 5500 feet. The rest of the trip was blessed with perfect weather, starry nights, and cool 6000 ft temperatures. This section through well past Clingman's Dome has moved its way up to my favorite so far. I had never been in a forest that looked quite like this area. It was completely dominated by VERY large pines of all kinds (Frasers, Spruces, Hemlocks, etc) and neon moss that covered everything it could. It looked as though someone painted the entire forest with a thick coat of green and just now it began to drip and chip away, revealing what had been covered.  In this section I also had my first bear encounter. Just about 10 yards off the footpath, a bear cub about the size of a rugby ball popped up and over a downed pine. It stopped, sat up, and turned its head to look right at me. It was absolutely adorable. About 10 more yards down the hill from the cub I saw its mother. Although the mother did not seem bothered by my presence, I did not stick around quite long enough to change her mind (hence why I have no pictures of this event). I am thankful that my encounter was much more friendly than those being heard of on the trail. It was probably one of my favorite experiences in the Smokies. I had expected to see one eventually as I had passed several piles of steaming bear scat throughout each day. I actually saw another one once picked up from the Pigeon River sitting on top of a small tree. This was a little larger than the cub, but not quite full grown.  Although the Smokies were majestic and borderline mystical, I was a little anxious to be on my way. Between the Ridge Runners (those making sure were behaved while on the trail) closely monitoring, battling the mice in the shelters, and the constant expectance of bear encounters, I was able to push myself to complete the Smokies in 3.5 days. However, none of these pressures took away my deep appreciation of the mesmerizing beauty of this place, as well as the experiences I encountered along the way. I will be taking a few days off in Cullowhee, as I am helping with the SoCon Track and Field Championships. I will be returning to the trail this weekend! Next stop, Hot Springs!Other events worth noting:I was rattled at by a rattle snake on top of one of the ridges, yet did not attempt to find it, just kept on moving.  I heard coyotes yet again in between the bouts of rain on the first night.I climbed out of the shelter to use the bathroom in the middle of the second night and in the middle of it I turned to see two eyes glowing at my from about 15 yards away. Half asleep, I panicked thinking it could be a bear and turned on my head lamp. It was a large beautiful doe munching on some undergrowth. Again, seemed unbothered by my presence so we enjoyed each others company for a few.Descending 4500 ft through the park on the last day, you can literally see the biome almost suddenly change when hitting certain elevations. This is evident by the changes in plant and undergrowth.Came across plane crash debris on the last day. Unfortunately my phone was dead and I couldn't get a picture of it.