Oct. 31--Halloween
So after hiking the 13 miles out of town on the 30th, I hiked a pretty tough 24 mile day from Walnut Mtn. Shelter to Davenport Gap Shelter. I recall the temperature that day being comfortably in the 60's or so, so it was a really pleasant day to hike. The best thing about that day was definitely going over Max Patch, which is a cleared field on top of a mountain. There are panoramic views from the summit, and I sat up there for about a half hour and ate lunch. After taking my time most of the day, I ended up having to do 3 miles of night hiking from about Green Corner Rd to Davenport Gap. It was pretty chilly but pretty cool entering the Smokies at night, alone, with the possibility of being jumped by bears at any time. When I got to the shelter, Doc Geo was there, along with a group of about 5 twenty-somethings who were just out for a night. They invited me to go watch the sunset with them the next morning, and since the girls seemed nice I happily abliged.
Nov. 1 (All Saints Day, I think)
I ended up waking up with them at 5 am to go to the summit of Mt. Cammerer for the sunrise. It is unusual for me to wake up anytime before 8 am to hike, so this was a pretty big sacrifice to be made. When I got to the summit of Cammerer (which by the way has amazing, panoramic views of the Smokies), I figured out why they had been so kind to me the previous night. They were a Christians in Action group of evangelical Christians. Once again, I was fooled into thinking that someone was being kind to me just for the sake of being kind, but it turned out they had a bit of an agenda to push. For the second time in 5 days, I had an hour long debate with evangelicals, but this time I had to battle 5 of them. They gave the same stupid reasons for their beliefs over and over again until I eventually threw up in my mouth and had to leave (just kidding). I was planning on a 27 mile day on the 1st, but because of the time I spent of Mt. Cammerer, I ended up only doing 20, and stayed at Pecks Corner Shelter. It was nice being up in the Smokies again, which I have visited for the past 2 summers now.
Nov. 2
I woke up on the 2nd pretty late, around 9 am, and the temperature was hovering probably in the 40's. It took a lot for me to get going, even though the 2nd was a resupply day for me in Gatlinburg. I ended doing the 10 miles to Newfound Gap, the road to Gatlinburg, pretty slowly and got there at 2:30 in the afternoon. I got a hitch for the 15 miles into town, which went well, and was in town by 3:30. By the time I was done eating and doing my resupply, it was about 5:30 pm, and I still had 5 miles to hike to Mt. Collins Shelter. I ended up doing the 5 miles in the dark, which was pretty cool since the stretch between Newfound and Mt. Collins is in a dense coniferous forest. It was actually kind of ere going through there after dark but it was worth doing since I caught up to Matt and Annie that night, two thru hikers I had hiked with previously in my trip.
Nov. 3
From Mt. Collins shelter, I got to hike up to Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the entire A.T.. There is an observation tower on the top of Clingmans, and a parking lot, so of course there were a TON of tourists up there. I got gauked at a bit, but really didn't mind telling the people up there that I had hiked there from Maine. Later that day, it began to rain. I was already running behind since I woke up late and stayed on top of Clingmans for awhile, so I ended up only doing a 13.5 mile day and stayed at Derrick Knob Shelter. It was really cold and rained the entire night when I was at the shelter.
Nov. 4
The next morning, it got even colder, and the rain turned into sleet. Even though I had gotten what I thought was 3 days worth of food out of Gatlinburg, it turned out that I have been eating around 5000 calories a day, and so that food was going to be gone by the end of the day on the 4th. That meant that I had to get to Fontana Dam and out of the Smokies this day, which meant doing a 23 mile day. Well, I left the shelter around 9 am and began hiking with my underarmour layer, my fleece jacket, my raincoat, my tobaggan cap, my gloves, and basically all the rest of my clothes on. By the time I had gotten to Thunderhead 4.5 miles up trail, the freezing rain had turned into sleet, and then into snow. It was kind of cool to get that weather on my thru hike, but it was not that fun to hike in. My tennis shoes were soaking wet and my feet were freezing from the rain and snow on the trail. Every time I stopped hiking, I would get cold enough that I would be shivering, so I just had to keep walking. Though the weather sucked, I did hit a huge milestone this day- 2000 MILES. When I got to Russell Field Shelter, there was a log book with the "2000 mile awards", where thru hikers give there best and worst of everything from mountains to states to hostels. Before I hit the end of the Smokies, I got to see something for the first time since New Jersey--A BEAR! I think I kind of suprised it, and even though I was alone, I really didn't have much fear for the animal. It sat in the middle of the trail for a few minutes, I told it to go away, and it happily abliged. I got a picture of it, and was happy that I can now say I've seen two bears on my thru hike to all the people that ask me that question over and over again.
I got to Fontana Dam, the end of the Smokies, that night just before dark. It took me around 45 minutes of walking in circles to find the shelter near the dam in the dark. I eventually found it, and finished off the rest of my food that night. It was a cold, cold night, and my clothes were wet from perspiration, so I froze even in my sleeping bag.
Nov. 5
I had to go into Fontana village to resupply, and though normally I can get a hitch into town, there were ABSOLUTELY NO CARS going into Fontana, which is a resort town that is not busy this time of year. I had to walk the 2 miles into town, and found that Fontana was really cool. The resort in Fontana is amazing, and the rooms are really cheap for hikers. Since it was in the 30s-40s during the day, I ended up getting a room and taking a zero day on the 5th. It was worth it, since later in the day Matt, Annie, and a couple other thru hikers rolled into the hotel nearly hypothermic after hiking in the rain all day. The 5th was the first time in 5 months I have had 3 square, hot meals in a day, and I basically am giving myself a mini vacation from hiking to rest up for the last 164 miles of the trail. It got into the 20's on the night of the 5th, but I was happily warm in my hotel room.
Nov. 6
So today is the 6th, and I am again taking a zero today since it is in the 40's during the day today, and will be in the 20's overnight. I am really enjoying just zoning out in front of the tv and watching college football. Tomorrow it is supposed to warm up, and I feel a lot better today and will be ready to do probably a 22 mile day tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be nice for the next week or so, and I have plenty of time to finish my thru hike before Thanksgiving.
