#5 Fontana Dam to Gatlinburg

4/3: Back on the trail! We hiked a mile from the Fontana Dam to the entrance of the Smoky Mountains National Park. That might have been the easiest mile we’ve hiked on the AT so far because it was completely flat! Then it got not so flat as we entered the Smokies but we’ll take what we can get. It was a long climb to Mollies Gap Shelter, but there were fields with wildflowers and the mountains were really pretty. Hawk (Emily) even explored the watchtower at lunch which had a great view. We ate couscous for dinner and went to bed pretty soon after because we were both tired after a long day.

Bird’s eye view

4/4: It was a short hike to Spence Field Shelter and the weather was nice and warm. In the Smokies, there’s no tent camping unless it’s outside of an already full shelter, so we’re limited to how many places we can camp. So we only hiked about 6 miles, but that was ok because Hawk didn’t sleep well the night before and we wanted to guarantee a spot inside of a shelter so that we would stay dry during the rain that was supposed to come. We got to the shelter super early though, so we played Gin Rummy and ate a lot of snacks. We met Bodhi, J Stroke, and Quest who were also staying in the shelter. It’s nice not being in a crowded shelter like we were at Mollies. We ate mashed potatoes and stuffing for dinner, and gathered all of our stuff inside before it rained. The shelters in the Smokies are cool because they have a fireplace and tarps on the walls, so we’ll be nice and toasty tonight!

4/5: The wind howled up the mountain through the night, but the tarps covering the shelter held, so we were protected from the wind and the rain. In the morning the rain had slowed to a drizzle, so we decided to start hiking early, but apparently we were the only ones in the shelter who left while it was still raining! And it wasn’t even bad! Anyway, our bodies stayed dry from our rain gear, but all the rain from the night made a river out of the trail, so our feet got soaked. At some points, we were ankle deep in water, sloshing along the trail. We were in good spirits regardless of the mud and the rain, and we hiked 12 miles to Silers Bald Shelter, which is our biggest day so far! I would like to complain a little bit though: we paid $20 to go through the park but we have yet to see a privy. Designated “Toilet Areas” are minefields (don’t think about it too hard) and all we want is a seat and a hole! That’s it! Ok, done complaining. We ate soupy noodles that weren’t soupy on purpose for dinner and went to bed tired but happy with our progress.

Uhhh...is that the trail?

4/5: Hawk saw a family of deer in the morning! A mom, a dad (without horns), and a smallish guy. They were just grazing around the campsite after everyone had left. The mom got pretty close, which was awesome. We’re just glad it wasn’t a family of bears.

We hiked 4.4 miles up to Clingman’s Dome, which is the highest point on the AT! There were a lot of tourists there and they smelled like clean laundry and flowers, which we did not smell like. We were so lucky to have a clear day. So many thru hikers get to Clingman’s Dome and only see fog, so we were grateful for the good weather. We then hiked about 3 miles to our shelter for the night and ate a dehydrated bag of soup that was 8 servings and went to bed, full and ready for showers in Gatlinburg.

So that’s where we are now! We’ve gotten pretty lucky with the weather so far, but we’ll see if it lasts. We ate the biggest cinnamon roll either of us have seen in our lives for breakfas, so we’re pretty happy. Onward and (mostly) upward!

Happy trails!