Appalachian Trail, Days 11-15

After the last few days of terrible weather, things cleared up a bit and it was a much more pleasant camping experience. I set foot in Smokey Mountain National Park for the first time, I hiked my first 20+ mile days, and I slept in an AT shelter for the first time (rather than camping nearby)! I also saw my first bear of the trail and had some other wildlife encounters. Things are starting to feel routine out here as I pass the 2-week milestone since I started the AT.

Day 11

Start: Wayah Shelter (120.6)

Stop: Ramblin’ Roots Hostel, Nantahala Outdoor Center (136.9)

Miles: 16.4

Elevation Gain: 2816 feet

Total Miles Hiked: 151.68

I’m amazed I slept as well as I did, it always takes me awhile to get used to sleeping outdoors again at the start of a backpacking trip. I saw Jacob’s tent across the clearing as I was waking up, I guess he arrived after dark. It was a gnatty morning and I put my head down and hiked until I got to the next shelter for a morning snack. In a few miles, I would get to yet another fire tower. At the top of the climb, a day hiker was stopped with his dogs because there was a rattlesnake in the middle of the trail. In a dramatic move, he took a long tree limb he found and hoisted the snake into the brush on the side of the trail. With the snake safely in the bushes, we could continue on to the fire tower. I sat for a lunch break at the top of the tower, talking to the day hiker, and fending off his goldendoodles as they begged for a bite of my food.

The second part of the day, was a long descent down to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. This was exciting to me because it meant that I could have some food at the restaurant. As I made my way down the mountain, I considered the option of continuing on to the next shelter after stopping for a little while at the NOC. As I drank my beer at the restaurant and checked out the next section of trail, I promptly abandoned my plan to continue when I saw the next shelter was 5 miles away with 3500 feet of elevation gain on the way. I weighed my options, and decided to stay at the hostel down the road. I had a little while to kill, and as I waited for the pick up, Jacob emerged from the trail across the street. Apparently there was a big accident on the road leading to the NOC, so we were waiting longer than we thought. A couple shared their whiskey and canned cocktails with us in the parking lot and made conversation until the hostel host arrived.

Day 12

Start: Ramblin’ Roots Hostel, Nantahala Outdoor Center (136.9)

Stop: Sassafras Gap Shelter (144.0)

Miles: 7.31

Elevation Gain: 3147 feet

Total Miles Hiked: 158.99

The bunks in Rambling Roots Hostel were so comfortable I didn’t hear the tremendous thunderstorm that rolled through over night. It was so intense, it even caused a mini flood in the hostel basement. I wasn’t in too much of a hurry so I kept myself busy until the hostel owner was done with her errands. Jacob decided to take a zero day, so I headed back to the NOC on my own. As I was perusing the outfitter, I met Amanda, who was thru-hiking the AT with two other women. After giving my mom a call, I met Marley and Sara, the other two in the trio at a picnic table near a donut food truck. I got a breakfast sandwich to pack out for later and prepared myself for the climb. As I got started, I passed Sara along the way, then caught up with Marley and Amanda a few minutes later. They were keeping a good pace with the ascent, so we hiked together until we reached the shelter. It was nice to hike in a group for a little while, since I’ve mostly been alone since Alex left to go back to Philly.

When we got to the shelter there was some back and forth on whether we should stay there or head to the next campsite. They were more partial to staying. Even though it was a shorter day, I decided to hang out and camp with them for the night, since it was so nice to link up with a group. It was a warm afternoon and we all hung out, making conversation, cooking food, and getting our gear out. This night would be my first night sleeping in one of the shelters, up until now, I’d just been tent camping nearby. But the shelter was clean and morale was high, so I felt good about it.

Day 13

Start: Sassafras Gap Shelter (144.0)

Stop: Fontana Dam Shelter (166.2)

Miles: 23.19

Elevation Gain: 5039 feet

Total Miles Hiked: 182.18

I was actually able to get some decent sleep in the shelter, aside from a moment where I thought the tree branch I hung my food bag from  had snapped and when there was a huge tree that fell over in the middle of the night. Since I didn’t hike too far yesterday, I planned to push myself today, to have my first 20+ mile day heading to the Fontana Dam Shelter. Marley was thinking about trying for that as well, and we hiked together for a few miles in the morning. After a snack break, we each pushed ahead at our own pace.

There’s not much to note about the afternoon, aside from a very steep uphill climb for seemingly no reason. I passed the last shelter before Fontana, I thought about stopping but no one was there at this point and it was still early, so I went ahead with my original plan. From here, it was an endless descent that felt like it would never end. Reaching the Fontana marina parking lot was a tease, because I still had another 2 miles to go until the shelter. By the time I got there, the sun was setting, so I quickly set up camp while there was still daylight. The Fontana Hilton, as it’s known, is a shelter with more amenities than normal, notably plumbing and showers(even hot water!). So I washed off before finally walking down to the picnic tables with great views of the reservoir to eat some rice and beans for dinner.

Day 14

Start: Fontana Dam Shelter (166.2)

Stop: Russell Field Shelter (181.1)

Miles: 15.6

Elevation Gain: 4805 feet

Total Miles Hiked: 197.74

I didn’t rush out of Fontana, I wanted to let my external battery charge at the shelter for a bit before heading into the Smokies. So I ate a leisurely breakfast and took advantage of the good cell phone reception. When I was ready to go, I put on my pack and headed up the paved path away from the shelter and campground. I followed the sidewalk along the reservoir, to the road crossing the top of Fontana Dam. Once I reached the other side, I was in Smokey Mountain National Park. I deposited my permit in the box and followed the road until the AT diverged back into the woods. From here, it was a huge climb into the mountains. Along with the huge climb, there was also rain, and I had to whip out my raincoat for a few hours to avoid getting soaked.

After the rain, a blue sky appeared immediately and the sun was shining. I took this opportunity to stop at an upcoming shelter for lunch. There, I met a friendly section hiker named Batman, prepping for an upcoming CT thru-hike. I wanted to get a bit further, so I continued on to the Russell Field Shelter. When I arrived, there was are a group of four college bros and a father/daughter duo setup in the shelter. Everyone was asking me about thru-hiking the AT, and I blew their minds by saying there are some people that hike all three triple crown trails in a single year. The college guys started a campfire, and we all hung around for a bit before slowly filtering off to go to bed. I fell asleep to coyotes howling somewhere in the distance.

Day 15

Start: Russell Field Shelter (181.1)

Stop: Double Spring Gap Shelter (197.5)

Miles: 17.13

Elevation Gain: 5146 feet

Total Miles Hiked: 214.87

The morning hiking was serene, and I walked through stands of sparse trees surrounds by long grass rippling in the breeze. There were a few climbs of the morning, the most notable was Rocky Top, and the morning fog had cleared enough for me to see the landscape. Headed down from the last climb, the trail meandered through a maze of rhododendron bushes. Under the canopy of leaves, you could see the loose tangle of bare trunks and branches stretching endlessly into the distance. It seemed like the type of place where bears would live, so I tried to make a little more noise so I wouldn’t startle any creatures going around a bend. Sure enough, a mile or two later, I saw the black figure of a bear about 30 feet away off the trail in the woods. It immediately got scared and ran away, a very anticlimactic bear encounter! Aside from the bear, I also passed a few territorial grouse, that fluffed up their tail feathers, running back and forth parallel to the trail squawking protectively.

There were heavy thunderstorms with the potential for hail and heavy winds in the forecast  for overnight, so I was definitely planning to shelter camp. I got to Double Spring Gap Shelter and met Matt, a section hiker from Florida, whose wife and kids encouraged him to take this backpacking trip. It seemed like he was physically having a rough time, but he was excited to eat the cake he packed on the top of Kuwohi for his birthday tomorrow. As the sun started to set, Gazelle joined us at the shelter. She told us she’s attempting to set the self-supported fastest known time for thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, and she’s been hiking 30+ mile days since she started a week ago. I was a little nervous about the storm in the forecast, but it felt a little bit like a slumber party as we all talked from our respective areas of the shelter before falling asleep to flashes of lighting happening way off in the distance.