AT08 The Great Smoky Mountain Crossing

March 21 – 15 miles to Russell Field Shelter

I wake up early and at 6.30 I hear a scream. Or a bark ? It goes on again and again. I don’t know what kind of animal it is, but it sounds creepy to my ears.

I pack my stuff and head down to the picnic area for a beautiful sunrise and breakfast. What a view !

I leave around 8am and walk to the dam with the rising sun as my only companion. Crossing this iconic dam is quite a thing. I feel very happy to be here with the beautiful morning lights.

When I reach the Smoky Mountains sign, I hear Boomerang cheering behind me. She seems to enjoy that moment as much as I do.
We take a couple of pictures with the sign and walk together to the very full mailbox where we leave our permits.
It it official : I am now in the famous Smoky Mountains!!!

As I walk on the trail, I spot sunglasses hanging on a branch. I needed some, it’s perfect! “The trail will provide”!

I reach Shuckstack tower and climb it with Boomerang. The floor up there is very dodgy, but the view on the lake from the top is amazing! From the tower, the lake has the shape of a hawk. It’s pretty cool!

I go back to my hike, and it is beautiful. The trail follows the state line between TN and NC. “Left foot in Tennessee, right foot in North Carolina” as my friend says.

I catch up with Boomerang at Mollies shelter and we walk to Russel field Shelter together. We are the first ones to be there and we met two hikers walking SOBO who stay to talk a few minutes. One of them gives me his micro spikes ! So kind!

Soon, other hikers arrive, and I believe we end up being about 10 people who are going to sleep here tonight.
Day hikers walk by and gave us their left over snacks. So much given today !

March 22 – 16.4 miles to Double Spring shelter 

Everyone starts to stir just after 6.30.
I get everything packed, have breakfast and leave around 8.

That day, I am carrying the famous yellow brick in my pack. Someone said it must weights around 4 lbs!

To know more about this brick, I invite you to read this article from one of my fellow bloggers.

It is supposed to rain from 5pm until the same time the next day. So we decide to go to the next shelter, right before Cliegman dome.

It is very windy! But sometimes the sun shows up and warms our body and heart.

Some views are amazing! 
We walk through rhododendron forest, through birch forest and at the end it was pine forest. Different biomes along the day.

I pick up a glove that was lost on the trail, thinking its owner might be in front of us, and we walk to Double spring shelter.

There are Mr Sunshine and RollerDex who is from Koweït. Bacon and Eggz (father and young daughter) are here too. They’ve lit a fire in the shelter, which feels very nice especially since the rain is starting.

Mr Sunshine tells us that he is upset because he has lost a glove today.
When I tell him I found one and that I’ve picked it up, his face brightens. I have made one happy man today.
Later, two other hikers we met in Fontana Dam arrive.

I chat with some hikers by the fire while the others are playing cards.

It is not even 7pm yet when I crawl in my bed. It is getting very cold and wet outside, and I appreciate the warmth of my quilt…

Tomorrow we’ll go on the highest summit of the AT, and cross the 200 mile mark.

March 23 – 13.6 miles to Icewater Spring shelter

Gosh it’s cold and wet today! The wind is still blowing and the rain is pouring.

Boomerang and I leave just before 8.30.
The trail is easy and beautiful. It’s a shame we get quickly soaked and cold. It makes us feel miserable.

We are walking fast too keep warm. I left the brick to one of the guys, so I feel much lighter today.

Boomerang and I reach the 200 mile point and I make a mark with sticks. We do a little dance to celebrate before climbing Clingsman tower, the highest point of the Appalachian trail. It is so windy that I worry we will be blown away!

We reach Newfound Gap and we decide to eat lunch in the restroom to get away from the cold and the rain. My hands are so cold that I cannot undo my backpack’s buckles and I have to ask Boomerang to help me. Same with my food, I need her help to open the packages. I have no grip, no strength in my fingers.
A lady (we will know later her name is Ladybird) who came for a pee, asks us if we are through hiking and asks our names before leaving.

A few minutes later a guy knocks on the door “Pixie, Boomerang, I am JFK. We are doing some trail magic on the parking lot. If you want a dessert after your lunch, come to see us in a white van”.
A man who offers treats to bait us to his white van? Of course we say yes!

We finish our bite and go to meet JFK and Ladybird. Mr Sunshine is there too.
JFK hiked last year, and he came all the way from Kansas to provide trail magic.
We enjoy some snacks and take some pictures. Then, we go back on trail with Mr Sunshine towards Icewater shelter.

Despite the terrible weather, there are a lot of day hikers, tourists, who came to visit the Smokies.

At the shelter, a ridge runner tells us that it is fully booked for tonight. We are very disappointed. We were so looking forward to just setting our bed and slipping in it.

Luckily, a thru hiker named Lucky had made a fire. We warm up a little and then I go to pitch my tent outside.

My fingers are so cold that they are hardly responsive… I need to take a few breaks while seting up my tent to warm my hands by the fire so they would work…

Dinner is all done by 5pm, too eager to go to find warmth in my quilt ASAP. I hang my bag and I am ready for bed!

Apparently my dry sack is not so dry anymore, because my quilt is a bit damp… I’ll need to fix that…

I’ll sleep with my puffy to keep my head and neck warm. It’s supposed to be in the 20′ degrees tonight.

March 24 – 12.6 miles to Tri-Corner knob shelter 

I can hear people’s steps on the frozen ground. I don’t want to get out of my quilt and change clothes in this cold…

When the first ray of sun hits my tent, I find the courage to get ready and pack my gear.

I open my tent and I’m stoked by the beautiful sky and the sunrise. It is still very cold, but the sun warms up the heart.

I make breakfast before putting my tent away. The rain drops on it are frozen. I take the time to brush them off before packing it.

My socks and shoes are frozen solid even if I left them inside the shelter last night. But I’ve got to put them on anyway…

We start our walk and oh my god it is beautiful!

Some puddles on the ground are frozen, but we can easily avoid them. Icicles are everywhere, I love it.

We stop at Charlie’s bunion, what a view! We take some pictures from the rock and carry on.

The trail follows the mountains ridge. We get a lot of views and the trail is pretty.

When we find a nice spot in the sun and a view, we decide to have a break for lunch. We take our shoes and socks off and lay them flat on a warm rock in the sun.

It is just past 3 pm when we reach Tri Corner knob shelter. Lucky we got there early because there is no tent spot, and many hikers arrive later. At least we have our spot inside secured.

I wash my feet in the stream and lay my quilt in the sun to dry from last night dampness.

I’m starving. It’s barely 4pm when I eat my first meal, and I then decided to eat a second. It was a bit too much, but at least I’m full for the first time of the day.

6 pm, I’m already in my bed…

March 25 – 15.7 miles to Standing Bear farm

Didn’t sleep much… A hiker has been snoring in my ear all night…

We got up, ate, packed and left.

The idea was to reach the Davenport Gap shelter, but I convinced Boomerang to go all the way to Standing Bear farm.

I know a real angel named U-turn is doing trail magic at the gap today, we might be able to get there in time.

It’s over 4000ft down, so we walk fast. We decided to have lunch at Mt Cammerer fire tower, so we took the 0.6 mile trail to it. It’s a funny, rocky and muddy trail, but the view was worth it

We headed back down the AT and all the way to Davenport Gap.

We have some nice views on the way, but I am looking forward to being done.

I am a few minutes ahead of boomerang, and when I reach the gap I can see that U-turn is here ! What a trail magic !

She’s set up tables, chairs… She’s cooking hotdog with chili. There is salad, fruits, snacks, cookies, coffee, hot chocolate…

I enjoy a lot of food and good mood with everyone!

What if, blue, Strider and strider, 6ft, Milwaukee, Back 9… It looks like everyone stopped here !

We stayed about 45 minutes before going back on the trail for the last 2 miles.

There is a bit of road walking, but the little streams and waterfalls are beautiful!

We walked with Strider to Standing Bear, and we got tent spots.

Ripple and Clouds are here ! I am so happy I caught up with them !

After a very hot shower I joined them by the fire for some beers, pizza and stories.

We’ll hang out there for a while before heading to bed.

The crossing of the Smokies is over…