Day 11 - Smoky Mountain rain

K9/18/16 - It's 8 PM - hiker midnight - and my journey has almost concluded. I have the spacious Russell Field Shelter all to myself, and overhead I can hear the intermittent patter of water dripping from the leaves onto the metal and plexiglas roof, a reminder of today's events. 

Today it rained. Except for some brief showers in the early morning hours of the fourth day, it's been dry throughout the trip. 

Hiking doesn't stop when it rains. You've simply got to gear up, put your head down, and plow ahead. As thruhikers say, "no rain, no Maine."

Morning scene - Silers Bald Shelter

Our threesome of last night grew by four after we'd turned in, as a group of four college students showed up under the guidance of their headlamps. They quickly settled in, and we all spent a fairly restful night.

By morning the wind had picked up and fog had rolled in. A sudden burst of wireless connectivity provided me with a weather forecast: a 90% chance of afternoon  thunderstorms, starting around 1-2 PM. With about 17 miles on the docket, that meant I needed to hustle.

The first 6 miles went smoothly, but then came a 6-mile stretch NOBOs had been warning about, with ascents up Thundee Miuntain and a stiff ascent over the exposed ridge of Rocky Top.

By the ascent of Thunder Mountain, the rain began in earnest, and on went my hat, rain jacket and pack cover. A steep and rocky trail made matters even more unpleasant. But as I hit the top of Thunder Miuntain, the rain eased, and I was able to traverse the exposed ridge lines with nothing worse than gusty winds and sheets of fog and mist whipping by. 

Eventually I descended to the Spence Field Shelter, the last reliable water source until Fontana Dam. I tanked up with a full four liters and made the decision to push on while the weather held.

The weather quickly turned back to sometimes heavy rain, but now I had the advantage of the best trail I'd seen in the Smokies so far - well graded, smooth, and sandy. I quickly knocked off the three miles to the next shelter and called it a day.

Gear drying time at Russell Field Shelter.

After a change of clothes and a hot mealI had time to get organized for the morning and laze away the afternoon in my sleeping bag, sipping hot tea and listening to football on my radio.

So ends another day on the trail. Tomorrow should be a fast downhill to Fontana, a shower, then the drive home to sleep in my own bed for the first time in almost two weeks. Can't wait!

Day 9 - The sublime (mostly) Smokies. And "trail talk"

I I had to put in big miles today, so I crawled out of bag shortly after our NOBO flip flop hiker broke the ice. By 6:30 I was on the trail, guided by my headlamp. 

Dawn was a treat, casting light through a wonderfully varied forest. The surrounding mountains gradually sprang into relief as the light grew and they shed layers of fog at their summits.

The Sawteeth, near Carlie's Bunion.

There's a sense of space and wildness in the Smokies that you don't find in Shenandoah. And the sheer variety of plant, animal life, and forest types is readily apparent. I saw Sarvis trees with brilliant red berries, experienced moss-covered forests, and heard bird calls that were completely outside my experience. A truly awesome place.

An all too common sight.

The bad side? The trail itself. The soil is thin on the mountain tops, and erosion often leaves the trail a mass of rocks and roots. After 20 miles, my feet and psyche had taken a beating. A hot meal helped, and fortified with that and (hopefully) a good night's sleep I'll be able settle into a few days of somewhat less mileage.

Room with a view.

So what are the main topics of conversation on the trail? 

Number 1 is, without a doubt, water. A recent dry spell has put a strain on springs, so it's courtesy for hikers passing by to share intelligence about the reliability of sources.

Number 2 is the bear situation. There were some shelter closures earlier this summer, but the trail telegraph assures me that the rangers have taken out the main problem bear, and tagged and relocated others. So all the shelters are open and everyone is breathing a little easier. 

And that's the news from the trail - you AT correspondent, signing off.