Trip report from last week on a trip on the AT from a Thursday to Sunday on the AT. Did this with a friend of mine and we are both in our mid 30's and in decent shape.
We parked our cars at Newfound Gap and had a shuttle set up with a walk in the woods. Shuttle cost $186 split 2 ways which is the most I can remember paying for a shuttle. We drove to Fontana and got on trail around 1130 which wasn't bad considering the 3.5 hour drive to Newfound and the 1.5 hour shuttle.
We walked across the dam and did the road walk back to the trail and then started the long uphill to Shuckstack. We climbed the fire tower for the views looking back on fontanna and looking out toward Clingmans and had beautiful weather. We hiked on for the mostly uphill hike and got to Mollies Ridge Shelter around 6 for a total of about 11 miles.
The shelters in the smokies that we saw were all really nice. Room for at least 12 people and big porches and all of course had bear cables. I have not spent a night sleeping on the shelter platform on the AT ever so this was a first for me. I did not carry a hammock or tarp and slept on a z-lite ccf pad. The reason I made the switch to a hammock years ago was because I am a side sleeper and have never been able to sleep on the ground without having my hip bones hurt. The z-lite did pretty well and I slept well. Temps at night were in the low 50's and upper 40's. We did have a little mice activity each night but did not have any bear activity or sightings in 4 days.
Day 2 we were up at 6 and on trail by about 710. The next 3 shelters were all closed so we had a long day ahead of 18.5 miles. The day was mostly filled with green tunnel hiking the temps were absolutely perfect and we really enjoyed the views from Rocky Top. We did hear a bear while hiking and after he growled and sounded fairly close we continued on. We did see a huge tom turkey so that was cool.
We got to camp right at 630 and I couldn't have been more pleased with how my legs held up as well as my knees. 18 miles is the most I've done with a pack in a long time and I've been working out knowing that I had to finish an 18 mile day and really felt like I could have made it to 20 without much of an issue. In the last year I've worked very hard and spent a good bit of money bringing my base weight down and for this 4 day trip my pack with water and food weighed 24 pounds so that helped a lot too.
I tried out some new dinners on this trip and have taken my overall nutrition more seriously as I get older and have been glad to find meals that are more than just a simple carb and meat protein like most of the mountain house meals seem to be. I always enjoy those meals but I want something with more vegetables and things like brown rice and lentils. I have been very impressed so far with the Backpackers Pantry meals as well as a few other brands.
For the second night in a row we had the shelter to ourselves which was surprising but we enjoyed the space. That night I got up to pee and coming back saw two eyes lit up by my headlamp staring at me. I clapped and yelled at it and it just stared back at me which to me said it was probably a bear. I walked closer and turned up my headlamp to see it was a dear that was not at all afraid of me. She just stared at me so I went back to bed. 30 minutes later she ran right through the shelter and woke us up again and then stood just outside of it staring at us. We let her be and went back to bed.
We had an easy day the next day of 8 miles including the summit of clingmans dome. That was fun but it was a bit cloudy and it was crowded as we crossed on a Saturday. We made it to camp by 2 that day at Mt. Collins Shelter. Another great shelter and this one had a privy unlike the last 2. We settled in and took a nap and enjoyed the cool mountain temps and then were joined by 2 guys on their very first hike. They were from Saudi Arabia and were heading up Clingmans and were super excited to be meeting people and to be in the mountains. They were pretty ambitious so I do hope they made it. A little later we were joined by Paul who was on his first ever backpacking trip.
Paul was from Ohio and was hiking in blue jeans and a cotton t-shirt and was clearly struggling. Paul had to be about 65 and his pack was massive. He hiked 3.5 miles and it took him all day and was hoping to make it to Davenport. We offered up a little advice and enjoyed his company and stories. We were joined later by 3 more hikers who were debating on staying or hiking back to their car. They were from indiana and were all nice as could be. They ended up hiking back but didn't leave until about dusk. Later on we were joined by 2 flip flop through hikers and the girls sister who hiked 28 miles that day and were doing 25 the next. We enjoyed talking with them and pretty much everyone headed to bed at dark. No bears again.
The through hikers were gone at 630, we left around 730 and wished Paul best of luck. We made it back to Newfound at 930 about a 5 mile hike and took some pictures. Then we drove up Clingmans, hit the gift shop and set off for lunch in Maggie Valley and then home.
All in all a great trip with awesome late summer weather. This is the first time I haven't slept in my hammock in years but you do what you have to so that you are in line with all the regulations where you hike.
I broke in some new Solomon trail runners and absolutely loved them, especially for the ease of taking them off and on. One thing that I also liked was that I carried a blue spikey ball I use to roll out my foot tendons, I did that on each break and it made a big difference on how my feet felt all weekend.
On another note I listened to the latest episode of backpacker radio where they interview a guy from the ATC, solid interview with some good insight into the AT, I totally recommend giving it a listen.
I have 16 miles left to finish off the smokies and then I'll be finished from Fontanna to I-81 in Virginia. Hoping to get back out there in a September to finish off that section and then keep working south to the GA/NC border.
pics are coming, probably later tonight.
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