Jimmy Carter and Muffins

The last week went by in a whirlwind. On Easter Sunday we entered the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Our plan was to hike about 10 miles to the first shelter, as we'd heard that the Smokies were challenging and the first day is a steady uphill climb from Fontana Dam. We got to the first shelter around 2:30 in the afternoon, way sooner than we'd expected, so we made some "Linner" and started to unpack our stuff. The Ridgerunner at the shelter told us that the next few miles of hiking were pretty easy but the toughest part of the park was just after that. After a long break, we decided to push another 2.9 miles to the next shelter to make the next day's hike easier. When we got there, we realized it was only another 2.8 to the next shelter and it was only 4:30pm. We'd already eaten and since we were required to sleep in the shelters, we didn't need to pitch our tent so we just decided to push the next 2.8. 16.4 miles later, we rolled into camp, totally exhausted, but glad we had made the next day of hiking easier for ourselves.

The next day we took off, planning a reasonable 12 mile day through one of the most challenging portions of the park. We got to our shelter by 2:30pm again and heard rumors that a storm was going to be passing through the next day. We'd planned to reach Clingman's Dome the next day, but decided in a flurry that we'd hike all the way there to see it at sunset before the storm hit. So, we ended up doing another 16.4 miles, this time through the toughest section of the park, ending at the highest point on the trail. We covered three days of hiking in the course 2 days, making it to the halfway point of the park in time to zero in Gatlinburg and still exit the park within the 8 day window our permits provided us.

Gatlinburg was a riot. Some describe it as "Redneck Las Vegas" -- it reminded me of a cross between the Wisconsin Dells and Branson, Missouri. The main strip is peppered with shops and restaurants -- it was surreal to go from the remote beauty of the Smokies to this bustling tourist mecca. Some people are put off by it, but Wheels and I had a blast. We ate at a delicious BBQ joint called Bennett's, visited the local brewery, and spent the afternoon doing free tastings at the 4 moonshine distilleries on the strip. After becoming pleasantly toasted from moonshine, we sat in rocking chairs and listened to a local bluegrass band perform. It was pretty spectacular. The next day we were back on the trail. We hiked more reasonable distances for the next 3 days and we only got rained on once, which is pretty impressive for passing through one of the biggest temperate rain forests in the world.

The morning we hiked out the of the national park we were greeted by 3 different sets of trail magic -- with real Starbucks coffee, Twinkies, and a bag of apples. After 5 days without passing a gap, it was nice to see the magic again. We hiked up to Standing Bear Hostel to do a quick resupply and then head on to a campsite about 13 miles down the way. Standing Bear was crazy. It is managed by two pretty quirky fellows, Curtis and "Rockit". They showed us around the grounds, fit with roosters and chickens, farm dogs and old hiking boots converted to flower pots. We drank a few Yuenglings and enjoyed a pizza before heading on our way.

When we arrived at the campsite we'd planned to stay at, we caught wind of some epic trail magic down at the next gap, another 3.2 miles away. Wheels and I immediately packed up our bags and hightailed it to Brown Gap. We hiked a record breaking 3.2 miles of uphill in 1 hour -- it's amazing what hikers are capable of when motivated by food... We rounded the corner and a huge University of Tennessee Volunteers tent was set up in the gap, with the smell charred meat and veggies wafting through the air. We were fed a meal of steak, pork chops, salmon, zucchini squash, asparagus, roasted corn, baked potatoes and girl scout cookies. Needless to stay, I slept very well that night.

The next day, we woke up bright and early and hiked out to Max Patch -- a beautiful bald that offers a gorgeous 360 view of the surrounding countryside. We decided to push on and whipped out a 20.1 mile day -- our personal record-- allowing us to roll into Hot Springs, NC early Monday morning, just in time for a big breakfast at a local diner. We plan to zero today in Hot Springs to resupply and rest up after our big mileage days.

In town, we've reconnected with some of the folks we haven't seen since Georgia and lost track of some friends we'd been hiking with up to Fontana Dam. The weather is getting hotter and hotter and while our bodies are stronger and more resilient, the heat makes moderate hiking much more difficult. The AT actually passes straight through Hot Springs, so we're staying at an historic hostel, Elmer's Sunnybank Inn, which is this old building that was constructed in 1840. The first thru-hiker, Earl Schaffer, actually stayed at the Sunnybank Inn during his 1948 hike. It's a beautiful old home, run by Elmer, this fantastic old vegetarian chef with a dog named Jimmy Carter. There are stray cats that hang around the front porch. An orange tabby named Muffins hopped up on my lap and started purring like crazy. I sat there on the front porch petting it for a long time-- classic Catnip moment. I miss my cats....

Well that brings you up to date, until next time!

Catnip

Mission Time: 27:03:37:05