Hiking the Good Hike

Day 12 - Wayah Bald Shelter to A. Rufus Morgan Shelter - 15.5 miles

Last night was a cold one. I think I stayed out too long and for that I went to bed cold. We got up and moving by 9:30, we were in no particular hurry. We planned to hike to Wesser Bald Shelter 10.6 miles away and then decide from there whether or not to hike on. We arrived at Cold Spring Shelter fairly quickly but slowed as we approached Tellico Gap, it seemed like a lot of ups and downs today. We were treated to some nice views on the Wesser Bald tower. We moved on to Wesser Bald Shelter. It was empty, we felt good, and it was still early in the afternoon so we chose to move on to the next shelter.

The last few miles seemed to take forever (as is the norm). We rolled into the A. Rufus Morgan shelter where some thru hikers we knew were setting up camp and a few more hikers rolled in after us. It seemed no one wanted to sleep in the shelter due to a warning about spiders. It was unusually warm so we hung out pretty comfortably until dark and then we all headed to our tents (or hammocks). Tomorrow we're planning for a short hike to the Nantahala Outdoor Center where we'll hang out and eat lunch before moving on.


Day 13 - A. Rufus Morgan Shelter to Sassafras Gap Shelter - 7.7 miles

Last night was the warmest night we've had so far, I imagine it was in the high 40s. We woke up and got moving fairly quickly; we didn't eat much breakfast because we knew we would be at the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) in less than an hour. When we got to the NOC we saw Tom and Jack from Colorado who we hadn't seen in a few days. It was nice to see them again. We went into the general store to get just a couple items we needed and ended up with pints of ice cream. I finished mine without a problem but Cassandra needed some help.

After our ice cream breakfast we went across the street to the outfitter to get our permits for the Smokies. New this year, thru hikers have to register online to hike the Smokies. The permit is $20 per person and you're allowed 8 nights in the park. The NOC had a computer set up for hikers to register and print their permits. We picked up what items we needed at the outfitter and went outside to hang out in the sun for a while before having lunch. Blue Moon, a hiker we had spent several nights camping with, was surprised by a visit by his son and daughter in law; it was nice to meet them.

We finally made our way into The Rivers End restaurant for lunch with some other hikers. We had a good meal and relaxed for a couple hours and then it was time to move on. After lunch we had a big climb, we knew it would take pretty much the rest of the day. It turned out we ate too much and then waited to do our 3000 foot climb at the hottest time of the day and it was hot(ish) for a change. By the time we reached Sassafras Gap Shelter it was full and all tenting areas had been claimed. We decided we would climb back to the trail and camp on the ridge above. The wind and rocky ground was making pitching our tent difficult and I worried we would have a sleepless night. Apparently rain was also in the forecast. We ate oatmeal for dinner and were in bed at dark. We plan to wake up early to try and get to Cheoah Bald for sunrise.


Day 14 - Sassafras Gap Shelter to Cable Gap Shelter - 15.2 miles

No rain last night and luckily the wind calmed to only a slight roar waking us up only occasionally. We were up at 6:30 to try and get to Cheoah Bald for sunrise. When we got out of the tent we saw several lights already moving up the trail; it seemed we weren't the only ones with this brilliant idea. "Breakfast at the bald"
they were calling it. We didn't quite make it but we enjoyed the views along the way. We arrived at the bald and there were already 15-20 hikers there eating breakfast and enjoying the sunrise. It was a really cool thing to spend our morning in that way.

We moved on and stopped for lunch at Stecoah Gap before climbing Jacob's Ladder which was essentially just a steep hill; nothing really worthy of being named in my opinion. The rest of the hike was fairly uneventful. We arrived at the shelter around 4. We had a quiet but enjoyable night at camp. Tomorrow we will hike to the Fontana Dam where we plan to get a good nights sleep at the lodge before entering the Smokies.


Day 15 Cable Gap Shelter to Hwy 28 (Fontana Lodge) - 5.5 miles

We woke to sunlight though it had rained part of the night. About half the hikers had already left camp by the time we got up. We took our time knowing we had a short hike and also to allow our tent to dry. Because we would be entering the Smokies, there was a good chance our tent would stay packed for several days. In the Smokies, you must sleep in the shelters unless they're full in which case you can tent "in the vicinity of the shelter."

As we climbed the first climb I was feeling pretty weak. We stopped for a break where I ate a snickers bar dipped in peanut butter. I call this "AYCE style" named after the hiker named AYCE from whom I stole the idea. We arrived at the road crossing where we were then shuttled to Fontana Village where we had planned to share a room with Rooster and Chickadee at the lodge. At the lodge we saw some other hikers we knew who were waiting out the planned power outage to do some laundry. We got to our room, showered and headed to the laundromat. We started our laundry and then walked to the Pit Stop where we would get lunch and resupply. It was basically a carry out with a bar that had a very small selection of hiker food. We had been told we couldn't resupply at Fontana but we were able to get enough food to get us half way through the Smokies without difficulty.

After finishing our laundry and resupply we went back to the lodge to watch Taken 2; it was nice to sit down and watch a movie. We then ate a nice dinner at the lodge and went back to our room for the post resupply repackaging and packing. We plan to enter the Smokies tomorrow, hopefully with good weather. There's a lot of talk about the Smokies among thru hikers; most seem to fear this section. We're looking forward to seeing what the Smokies have in store for us.


Day 16 Hwy 28 (Fontana Lodge) to Russell Field Shelter - 15 miles

We woke up early to get breakfast and hopefully get on the trail at a decent hour. Cassandra and I went to breakfast while Rooster and Chickadee slept. We went back to the room to pack our things and the others went to breakfast. We decided instead of waiting on the others to get a head start. We went to tell the others we were leaving and they had decided to stay and take a zero. We caught the shuttle back to the trail and we were on the trail by ourselves; it was strange knowing they would not be coming along as we had been with Rooster for over a week and he was one of our first trail friends.

We were on the trail by 10. We crossed the Fontana Dam and entered the Smokies. We met a ranger at the entrance checking permits. It was an uneventful but nice hike. We arrived at the first shelter in the Smokies at about 3:00 so we decided to move on to the next shelter. We got to the next shelter quickly and it was nearly full of mostly people we knew. The shelters in the Smokies are large and have fireplaces. Just as it was nearing bedtime a few section hikers strolled in. We now had over 20 people in a shelter that sleeps 12. I guess that will make for a cozy night with the fire.


Thanks for reading,

Chris