I hiked through 77 miles of the Great Smokies National Park in five days. The elevation was as high as 6,610 feet, the weather was cold and icy one day. But the rest of the time it was very pleasant.
November 27-30: Through the Smokies in five days
Month: November 2021
November 26, Day 157: First day in the Smokies
Day 157, 26-Nov. Milepost: 1962.0, Daily: 10.4, Ascent: 4450′, Descent: 1280′, Highest: 5120′. Camp: Cosby Knob Shelter, GSNP 4725′.
First day in Great Smokies National Park. Above 4000′ ice clung to trees, trail had dusting of snow, temperature dropped below freezing in shaded areas. The higher I hiked the more icy everything got. The trail looked like winter sometimes. In camp I have a hot water Nalgene bottle inside sleeping bag. It’s too cold to write much more. Enjoy the photos!
November 25, Day 156: Thanksgiving at Standing Bear Farm
Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends who celebrate this holiday. By chance I am staying at the Standing Bear Farm Hostel to let a minor rain and snow pass through the Smokey Mountains tonight. Today the hostel has arranged to take a couple of us AT hikers to Hot Springs where a large gathering of hikers are partaking in a traditional holiday meal. This is a very kind effort by the trails community and reinforces my belief in strong southern hospitality! I will enter Great Smokies National Park on November 26.
I give thanks to the many people, including hostel owners and local residents, who have provided trail magic and support along the AT. Because of them my respect for the AT has grown as I get closer to Springer Mountain, Georgia!
See my real-time location produced by the InReach unit I carry and a daily log of my progress on the trail.
November 19, Day 150: Big Bald Tennessee and the lunar eclipse
The sky cleared at around midnight while I slept in the Bald Mountain Shelter after an afternoon and evening of light rain. The clear sky was a welcome sight as I looked skyward after leaving my new, dreamy sleeping bag to find a place to pee. A lunar eclipse was in progress and I could see a mere sliver of the moon, a rare sight on any night. Very early, before dawn, while the eclipse was waning, I switched on my headlamp and headed uphill toward Big Bald. At first I was leary of climbing higher in the cold wind. Moving forward and upward was the best thing to do for warming my body. Soon, while still in darkness, the trees gave way to Big Bald, where nothing could calm the wind which was blowing strong and gusty.
November 14, Day 145: The highest shelter on the AT on a very cold night.
Despite not posting for days I am doing very well on the AT. On November 21 I reached mile 1918.2 and landed in Hot Springs, North Carolina! I have hiked 87.5% of the trail and have just 275 miles remaining. The five month anniversary of the start of this long, long journey comes in just two days. The length of time and the diverse collection of emotions, challenges, good karma and accomplishments is foremost in my mind. I am very fortunate!
This post is about a memorable day in the Roan Mountain Highlands. It was good practice for the Smokies which I will reach on about November 25.
When I left the comforts of the Mountain Harbour Hostel on November 14, and the best breakfast on the AT, I was aware the highest shelter to camp in along the entire trail was 16 miles ahead and nearly 6,000 feet of climbing. I questioned the wisdom of trying to reach such a distance and elevation gain after eating a full meal and getting a late start. Plan A was a much lower shelter in 11 miles. But when I reached it I predicted I could make it to the Roan High Knob Shelter at around 6pm, just 30 minutes after sunset. I would have my headlamp ready! This was Plan B, and I went for it.
November 11 on the AT was a special day (11-11 Day)
I reached mile 1797.8 on November 13, a day that started with light, cold rain and ended sunny and quite chilly. On November 14 I will begin the climb into the Roan Highlands and 6,000 feet elevation. But for now I want to write about a unique experience I had on a special day.
I had planned to resupply in Hampton, Tennessee but was unsure if I would buy food and get back on the trail, or stay overnight at a hostel. Most hikers stay at the Boots Off Hostel, but I hiked past it too early in the day. Instead, a walked to the Brown Hardware and Grocery Store owned by Sutton Brown, who also owns the Braemer Castle Hostel. After checking in at the hostel with Sutton’s son, Ben, I walked over to the store and bought enough hiking food for the next two days. As I browsed the store aisles Sutton Brown introduced himself to me. I described how the day, November 11 was special. “Fourteen years ago my lovely wife Cindy and I got engaged. Every year on 11-11 we celebrate by eating cake!” But I noticed that the store did not carry anything close to the Chocolate cake I preferred for the 11-11 celebration.
November 9: Tennessee!
On November 9 I said goodbye to Virginia and hello to Tennessee on the Appalachian Trail. With no doubt Virginia gave me wonderful times on the trail and it was a little sad to leave it. The feeling will not last very long. At the end of the day the accumulated miles were 1737.4, and I have hiked 79.2% of the trail! Just 456 miles to the southern terminus at Springer Mountain, Georgia! I am healthy and hiking strong. On November 7, in a push to reach the town of Damascus one day earlier than planned, I hiked 28 miles by starting at 3:45am by headlamp and reaching a shelter at 6:00pm, again by headlamp. The daylight hours are going down and the pre-sunrise miles are routine now. The weather has been fantastic! Cold mornings are usually below freezing and the sun shining through the trees brings welcome warmth as high as 60 to 70 degrees. Rain is forecast for the evening of November 11, but after that much better.
Days 134-136, November 3-5: 75% of the way there!
Where is “there?” Well, Springer Mountain, Georgia and the completion of the AT. On November 4 I walked past a sign that marked that milestone. Now it is up to me to hike the remaining 25%. Over 500 miles remains and I am determined to finish by December 15. The weather is getting colder, days much shorter now. For that reason I am going to cut back on the blog posts. In the evenings now it is more important to sleep and rest my body instead of typing text and uploading photos. I will continue to update the daily log, and you can track my hourly position on the InReach map. The links are below:
See my real-time location produced by the InReach unit I carry and a daily log of my progress on the trail.
If you are using Instagram or Facebook I will post a few photos when time and energy allow.
Day 142, November 1 on the AT: Another beautiful day in Virginia.
Virginia is the state with the most miles of all other 13 states along the Appalachian Trail. It continues to be very pleasant place to hike. The trail is not very steep in most places, although I am told that will change. The elevations will be higher as I continue southbound. I continue to be alone on the trail except for the occasional section hikers, who I enjoy talking to for breaks in the solitude. Today I arrived at the Weary Feet Hostel where I met a through hiker from Kentucky. He plans to hike for about one or two weeks. Because he is northbound and I am southbound we exchanged information about the trail and where to find water. The trail stays mostly on ridgetops where water cannot collect in ponds. Today there was 18 miles with no water along the trail, so I packed three liters when I left the Hostel in the morning. The photos, below, show why I enjoy hiking in Virginia so much!
Day 131, October 31 on the AT: Easy hike!
Leaving Woods Hole Hostel in drizzling rain was hard. But the rain stopped and I enjoyed an easy 15 mile green tunnel hike to the next Hostel, Weary Feet. And my feet were not too weary when I arrived! A hiker described to me recently the Triple Crown of Virginia hotels: Woods Hole, Weary Feet, and Bear Garden. The first two are very nice!
Day 131, 31-Oct. Milepost: 1582.9 miles, Daily: 15.3, Ascent: 1505′, Descent: 2935′, Highest: 4040′. Camp: Weary Feet Hostel 2035′. Easy hike is cool weather, 52 degrees in afternoon. Average on trail 2 mph, which is good for me.
Taking a lunch break at Wapiti Shelter.