I'm off this afternoon to the Smokys. I'll be staying at Fontana Dam tonight, and then climbing up to the AT via the Lakeshore and Eagle Creek trails, which run me into Spence Field. Then, across Rocky Top and Thunderhead to Derrick Knob, where I'll spend Friday night. Saturday, more AT fun to just past Silars Bald, where I drop south down the Welch Ridge trail, passing High Rocks (great, rarely visited viewpoint) on my way to camp 90 for Saturday night. A brief run over to Shuckstack and the AT via Lost Cove, where I'll hopefully improve upon the 5 feet of visibility that I had last time I was at the tower. Then, back to my car.

A trip report to follow on Monday or so. Unfortunately, my ULA Zenith pack is being repaired after taking a thrashing this summer on the PCT, so it is back to my (ugh) 4 pound "light" mountaineering pack. To make matters worse, my new trail runners haven't arrived, so I'll be hiking in the shoes I finished the PCT with (750 miles old now). But, at least I have some new Rainshield gear to try out. Of course, this is the first time in 5 trips to the Smokys that rain is not forecast.

Just make sure you are ready for wet feet. The Eagle creek trail walks through the creek, if I remember right. Of course maybe I don't :)

Gravity Man

It does. I think I have about 15 fords on my way up. I was going to do this trip last February, but decided that I liked having non-frostbitten toes and would save this loop for warmer times.

Nice trip... the view from Shuckstack is great, when it s clear. If not, maybe you can just let the winds from the hurricane blow you up the trail instead of walking :p

This weekend was one of the saddest, most depressing hikes I've done in recent years. Not for any tangible reason, like weather or terrain, but because it reminded me of what I had lost after finishing the PCT this summer. It reminded me of the great times and people that I experienced this summer. The feeling of unlimited freedom and a life uncluttered. Being out for 2 days and a morning brought these back into the fore of my mind, along with the realization that they were gone for a while. Regardless, I pushed on.

Weather was immaculate this weekend, but the air quality was very, very bad. Lots of haze and obstructed views. It was just like this last September. I left from Fontana around 8:30 on Friday morning and climbed up the Lakeshore and Eagle Creek trails to Spence Field on the AT. Except for a 1.5 mile section on the upper end of the Eagle Creek trail, the walking was easy, although massively overgrown on Eagle Creek. There are 17 creek fords and 2 rock hops on the way up, so this isn't a hike to be done in the winter time.

At Spence Field I found that I had missed Smoky Mountain Steve by a day. The climb up Rocky Top and Thunderhead was fabulous, depsite the haze obscured views, and it was my first time over it in reasonable weather. I sat around and loafed in the sun, with no one in sight. I hadn't seen anyone since the day before and was starting to think I owned the park. There is something about sitting in the sun on rocky outcropping, with the world at your feet and a breeze in the air, that is so conducive to laziness. On the way down, I ran into two hikers with overloaded packs and faced the perenial question, "Is the top much further?" I got into Derrick Knob, much to my dismay, to find 7 other hikers who had come from Clingmans Dome. When they found out where I had come from, they responded with a "Oh, you're one of those." Refering, I suppose, to the 22 miles I had come. I didn't have the heart to tell them it was a short, easy day.

As I sat and cooked and listenned to some of the old men telling the others how to hike and what to carry, I questionned the wisdom of not pushing on to Silar Bald, despite not having a reservation there. Granted, some of the younger hikers were doing some foolish things (like carrying a jar a spaghetti sauce), but the preaching was getting to be too much. Some of the others were, as I found out later, really rather nice and we had some pleasant conversation. Of course, there were three or four loud snorers in the bunch. Around 9:30, I grabbed my bedroll and went out into the field to sleep. Incredible stars (the Milky Way was out) and nice, soft ground provided a much more comfortable sleep than the shelter would have provided. My ever trusty earplugs melted down this summer after I spilled DEET on them, by the way.

In the morning, I set off around 8, ran into a bear just north of Derrick Knob, and made the easy walk up to Silar Bald, before turning off the AT onto Welch Ridge. I had hiked part of Welch Ridge last September and remembered it being a little overgrown. Even with the sunny, 70 degree weather, I grew frustrated and annoyed with the massive growth along long parts of the trail, tearing at my legs and face and obscuring what should have been great views down into the valleys. This would be an awesome trail to hike on a good November day. I stopped off at High Rocks for a long lunch and confirmed my belief that this may be the best overall view in the Smokys. Mt. Cammerer or Charlies Bunion may be more dramatic, but High Rocks is close and is out of reach of almost all day hikers. Few backpackers come out there either.

The stroll down to the old Lakeshore trail (see my entry in the GSMNP part of the forum) was easy and well maintained. I ran into my second bear of the day, which was a treat. The now-officially-not-maintained Lakeshore trail was really rather nice, although I was suprised to see two people at camp 88, only my second group of the day. I pushed on across the 17 fords to Camp 90, arriving around 7 with only one other ground in this popular spot.

In the morning, I finished my stroll back to Fontana, opting to skip Shuckstack and save it for a time when haze would not prevent a really great view. I had overcome a lot of the sadness that struck me over the weekend. It is still there, but I think that my soul and I are coming to an equitable solution to the problem of balance in my life. Perhaps not. Either way, life goes on.

Thanks for the trip report!