Day 21 - Gatlinburg, TN

Waiting out the rain again. We had some lovely cool, dry hiking days entering the Smokies, but the forecast was for rain all weekend. So here I am in Gatlinburg, taking another zero day in town with all my hiking buddies. Most of us are at the Grand Prix Motel, a classy establishment that caters to hikers and, apparently, evangelical Christians, based in the decor in the office.

From Fontana Dam to Clingman's Dome is essentially a 4,800 ft. ascent over 33 miles, which I covered in about 2 days. I got a late start on Thursday, around 10 am, and walked about 14 miles to Russell Field Shelter. In the Smokies, you are required to sleep in shelters because the bear activity is so high here. I've read that there's approximately just over one bear per square mile in the park. Sure enough, I saw my first bear on Thursday afternoon.

There's a short side trail from the A.T. To the summit of Shuckstack Mountain, where there's a rickety old fire tower and a great view. Evidently, hikers commonly doff their packs at the intersection and climb the short distance to the summit to take photos. Meanwhile, the bears have caught on to this, so they wait by the side trail and steal bags while the people are away. Not knowing any of this, I had the clever idea to leave my bag at the intersection and climb to the summit... Just then, I heard voices ahead of me yelling, "There's a bear!!!" Two hikers were coming down from the summit and found a bear waiting for them. I hurried forward far enough to see, and there it was, about 10 yards off the path, eyeing us warily. It mostly didn't seem too interested, but when I started forward a little, it stared me down. The two hikers coming down passed safely and managed to keep their packs, but I never did make it to the top of Shuckstack.

The nights have been very cold, but the shelters here are stone, with tight roofs, and they do a lot to block the wind. They also have fireplaces, but those unfortunately vent poorly and mostly fill the space with smoke. I didn't linger in the morning, knowing there was rain in the forecast, and in my second day, I covered another 14 and a half miles to Silers Bald Shelter. It was a magnificent day of hiking, with lots of grassy balds and scenic views, and gray, fast-moving clouds making a low ceiling just overhead. The high ridges are carpeted with wildflowers, and it looks like a magical fairyland under the mossy old hardwoods. The air stayed cool all day, and the wind picked up through the night, howling and gusting dramatically.

The next morning, my friend MacGyver and I ate snickers bars for breakfast and packed up hurriedly. We had just under 5 miles to climb to the summit of Clingman's Dome, where there is a visitors center and a parking lot, and we hoped we could hitch a ride from there down to Gatlinburg. As we ascended, the terrain changed from windswept grassy ridges to the deep shadow of old conifer understory. Our footfalls were padded by fragrant fallen fir needles, but in many places the path was deeply rutted from flooding. Clouds rolled over the path before us, breaking up the view ahead in chilly gusts. Finally, we broke out of the forest again and found ourselves on high, rocky ridges among clumps of stunted trees, with the wind hurtling up the eastern ridge and slamming us from below with wet spray. I was grateful for my trekking poles to help me keep my balance. It was steep and slick, and the wind made it impossible to talk without yelling. We trudged forward, and even though we hiked for only two and a half hours, by the time we reached the summit, we were ready to be through hiking for the day. Thick clouds blocked the view. Within minutes, we met a friendly couple from Indiana with a Prius and a cute dog, and they graciously offered us a ride into town.

Gatlinburg is great. It's a tourist mecca full of the most ridiculous, useless, hilarious, consumerist appeal. You can buy fudge, camouflage hats, moonshine, knives, and hot sauce on every block. Then you can go to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, or the "5D Theater Experience" or the sky ride. And then you can sing karaoke all night long and fight off your hangover the next morning at the $8.99 All You Can Eat breakfast at the BBQ Pit. Since it's raining today, I'm planning the ride the whole Trolley route for $0.50. After I finish my laundry, of course.

Hoping for better weather tomorrow, so I can head for the hills once again! Next stop, Hot Springs, NC...

Photos are of: My boots in the Smoky Mountains; sitting in the "throne-shaped" rock; creepy horse riding a person thing in Gatlinburg; me and Rambo after sampling hot sauce, about to sample moonshine; a bluegrass band outside the moonshine factory; and the Irish Pub where Rambo and I sang a karaoke duet!