Miles: 178.0 | A late start, a brutally heavy pack, and twelve miles straight into the Smokies. The climb up Shuckstack delivers my first real tower views as dark clouds loom overhead, followed by a cold, quiet push to Mollie’s Ridge. By the time we reach the shelter, the temperature has dropped, the rain has arrived, and everyone crawls into layers — exhausted, damp, and officially in the mountains.
It was warm down by the Dam in Fontana. According to AT Weather it was slated to be about 20* up at Mollie's Ridge (the first shelter in the Smokies which is 12 miles in). I hung around the Fontana Dam Shelter with Miles, Baloo, and Skywalker for a couple hours playing chess and eating pop tarts.
I left around 11am and headed out toward the Smokies with Rhodo (short for Rhododendron). The first 6 miles were harder than I expected. We got to the Shukstack and stopped for a snack with Huevos, Blade, Peanut, Tater Tot, and Trashman. Ominous clouds hung over us dropping random threatening pellets on our heads for hours. After lunch, I went up the Shukstack:
After the Shukstack I stuck with Tater Tot, Trashman, and their two dogs until we got to the shelter. As the elevation rose the temperatures started to drop. We got to the shelter around 5pm. The best part about this shelter was how close to the trail it was. It was literally on the trail. No blue blaze!
My pack was seriously heavy this day. 50+ pounds accounting for my food weight, too. By the time I got to the shelter I was beat. I set up my bed inside. They had a nice tarp hanging across the front of the shelter to keep the wind out. Someone made a small fire and we all ate our dinners out in the vestibule, layered up in every piece of clothing we carried. It finally began to rain around 6:30pm. We all ran out in the rain to put our bear bags up on the cables, trying to avoid getting too wet.
I met Cackles, Peanut, Blade, Silence, and Big Boy that night and hung out with Trashman and Tater Tot some more. We all went to bed early, trying to stay warm.