Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 9
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 9, June 6 Lost Creek tent site-Coker Creek campsite 16.6 miles By far the most difficult day. It rained hard in the night and everything was wet, as was the trail. So even though the opening parts were easy flat walking, my feet were soon soaking and some blisters […]
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 8
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 8, June 5 US 74- Lost Creek tentsite 13.5 miles My ride was late leaving Ducktown (I should have gotten Bill’s number when he offered), but no matter. I had resolved to slow down a bit, try to enjoy more the details of the walk and not worry so […]
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 7
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 7, June 4 Double Spring Gap to highway 74 (and on to Ducktown) 11.1 miles Short hiking day—heading in to Ducktown to resupply for a 4 day stretch. A few days back I stopped to talk to a man (about my age) who was standing near the top of […]
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 6
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 6, June 3 Halloway Gap to Double Spring Gap 17.3 miles Last night I was reading Suzanne Simard’s The Mother Tree— a section where she and a friend had to climb trees to escape a mother grizzly, not exactly the best story to be reading alone in the wilds […]
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 5
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 5, June 2 US 76 to Halloway Gap 15 miles After my complimentary breakfast at the Douglas Inn (some of that screw tap cereal) I caught a ride back to the trail head for the next stretch which will in a few days take me over the Tennessee line. […]
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 4
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 4, June 1 Garland Gap to Blue Ridge 15.4 miles (plus hitch into town) In the last 4 or 5 miles of a long bicycle ride, my friend Greg would note our increase in speed and say “smelling the barn.” Like Greg’s proverbial horse, I was smelling the barn […]
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 3
Walking to the Smoky Mountain, Day 3, May 31 Wallalah Mountain to Garland Gap 13.8 miles I’m walking this trail with the Guthook app on my phone. Guthook (Atlas Guides) has emerged as the premier navigation app for long-distance trails. All the data is downloaded prior to hiking so the phone can be in airplane […]
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 2
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 2, May 30 Three Forks to Wallalah Mountain 14.3 miles Even though Three Forks was full of Memorial Day campers, I found a tent site at some distance from the crowd, and, after sleeping in— enjoying my trusty old ZPacks tent (it has been pitched on every continent except […]
Walking to the Smoky Mountains, Day 1
Walking to the Smoky Mountains Day 1, May 29 Day 1 Amicalola Visitors Center to Three Forks 15.1 miles (Approach Trail, then 6.1 on BMT) Walt Whitman opens his “Song of the Open Road” with enthusiasm that is hard to match: Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road, Healthy, free, the world before […]