Clingman's Dome to Fontana dam

Appalachian Trail Journal

Clingmans Dome to Fontana Dam

October 6-9, 2002

 

October 6^th, 2002

Tripper and I had planned on doing a section hike for a couple of months.   We had weighed everything that went in our packs and tried our best to shave off the unnecessary ounces. My weight without water but including the clothes I would be wearing on the trail and 3 days food for both of us was just over 30 pounds, Tripper's pack weighed about 20 pounds before she added a few items I didn't know about until we were on the trail. She had two rolls of TP (by mistake) and her cell phone that I didn’t know about. I had bought some lighter trail boots, Hi-Tec Outpost, and Patsy wore her Hi-Tec also. I didn't carry any extra shoes but she had a pair of Nike shoes to wear at camp.

 

Our drive to the NOC was enjoyable. The weather was perfect, mid 70's with a low forecast for mid 50's.   We stopped by the Rivers Edge restaurant at the NOC and ate a late dinner. Shopped a while, called home and off we headed to our home for the night, The Hike Inn. Jeff and Nancy Hoch (pronounced Hoke) operate a shuttle / lodging service from The Hike Inn for AT hikers and are located about 6 miles south of Fontana Dam. The rooms are clean and ours had a small kitchenette. Jeff has an exceptional collection of Native American artifacts at his motel also. After checking in our room we drove on to see Fontana Dam and the "Fontana Hilton", a shelter located above Fontana Lake. There was a hiker staying at the shelter when we walked by.  After driving around the area we went back to our room and checked our packs once again. 

 

I decided not to carry my digital camera, scrubs, nylon shorts and extra boxers. We also took another look at our food and left part of it out also. The sky was crystal clear when we walked outside. The Milky Way was clearly visible as we looked overhead. Jeff noticed we were stargazing and turned off all the outside lights. Later that night we were waken by a long rumbling sound: thunder. Bummer. It started raining about 4:30 a.m. and continued until noon.

 

October 7^th, 2002

 

Tripper took one last shower and I loaded our stuff we weren't taking on the trail in the car. Jeff will let you leave your vehicle on his property while you are hiking and will come and pick you up if you call him after your hike is finished. We ate a light breakfast and were on the porch of Jeff's home at 7 a.m.   It was raining and heavy fog as Jeff drove us to the Clingmans Dome parking lot, about 75 miles away from The Hike Inn.   Jeff gave us some good advice on how to handle bears. During bear season in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina hunters use dogs to run the bears. He said if we came up on a bear that didn’t run a way from us to “bark like a dog, not a poodle dog but a hunting dog.” He had actually tried this and several other hikers he advised had done the same thing and it worked each time. He also said this probably wouldn’t work on a sow bear with cubs so be very careful if you see a cub bear along the trail. His advice there was to leave the area immediately, even if it meant retracing your steps to the last shelter. We took his advice to heart and jokingly more than seriously, practiced it a few times while on the trail. It worked; we didn’t see a bear our entire trip! Thank goodness.

 

The rain was falling steady as we unloaded and Jeff drove away. Tripper said she started to throw her pack down and run after him just to see his reaction. We went to the restroom just up the path and changed into our raingear and covered our packs better. The ladies restroom was closed so Tripper joined me in the men's room. The rain was lighter as we began the steep ascent from the parking area to the top. The rain had brought snails and earthworms out by the dozens as they crawled across the paved pathway to Clingmans Dome. I managed to dodge all of them but was tempted to step on those that kept on passing us going up the path to the tower. When we reached the top it was still raining as we climbed the tower. I showed Tripper Shuckstack in the far distance, our last peak for this section. I took a guy's picture for him before we left the tower and then we hit the trail. Another hiker, a young man, was just ahead of us by a minute or so. The rain was still coming down and the trail was a creek or waterfall, depending on where we were at the moment. Our boots were soaked in no time.

 

The views as we hiked were amazing. The forest that has been damaged / destroyed is slowly coming back to life. New fir trees are everywhere. The young guy stopped not far down the trail and doesn't even return our hello as we pass. We met a young couple who warned us about the "cascades" on the trail ahead. The downpour has made the trail a continual creek with waterfalls and cascades.   Tripper is making good time and having fun. This is her first multi day / night backpacking trip. In spite of the awful weather she is in very good spirits, laughing and talking as we hike on. I was praying for good weather since this was her first multi day trip but it was not to be. We stopped at several points to look across the mountaintops, watching the clouds filling the valleys and the wind sweeping them over and away.    We reached Double Spring Gap shelter, elevation 5507 feet, 2.9 miles, in about an hour and a half. This is an older shelter typical of all but one west of Clingmans Dome. There are two platforms for 12 sleepers, a fireplace and a full height chain link fence from wall to wall, ground to ceiling, with a small door, across the open side of the shelter. There were a couple of college students from Louisville there, waiting on the rain to stop before leaving. We talked with them and took a short break before continuing our hike. The rain has slacked up some now but still sprinkling steadily. Our next scenic view is from Jenkins Knob. Silers Bald, elevation 5607 feet, is ahead as the trail turns into a narrow path along the ridge. The ridge is not more than 10 to 12 feet across in places and we feel like we are on top of the world. The views down into the valleys are breathtaking. The rain stops just before we reach Silers Bald Shelter. 

 

This shelter is a newly remodeled one with a skylight installed and two tables under cover for eating. The skylight allows a lot of light into the shelter. Silers Bald Shelter is nice but only 1.5 miles from Double Spring Gap shelter. We decided to eat lunch here and it was good. Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, peanut butter and Oreo cookies; good tasting and good for you! I signed the shelter journal and read Tripper a couple of the previous notes left by hikers. Tripper is having fun and holding up very well. It is good to be with her. We stopped again in an hour and twenty minutes for a break. Tripper needs to use the "trail facilities" and I waited on the trail for her to return. She gives me some sound advice upon returning: don't pull briers up in your pants! I believe she was speaking from personal experience. The forest has changed from conifers around Clingmans to Birch groves that stretch for miles it seems. They are beautiful. The sun comes out for a short while during the afternoon and the views into the valleys on either side are fantastic. All along the trail there is evidence of wild hogs in the area. They are destroying the vegetation with their rooting and are a major cause of erosion. Jeff had warned us they were more dangerous than a bear, especially at night. 

 

The temperature was just right for hiking. 57 degrees and the rain has stopped. With the cooler temperature we are not drinking much water and a quart is all we use all day, including meals. After Silers Bald the trail is more difficult with an elevation drop of 800 feet almost straight down and then guess what, straight up again. The trail also has fewer "noticeable" landmarks and we don't know where we are until we see the sign at Buckeye Gap.   We climb back to Cold Springs Knob gaining 400 feet in about .8 mile. We met another hiker, "More Sunshine" as we were climbing to Cold Springs Knob. He is headed to Erwin, Tennessee. He saw a bear earlier this morning.   Before we reach Derrick Knob we met 5 guys from Michigan. They had camped at Spence Field last night and wanted to know how far it was to Silers Bald Shelter. It had taken us 2 hours to get here from Silers and I told them the shelter is a newly remodeled one, the best we've seen yet. One of them wants to know if the privy is new also. I guess he has his reasons for wanting that info. The trail turned down again and we lost the 400 feet in a more gradual descent to Sam's Gap. Derricks Knob Shelter is only .2 mile away now. As we can reach the shelter, the fog completely blocks in the area.   Like the rest of the shelters we have passed, there is a sign posted warning of Bear activity in the area.

 

The fireplace is full of wet paper plates and other paper items. We gathered some wood, all wet, and pick up some dry smaller pieces inside the shelter. It takes 4 matches and a trick birthday candle to get a fire going. Loosing my touch. It takes about an hour to get the fire going enough to sustain itself but the warmth it provides is worth the effort. While Tripper continued to feed the fire, I tried to find the water source in the dense fog. It was not easy. Not only was it obscured by the fog, it was almost straight downhill about 50 yards. The trail to the spring is slick and I almost met "Buster-my-Butt" a couple of times before I got there. I had brought a gallon Clorox jug with the top cut out (leaving the handle) to carry water from the spring to the shelter. The spring has a PVC pipe that the water flows out and that makes it easy to get water in the jug. The climb out of the hollow was not fun either but I finally got back to the shelter. Tripper has the fire roaring now. I set the stove up and boil water for our supper; Campbell's Ramen Noodles. These noodles actually taste good and are easy to prepare in their own container so the only item needing cleaning was our spoons. I had suggested to Tripper we could cut out another ounce by sharing spoons but she decided to bear that burden and brought along her own spoon. We had planned on adding cheese to the noodles but left our cheese at home. Bummer. Boiled more water for some hot chocolate and we had a feast in the shelter.

 

After supper I bagged all our smellables and took it out to the new bear bag cable system.    The bear bag cable system is a very well thought out design and easy to use. There is a steel cable suspended between two trees 20 feet high. 4 feet from each tree the cable has a 2 feet round metal disk to prevent varmints from crawling out to the bags. Between the two disks the steel cables has two or three pulleys attached, each with a steel cable running back to the ground. These cables have a hook attached to hang / tie your bear bag on and a snap hook spaced just the right distance away to secure it to an eyebolt screwed in the tree after the bear bag is raised. The cable with the snap also has smaller disks installed to keep smaller varmints from climbing up. A lot easier to use than the old "rock in a sock / bandanna thrown over a limb” method. 

 

It is dark at 6:30 and we are locked in for the night, having the shelter all to ourselves. Well, the mice and we have the shelter to ourselves. Tripper saw one run out of the paper plates in the fireplace after the fire was going good.   She is trying to dry our wet socks and boots. She got my liner socks a little to dry and they feel "crunchy" when she handed them to me.   Oh well I have an extra pair. I hung my hat up close to the fire and it almost dried overnight. There are a couple of clotheslines already in the shelter and I hung our packs up on them. We crawled in the sleeping bags at 7:30 and I dread it already. Since I don't sleep but 3 or 4 hours a night this makes for a long night. We talked for awhile and listened to the buckeyes fall on top of the shelter. This is going to be interesting. They sound like rifle shots when they hit the metal roof and it continues all night. I hadn't noticed it until we went to bed. The rain has stopped. Tripper got up at 12 and the sky has cleared enough to see the stars. It started raining around 3:30 and continued until 6. The lowest I ever saw the temperature fall during the night was 51 degrees.   I heard one mouse overnight and after I scared him off, he never came back while I was awake.

 

October 8^th, 2002

 

During the night, between naps, I wrote in my journal and read the guide book description of our trail tomorrow. I also got a little cold in my fleece blanket. I had to put my rain jacket and pants on before I felt comfortable.   Tripper is using the Marmot 30 degree down bag and slept well. We woke up a lot last night and each time talked, laughed and enjoyed being where we were. Only problem so far was Tripper's boots rubbed her toes yesterday. We wrapped her toes in duct tape before leaving the shelter. We were both up by 6:30.   Fog had rolled back in and I could not see the bear bag cable from the shelter, barely 50 feet away. Hunger being a driving force, I managed to find it and soon breakfast was ready. Breakfast was cereal, oatmeal and bacon. Tripper boiled some water for coffee and we enjoyed the meal. 

 

One of the first things the guidebook says as you leave Derrick Knob Shelter headed toward Thunderhead is, “trail is more strenuous." It was not kidding.   The trail is dangerously slick also due to the wet leaves and mud. It takes us 45 minutes to go a mile. The trail gnomes trip me up just before Beechnut Gap. I fell almost face first. No harm done and it got a chuckle out of Tripper, who always finds humor in my misfortunes along the trail. Or at least I thought no harm was done. About a mile farther down the trail Tripper asked me to take a picture of some type of mushroom growing inside a cavity of a tree. When I tried to take the picture my camera didn't work. After looking it over the battery compartment was empty. I had knocked the battery out when I fell earlier and had failed to notice it. No problem, I had a spare battery but after one picture, the indicator showed a dead battery! A brand new one but the indication showed it as dead. I tried another picture and it wouldn't flash at all or take the picture. Bummer, Bummer. The decision to leave the digital camera behind seemed like a bad one now. 

 

We were very slow, averaging only a mile an hour. But we couldn't do much better with the trail conditions as bad as they were. The fog lifted during the morning and we had some outstanding views.   While we were hiking we kept hearing some kind of bird that sounded like a crow but said, "Rah, rah," instead of "Caw, caw." There were four of them and they finally flew over us and circled back and forth for several minutes. We found out later that, according to the bird book in the Cades Cove visitor center, they were Peregrine Falcons.   My camera is still not working, Bummer. The trail to Thunderhead Mountain is a steep climb also. We gained 500 feet in a mile but were walking through a literal tunnel of Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron. It was beautiful and would be so fragrant in late spring. I tried the camera again and after several tries it took a picture of Patsy walking through the Rhododendron tunnel.   Of course as we reached the summit, elevation 5527 feet, the views were blocked once again by the fog / clouds.

 

We made it to Rocky Top Tennessee, elevation 5441 feet, for lunch and the view was very good. It is very evident why "Corn won't grow on ole Rocky Top…" My camera took another photo but died again after only one. Bummer. I gathered up a few small rocks from Rocky Top Tennessee to give to Joshua, Bethany and some of my Tennessee Vol friends.   Lunch here was a highlight of the trip.

We made it to Spence Field, 6.5 miles, in 5 hours. Spence Field is a beautiful grassy area along the trail. Water was at the Spence Field Shelter 250 yards off the trail. Tripper prepared our break in the shelter while I got some water.      There were 4 horses and their riders here also. The shelter had two backpacks inside but we never saw the owners. This is the cleanest of the older shelters we had visited thus far. After a short break, we headed toward home for the night, Mollies Ridge Shelter, another 5.2 miles away. The trail is wider between Spence Field and Mollies Ridge to accommodate the horse traffic. This section of trail is much easier to walk in spite of the muddy sections made worse by the horse's hoofs. Not only do horses make the trail muddier, they also don’t go off the trail the required 200 feet to do their business, so we got to practice some new dance steps dodging various piles left in the trail. We made up some time here covering the 2.5 miles to Russell Field Shelter in an hour and four minutes. 

 

We stopped at Russell Field Shelter for a break and two people we saw at The Hike Inn were there. They planned on going to Damascus. They left to get water and another hiker came in just as we were getting ready to leave. Ralph was from Pennsylvania and was hiking to the NOC. He had the same destination for tonight as we: Mollies Ridge. Ralph passed us in about an hour, just as the trail turned straight up again going across Devils Tater patch, elevation 4775 feet. We were tired and it was rough going. Just as we started downhill toward the shelter, we met Ralph coming up. He had gotten worried about us and came back to see if we needed help. He offered to carry Tripper’s pack but she declined his offer. He didn’t offer to carry mine. What a nice gesture by a total stranger.   We thanked him and he walked with us back to the shelter, which was less than a quarter mile away now. It had taken us an hour and forty minutes to hike approximately the 2.5 miles from Russell Field Shelter. Ralph warned us there were “a lot of people at the shelter.” There were 9 people at the shelter, including us. A couple of guys were trying to build a fire and one by one they all introduced themselves. A man, wife, son and son-in-law were cooking supper, Kurt was getting ready for bed, at 4:30 p.m., and Richard was working with the fire. 

 

The family had a funny story to tell of their adventure so far. They had started the same day we did but from Fontana Dam going north. They could not believe we had hiked 11 miles in one day.   It had taken them 2 days! They had planned on spending the first night in Birch Springs Shelter but were surprised to find it had been removed and now had only campsites. They did not have a tent and had hiked in the rain up from Fontana hoping to dry out in the shelter. So they slept on the ground with only their ponchos pulled across them to keep the rain off! Everything they had was soaking wet. There were two pair of denim pants hung on a clothes line with various other clothes and gear. But they were laughing about it and at the son-in-law. Apparently he had gotten a stomach virus and had been throwing up all day as they hiked. He felt so bad at one point he laid down on the trail and asked them “to drive a stake through my clothes and leave me here.” All of them were very friendly and likable people. Richard was hiking barefoot! I didn’t know whether to be afraid of him or admire him. He was a bricklayer who worked 2 or 3 months and then would take off hiking. He said he only needs about 700 miles to complete the whole trail. He was in the Fontana Hilton Sunday when we walked by. Kurt is a physical therapist and thru-hiked in 1999.

 

Tripper and I unloaded our gear in the shelter, claiming a space on the top as all of the bottom spaces were taken. She went with me to get water, washes off and changes into clean scrubs while I fill up the jug. This is a good water source, another spring with a pipe but with the strongest flow yet. As we waited for our water to boil, we joined in the conversation around the fire. Ralph had a hot spot on his heel and said the moleskin keeps coming off. I ask if he’s ever tried duct tape for hot spots and he hasn’t. I have about ten feet wrapped around a pencil in our first aid kit and let him get all he needs. He puts some around both heels just in case. We have our last supper on the trail, more ramen noodles and eat everything except what we’ll need for tomorrow.   Noodles, Melba toast, rice krispy treats, tea to drink and later hot chocolate.

 

After supper we gathered some wood for the fire and enjoy the conversation. Everyone hangs their bear bag and then gathers around the fire ring. We talked to around 6:30 p.m. when darkness settled in.   Kurt has been asleep for almost 2 hours when we go to bed at 7. Tripper and I have trouble getting up on the top platform. It is over six feet from the floor and the only way up is to step on the bottom platform and then crawl / pull yourself on up. All the bottom places were taken so we had to sleep on the top level. This shelter had no ladder or any way to climb up to the top except by stepping up on the bottom level (which was about 3 feet high) and then do the best you could to crawl / pull yourself on up. Standing on the ground I could not see over the edge of the top level, (I'm 5'10") so for my 5' 4" wife it was a challenge for her to climb up. As we went to bed that night a couple of the guys on the bottom level laughed out loud at our lack of agility as we climbed to the top. I had to actually lift and push Tripper to help her get up on the second level platform. After I climbed up, one of the guys was still laughing at our problem especially after Tripper asked out loud, "how in the world am I going to get down tonight to go pee? You know I'll have to go." He was trying his best not to belly laugh and as he quieted down I replied to my wife, "don't worry about it, just hang over the side and let 'er go, that's what I'm going to do." (Of course I was just kidding.) His laughing abruptly stopped and the silence that immediately spread throughout the shelter was just as funny to us. In a few minutes his wife came in the shelter, ready to bed down and he said," honey, get the ponchos." She asked, "Why do we need our ponchos?" He replied," Get the damn ponchos, they're gonna piss all over us tonight!" This may be one of those times when you had to be there to get the full impact but it was something that I still laugh about until I get tears in my eyes when I think of it. Luckily, we held our fluids until morning and our friends below stayed dry.

 

 The upper platform was so close to the roof that I couldn’t sit up without bumping my head on the rafters. After doing so several times I finally got settled in my fleece blanket. Kurt has woke up as the rest of us got ready for bed. He warned us to put the chain on the door even when we go out to the bathroom tonight. While he was thru-hiking in 1999, another hiker got up during the night and left the chain off. When he returned a bear was inside the shelter with Kurt still asleep! It woke him up when it licked his hair. He said he screamed and jumped out of the sleeping bag and started running for the door. The bear was as scared as he was and started for the door also. He said they both missed the door and started running in circles inside the shelter. About that time the outside guy came back and while still on the outside, shut the door. Kurt said he yelled as he passed the door the second time, "Open that door you S-O-B and let one of us out!" It was so funny as he was telling the story that we laughed till tears came to our eyes.
He said the bear was yelping like a dog that had been whipped and finally the "S-O-B" opened the door and the bear hit it first. He said he didn't sleep any the rest of that night.
The more I thought about this story the funnier it got to me and I chuckled about it several times during the night. But each time someone left during the night, they fastened the chain on the door.

 

Everyone except Tripper and me were asleep in just a few minutes and most of them were snoring. Tripper is doing well and has enjoyed the hike very much. It has been a very enjoyable trip for me also. We talked for a while and about the trail and views we have seen. Tripper’s favorite place has been Rocky Top and mine was the shelter at Derrick Knob.

 

October 9^th, 2002

 

More rain over night so the trail is going to be wet and slick again. Still a light drizzle falling. Low temperature last night was 54 degrees. Kurt is ready to go before daybreak and left without a word. Ralph, Tripper and I got up about the same time and started packing our gear. Once outside the shelter, I dropped the bear bag and Tripper sorted out our breakfast. We ate on the north side of the shelter where the wind was blocked off from us.   Ralph left as we were eating and we never saw him again. The rest of the crew were still sleeping. Our food has worked out well, we only have two extra cereals and I plan on eating them as we walk. The fog is very thick as we get ready to leave at 7:10 a.m. I set the camera up hoping for a miracle and it works, taking a picture of Tripper and me in front of the shelter with the fog closing in. 

 

The trail drops over 900 feet in the next mile, weaving through a mature hardwood forest. The fog gives the surroundings an eerie effect as we hike through it. Sometimes the visibility was no more than 15 feet. I have never seen it so thick while hiking. Wild hog activity is more abundant along the trail in this section. The trail is wider than normal to accommodate the horse traffic and we reach Mud Gap, 2 miles, in an hour and forty five minutes.   Tripper’s toe is hurting her today and we are a little slower. The fog has lifted some now and we have some decent views as we hike off the ridge line toward Shuckstack. The trail follows along the side of a deep ravine, one misstep and you’d fall 200 to 300 yards in some places. We make it to Birch Spring Gap, 2.7 miles in an hour and eighteen minutes. Tripper decided to change into her shoes here and we are going to take our lunch break. The water source is at the old Birch Spring shelter location, now only campsites, about 100 yards off the trail. Down in the hollow the fog was not as bad and I took a couple of pictures of the bear bag cable system. My camera was doing better now. I hiked with it this morning in my shirt pocket instead of hanging around my neck. I believe this helped dry it out, if that was the problem, and it seems to work fine now. If I’d thought of this when it first messed up I could have slept with it to dry it out. I missed some good shots the past two days because of it not working but at least it’s working now.

 

We boiled our water and made some hot chocolate to eat with our dinner. After a thirty minute break we headed toward Shuckstack. We reached Shuckstack ridge in an hour and two minutes, 1.2 miles. The fire tower is a steep .1 mile off the trail but well worth the effort. There is an old chimney and cistern there from the old house place where the fire warden lived as he watched for forest fires from the tower. The view from the fire tower is fantastic. Fontana Dam is visible and miles and miles of forest stretch out in every direction. We spent an hour taking in the view. It is 4 miles downhill to Fontana Dam. 

 

One of our most exciting moments occurred on this down hill stretch. We were hiking along, my mind was wandering and all of a sudden Tripper gasped very loud and jumped straight back, almost knocking me down. My first thoughts were she had seen a bear and my immediate instinct was to bark but she had surprised me so I couldn’t! So much for that idea. It turned out to be a 5 feet long black snake.   We decided to take our break here and watched the snake crawl off or at least that’s what I thought. When we left we saw he had climbed straight up the side of a huge Poplar. He was almost 12 feet high and climbing! I had never seen a snake climb a tree before.

 

We talked all the way down from here, reliving the moments we shared on the trail the past few days. There was just a hint of color in the trees but as soon as the leaves were turning they were dropping off. The trail was very pretty with different color leaves that had fallen off the trees. We finally reached the exit from the forest and level ground.   Thank God. We covered the four miles from Shuckstack in two hours and thirty five minutes. Wild hogs have been active here also, all the way up to the dam itself. As we walked across the dam I could see Shuckstack Fire Tower in the distance. I took a picture of it but the tower didn’t show up in the picture. Bummer. We reached the visitor center and the pay phone didn't work. It took the fifty cents I had carried just for this moment and never gave me a dial tone. I got change for a dollar from a tourist and when the first quarter didn’t drop correctly in the phone I didn’t feed it another.   The volunteer in the visitor center called The Hike Inn for me and Jeff picked us up in about 20 minutes. They had a room waiting for us and believe it or not, Tripper wanted to take a bath before getting something for supper. Well OK, we had done everything I wanted to do up to this time; I could let her take a bath before supper.

 

According to the Appalachian Trail Guide we had covered 31.3 miles of trail through some beautiful country. We had shared one of the best times of our marriage and we both hated to see it end.

 

Uncle Wayne and Tripper