Week 22: Smokey Mountain High: Part I

May 28-29, 2010

I drove to the Smokey Mountains this weekend for some Smokey Mountain High hiking and camping. Along the way, I saw a sign just for DY. It was “Butts in the Air” BBQ to go with your Butt sauce. I arrived about 6:30 and set up my tent. I purchased some firewood from the stables at $3/bundle. This marks the first time in my life I’ve had to purchase firewood. For dinner I had an MRE of Beef Stew. Just add boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes. Easy enough and quite good for a packaged meal. I didn’t want to mess with a cooler so I packed food in a box. The rest of the night I read a book (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) and watched the fire. I was watching the fire when I saw a flash of light out of the corner of my eye. It was a Lightning Bug! I love Lightning Bugs and haven’t seen them in years. What is it about lights that people get mesmerized by them? I could stare at a campfire or at Lightning Bugs for hours, and I did this weekend. Which reminds me of that song I sang as a kid, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”

I slept like a log. There was a stream by the campground that lulled me to sleep. I woke up at first light and got ready for the first day of hiking. I packed my bag, put my boots on, and stopped by the ranger’s stations. I had stopped to figure out where I could park for today’s hike of the Appalachian Trail (AT). The guy told me all of these horror stories about people getting lost in the woods and needing to be rescued. Then he told me about bears and about all of the supplies that I needed. But he said “I’m not trying to scare you or anything.” Right…. I listened patiently until he was finished lecturing me and headed out.

My initial plan was Clingman’s Dome. Unfortunately, the road was closed and from the nearest parking it was 8 miles one-way. Too long. So I decided to just go out the trail a bit and turn around. I doused myself in bug spray and headed off. The AT is narrow and the trail is rough with roots and rocks. Surprisingly I made it through the day without injury. As I crested a hill, I walked into the fog. This was so cool. Walking through the misty forest with the sun rays shining down was aw inspiring! I continued south on the AT for about 1.5 miles or so. I had not seen a single person; I decided to turn around. I may be crazy about hiking by myself, but I try not to be stupid. One neat area on the AT was fenced off. It was to protect the beech trees from wild hogs that are not native to the area. They had some interesting gate-bridges on this part of the trail to get over the fence.

When I got back to the parking lot at Newfound Gap, I went North on the AT. This time I saw tons of people. Some boy scouts offered me lunch and some other hikers offered trail advice for the best views. And there were some marvelous views along the way. I saw birds, snails, and a deer. I hiked up to a Y in the trail and followed the signs for “The Jump Off”. When I got to the top of the mountain the trail continued, but this trail wasn’t on my map so I turned back and headed for the AT shelter. At the shelter I visited with 3 groups of 2 people. They were all backpacking to various places along the AT. The one older guy said “what is wrong with your generation of men, that you cannot find one to hike with.” Apparently he must have thought I was the bee’s knees. I visited with Pam and her husband; they were up for the weekend. We all talked about the cool technology of my latest gadget “Spot II.”

The clouds were rolling in and I didn’t want to get drenched so I headed back down. I decided to do “The Jump Off” trail after all. The folks at the AT shelter said it was an amazing view and not too long. They were right. Amazing and breathtaking views were found at the end of the trail. I snapped a ton of pictures and sent one off to LC and the wine group. (While you guys were guzzling fermented grapes at the festival, I burned off all of your calories, lol!) I got back to my sight and was starving. Tonight’s menu was lasagna with meat sauce. I was completely impressed. It was pretty good. I cleaned up as best I could. No showers, so I should be quite ripe by Monday. As I was reading my book, the guys in the site next to me invited me over for some campfire stories. The J.E.M.S were a nice bunch and were quite entertaining. They go on a camping trip every Memorial Day together and go fishing. As of today “M” did not catch any fish, I think it had something to day with falling and hugging a tree. “S” however is the All-American fisher and serenades everyone in the morning. More to come in Part II about the J.E.M.S.

Total mileage for today: 10, give or take a couple tenths.