“Enter Smokey”

AT Day 8

Miles: 18.20

Total Miles: 189.58

(Mollie Ridge Shelter, TN)

Today was the first day on trail that I set an alarm and actually stuck with it. Well, to be fair, I still slept in an extra fifteen minutes after hitting snooze. But what I mean is that I was motivated to get up and get to trail this morning. So much so that I was able to catch the sunrise while I sipped coffee.

Shoot–that’s what I didn’t get at the resupply–coffee. I’m going to be without caffeine for the next couple of days.

Based on the reputation I seem to be getting on trail, most of the hikers will probably say that is okay. A lot of people make comments about my energy. I’ve been trying to ride that wave the whole trail so far. I don’t know if it’s a high vibration that I can keep up for the whole time I”m out here, but I’d like to try. It’s kept me chipper, and I’ve seen it have the same effect on others. Some people maybe it annoys.

But I like rolling into camp, at the top of the biggest climb that we’ve seen so far on the AT, and arriving full of energy and excitement. I’ve been carrying beer with me back to trail, but not real beer. I’ve been carrying two NA beers out of towns, and when I get to dinner or to camp, it’s just felt so good to crack a beer. I tend to get sideways glances from the others, but I try to make it known that it’s NA, and that it’s really more just about the moment and the novelty of having it up here that makes carrying the extra weight up into the mountains worth it.

But this morning… I was onto something there… I was camped about 4 miles from the road where the shuttle to the Fontaine Lake Dam Resort shuttle picks up, and they shuttled me and two other hikers in to an all you can eat breakfast. Admittedly it wasn’t anything special, but it was all you can eat French toast sticks. So that was awesome. It’s places like this that I meet other hikers mostly. I hike faster than most of them, so I don’t really meet many on trail. But I like to chill with them in town or while I have dinner at the shelters.

I was able to get laundry and a pretty bare bones resupply from the general store that’s either going to carry me 40 or 60 miles, depending on how I’m feeling tomorrow. Mostly it’s a lot of junk food, because that’s about all that they had available to buy there, but I feel like I’m doing okay. I’m still doing the 10x pushups for every mile I hike every day, and Ive found that throwing my foam pad down on the dirt to do them makes it way easier. I feel really strong still. Amazingly, I’m 8 days in and feeling stronger than when I started. No alcohol probably helps. Shit… I was doing pull-ups at the shelter and was able to get a solid 18x, so I’m not really losing any upper body strength yet. It’s still early, but it’s promising.

I shuttled back with the other two hikers, got a shower at this fancy shelter by the lake dam, and then walked across the dam and into the third state of the trail: Tennis see. It also represented the entrance to Smokey Mountain National Park.

The rest of the day was basically up hill. I met some college kids at the top of one of the climbs where there was an old fire watch tower, and I blew some bubbles. That general store didn’t have shit for resupply, but it had bubbles. So I’ve added that to my base weight. It reminds me to slow down and be silly. I probably didn’t need the reminder on the latter.

Within the park however, I’m required to camp at designated camp sites or shelters, of which there are not a lot, compared to the frequency that I find them south of here along the AT. But I get it, this is a national park, and so they want to keep it less trampled.

The climb was a bit rough, but the air cooled when I got higher up and later into the day. Down low I used my umbrella to block the sun–a trick that I didn’t think I’d end up using out here. But up high it was more tollerable.

I got here, to this shelter and shared camping area a couple of hours ago. Another hiker was commenting that it’s the latest that she’s hiked into the day. It was by far the earliest that I’ve set camp since starting the trail. But it was either here or continue on for another 8 or 9 miles. I could have done it physically, but it seemed silly to do so. These mountains have been by far the most beautiful scenery that I’ve seen yet on trail, and I feel no rush to rush. I know that some people will still accuse me of doing so, but I’m consciously slowing down compared to my standard pace.

That said, tomorrow I think I’m going to do big miles. I’d like to maybe get 33. Or I could aim for 30, which will bring me to Newfound Gap, where I can hitch into Gatlenburg for resupply and a bunk at a hostel. But I think I may have enough (junk)food to get me through the park if I bust two big days. It’ll necessitate getting up early tomorrow, so I’m going to set an alarm, but if the day leads me to feel like slowing down, then I also have the option of just melting out, shortening my miles, and resupplying in Gatlenburg a day later. One more thing to consider however–there’s rain in the forecast starting Monday. I have two full days of clear weather before that, and thank God I’m in the park for the good weather and not the bad. But if I can do big miles in the good weather, then I can consider doing a zero day once I’m north of the park on Monday while I see how the weather plays out. I know I’ve been amazingly fortunate with weather so far. It rained and hailed that first day, but I was in such bliss that day that it didn’t matter. I can imagine that spirits at this mile of the trail would be a lot harder to keep high if it had been raining this whole time. I’m prepared for just that, but grateful that the weather has been so nice up to now.

Froze my ass off three nights back. Had the hostel in NOC two nights back. Last night was windy but comfortable. Tonight feels like it will be the same–windy but comfortable.

I’m really enjoying this experience of being on trail more than I even know how to say. It will not last, not like it feels right now. But right now it feels good.

Wormwood.