The Great Smokey Mountains

After walking across Fontana Dam, the largest dam east of the Mississippi River, we trudged up into the Smokies. A long uphill climb thru Hemlock and hardwood forest. The Smokies were living up to there name with a dense fog surrounding us all day. Mid-afternoon the fog gave way to a light rain and we hit Russell Feild Shelter just in time. We settled into a our coldest night yet. Temps dropped to 26 degrees. We woke that morning to find a dusting of snow and ice covering the forest. I tried to wash out breakfast dishes but my camelback was frozen! The hike was spectacular. The woods were frozen solid and we made bad time because of all the picture taking. My one regret is not buying a new camera. My pictures will never do these mountains justice. By noon, We summited Rocky Top Mountain, TN. Great views of the frozen woods. you could look north down the ridgeline and see eastern slopes were clearing of the snow while the western slopes were still a solid white. It was a clear line between the two sides, Sparkling white and dreary brown on the other side. We pushed hard late that afternoon to the base of Clingmans dome and made camp at Silers Bald Shelter. The shelters in the park are pretty decent which is good because we are required to stay in them. No cowboy camping here! The shelters are built of stone, three sides, the fourth sid is loosl covered by a tarp. The roof is made of tin with the occasional plexiglass skylights and all have a indoor firplace. They are by no means air tight. A roaring fire does little for anyone sleeping in there. That night in the shelter with us was Rocket Girl, Spaceman, Gidget, Caps and Rango. The latter three were all from Norther Va. The forcast was for 2 inches of snow that night but we ended up with a some snow and a lot of hail. All night the roar of hail hitting the tin roof was deafening. For the most part I slept well. Its amazing the sleeping situations Im getting used to. Sabortooths snoring is a good example. It used to bother me now its just another noise in the night.
 The next morning we left the shelter and surprised two deer outside. They were unafraid and hiked along with us for over 200 yards. The hike to Clingmans was great. As we entered the higher elevations we walked in the spruce-fir forest. Huge frasir firs and red spruce covered the mountain sides. The forest floor was covered in a mixture of moss and snow. It was the prettiest forest ive ever walked thru. We were lucky to have spectacular views from the summit. The area is surprisingly heavily polluted and views are normally obscured, but we could easily see 20 miles to Fontana Resivior. The cold wind chased us off the observation tower rather quickly. Walking thru a heavily trafficked tourist area on a saturday we were getting stares from all directions. We looked pretty haggered I suppose. A family from Indiana were very interested. They took our pictures and asked us all kinds of questions. they were a little puzzeled at why someone would want to walk 2,000 miles in the woods. I asked them if they had a cheeseburger, they laughed and offered us Mountian Dew. We graciousy accepted. My "yogi" skills are getting pretty good. We enjoyed our beverages and then it was back to the woods. a short 4 miles to the Mt. Collins Shelter and we were home for the night. Shutter finally caught back up to us and he bragged about his toasty 15 degree sleeping bag as Blugrass and Sabortooth glared from a distance as they warmed there sleeping bag rocks in the fire.
The next two days were excellent hiking days. We made our way thru Newfound Gap, a road crossing, where we got some trail magic in the form of homemade chilli. Shutter headed into Gatlinburg for resupply we were back in the woods. I led the group thru a particular nice stretch of woods when Sabortooth formed a snow ball and knocked me upside the head. This was enjoyed by the whole clan but little does he know revenge will be swift. First chance i get, Im sneaking 10 pounds of rocks in his pack.
Hiking the final two days along the ridges all above 5,500 ft, "Lord of The Rings type shit" as Squirrel So eloquently put it, we were feeling pretty accomplished having nearly completed the trek of the smokies. Then before we could make it to the Firetower for some stealth camping a huge black croud formed behind us. We barley made it to Cosby  shelter before the storm came thru. Woke up the next morning to find 2 inches of snow! The smokies had the last laugh. It was a rather miserable trek those first couple miles up Mt. Cammerer. But we all enjoyed the long downhill, criss crossing the Pigeon River. It was way above normal levels which made crossing it a challenge. Sabortooth crossed one section using a particularly high downed tree. We all ended up wet but made it saftly to Standing bear hostel.(where im currently paying $2.00/15 mins for internet) So please excuse spelling and grammer! Living the dream!