I could feel the panic slowly creeping up on me. It was getting late and I had no service on my phone. If no one showed up I would be stuck here.

I had been lucky to get to the trail head at Fontana Dam when I did. Another ten minutes and the small shop in the Marina would have been closed. But I had made it just in time and was able to ask the store clerk to call the hotel shuttle to come pick me up. I was told it would arrive in 15 minutes. 

It was now half an hour later and the parking lot was more or less deserted. 

I had hiked 28.5 miles with a lot of elevation. Hiking another 2.5 miles into Fontana Dam Village Resort was the last thing I wanted to do. Camping out in the parking lot was even less appealing.

I started pacing back and forth while keeping an eye out for the shuttle, hoping it would appear around the corner. It didn’t. So when the store clerk got into his car to drive home for the night I decided to seize the opportunity.

”You going to Fontana Dam Village Resort?”

”No.”

”Would you mind taking me? I’ll pay you.”

”How much?”

Eight dollars later I was checked into my reserved room at the Fontana Lodge. My best spent dollars on trail so far.

Entering The Smokies

Although the shuttle arrived the next day to take me back to trail, it turned up almost one and a half hours later. Luckily I had the company of Drew, a hiker I met at Chica’s and Sunset’s hostel in Franklin. 

”Did you see the weather forecast?”

He took up his phone.

”Yeah… it doesn’t look good. Showers and thunderstorms for almost the entire weekend”.

Unlike the other trails, I’d set out to hike this trail completely on my own. But I missed having someone to reason and discuss with. Like whether or not to hike out when the weather was supposed to be bad. Now I took comfort in the fact that I wasn’t the only one who was hiking out.

With the shuttle being late, we didn’t hike into The Great Smoky Mountains National Park until 1.30 pm in the afternoon. With the forecast promising rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon I felt rushed and soon got ahead of Drew. I wanted to reach the shelter that was 17 miles from Fontana Dam. 

As I was making my way I met a couple that were out for what seemed like a leisurely hike. They stopped briefly when they met me.

”You look like you’re on a mission.”

”I kinda am.”

I gave them a quick smile and kept going but it didn’t really matter. Not long after I passed the couple the rain started to pour down. I got into camp soaked to the bone. 

But at least the rain had stopped and I was able to setup my tent under a somewhat clear sky. 

Clingman’s Dome and 200 miles

The Smokies are a big milestone on the AT. It’s the first national park on trail and as such it requires a permit. You are also required to stay at the areas around the shelters.

So when I passed the highest point on trail, Clingmans’s Dome, I decided to cut the day short when the sky yet again looked ominous. I stopped eight miles before my planned shelter, worried I’d be caught in a thunderstorm if I kept pushing on until the next shelter. 

But when the bad weather never came in I started to regret my decision. Since one of the shelters were closed due to aggressive bear behavior, my next day would either have to be really long or really short. And I didn’t really prefer either option. 

Still, I had completed 200 miles and the highest point on trail and decided to call the day a success. 

Exiting The Smokies

The next day, after hiking 21 miles, I’d reached one of the possible shelters at 3 pm. 

I was torn. Normally I’d typically finish hiking and get into camp at around 7 pm. I could keep pushing another 14.6 miles to the next shelter and get in late (and wake up everyone), or I could stay where I was and do a long day the next day. As I was contemplating my next move, the first few raindrops started to fall. 

I decided to stay. 

The next day I woke up to the worst condensation in my tent I’ve ever experienced on any trail. The slighest touch of my inner tent made it drip with water. It was pointless to try and shake it off, so I packed up my wet gear and hiked out early to finish the last 18 miles out of The Smokies. And while a lot of people take a break to spend the night inside at Standing Bear Hostel right off trail, I’d decided to keep going into the small trail town of Hot Springs. 

Sweat, rain and chafe

Having skipped dinner the night before, I made sure to at least stop at the hostel to have a pizza while drying out my gear. 

When I hiked out again the humid heat hit me like a wall. It didn’t take long before my entire body was soked in sweat. Not long after that it was yet again soaked by rain. 

The combination of both sweat and rain had made my body chafe. I’d dealt with chafe on my hips before on both the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail. But now it was also on my back, making me itch. And a much harder place to remedy.

On top of that my hiking clothes were still wet from the rainforest-like climate in The Smokies, making my pack and tent smell like a wet dog.

I was dying for a shower and clean clothes. 

Motivated by the thought of being dry and clean I kept pushing towards Hot Springs. 

After crossing Max Patch I reached Roaring Fork Shelter. 

I had hiked 34 miles, my biggest day on trail up until that point.