Day 19 - Gatlinburg, TN - Mile 205

Trevor is overnighting in Gatlinburg and plans to hit the trail again tomorrow.  He and Mountaineer found a room at the Grand Prix Inn for $30 (combined)!  I told him to check for bedbugs and he just laughed!

He said they crossed Fontana Dam early on Wednesday and traveled 16 miles to the Spence Field Shelter.  He said within minutes of arriving at the shelter it started to rain and it continued all night.  He said the rain sounded like a jet engine hitting the metal roof and it was terribly cold.  The shelter was designed for 12 but they stuffed 14 people inside and fortunately everyone stayed dry.  By Thursday morning the rain had stopped, but Trevor said it was very cold (never above 34 f).  He regretted sending back his gloves so early, but made dual duty of an extra pair of wool socks by wearing them on his hands!

They traveled 14 miles on Thursday to the Double Spring Shelter.  Trevor said the terrain on Thursday was all up and down and he rarely had a flat run where he could gain good speed.  He saw a few snowflakes that day and when they arrived at the shelter they all ate dinner quickly and went to bed early so they could warm up in their sleeping bags.  When Trevor awoke this morning he said there was ½ inch of snow on the ground and the water in the tube of his camel back had frozen!

Today they summited Clingman’s Dome, which is the highest point on the entire trail at 6643 ft.  He said Clingman’s Dome was awesome and there was about 1 inch of snow at the summit.  He climbed an observation tower there and said he got some great pictures.  Since the mountain is so tall he was above the cloud cover, which was hovering around 4000 ft. and he had blue skies and it seemed like he could see forever.  Only the mountain tops exceeding about 4000 ft. were poking above the cloud cover.  Although I don't have his pictures yet, I've found a few pictures from the internet that show the observation tower and the view when there is cloud cover.

I asked again about bears and he said in talking to locals the bears have come out of hibernation but generally stay at lower elevations this time of the year.  I guess it’s a good time to hike through the Smoky’s and avoid the bears!

After enjoying the views at Clingman’s Dome, he, Mountaineer, and Fin had to hustle to get to Newfound Gap by 1pm to meet Fin’s girlfriend and get a ride into Gatlinburg.  Trevor said it was a slippery decent down to the Gap at 5000 feet because the rainwater had frozen on the rocks.  Fortunately, they all made it down safely.

When they got to Newfound Gap they ran into a bunch of tourist that offered them fried chicken, doughnuts, and soda.  Trevor said the Trail Angels and their trail magic was great!

After resupplying in the morning, he, Fin, and Mountaineer plan to hit the trail by noon and hike 10 miles to Pecks Corner Shelter.  If things go as planned they hope to arrive in Davenport on Monday where they will overnight and resupply at the Standing Bear Hostel.