(3/7) The Highest Point of the Trail
Last night was cold. Very cold. We stayed in Derrick Knob shelter, which had quite a draft. Without wind chill the temperature was in the single digits. And the wind was very strong (60 mph gusts if I had to guess). I was by-no-means in danger, but I definitely wasn’t comfortable or able to sleep very well. After our cold night we packed up pretty late, hoping for the temperature to increase and for the wind to die down.
When we got on the trail, after a quick breakfast of pop tarts and granola bars, it was still very cold and blustery. I was wearing literally every article of clothing I have with me, and I’m pretty sure that Tyler was doing the same. Even so, we were rather cold throughout the morning. So far, the Smokies had been a pleasant trail, but the clouds and fog were preventing us from seeing our surroundings which were probably gorgeous.
We had hiked for a couple hours when Tyler told me to stop and look at the sky, which I thought was strange. But then he pointed out a patch of blue sky breaking through the thick fog and clouds. This was the first time we had seen blue sky in over 5 days. With our excitement brimming, we continued to hike as the clouds eventually cleared.
Before too long there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun had warmed the day up from 20 degrees to 45. I went from wearing every layer to just my shorts and t-shirt. And we were greeted by the sight of mountains we had hiked but not really been able to see.
The trail quickly gained elevation throughout the morning and before too long the woods changed from the hardwoods we had been hiking through since Georgia into a more comforting old-pine forest with large softwoods and minimal undergrowth besides grass. As we gained elevation we were able to see all of the Smoky Mountains around us.
Eventually we reached the peak of the trail: Clingman’s Dome. This is the highest point on the entire AT with an elevation of 6644 feet. This mountain range is notorious for being cloudy. We were told that less than 1 out of every 8 days is clear. And we just so happened to have a clear day. The view from the tower on top of Clingman’s Dome was incredible.
At the base of the tower we met another couple through hikers who talked with us for a bit. Tyler recognized them as YouTubers, named Kamper and Screwball. The interplay between technology and nature out here is kind of strange but I look forward to watching their videos when we finish hiking. After talking for a bit we headed up the tower.
We could see mountains we had hiked days ago, and mountains we will hike several days from now.
But the view from the tower was not our best view of the day. The woods themselves were gorgeous and the trail had overlooks every quarter mile or so. Unfortunately with my phone dead I was unable to get pictures. Pictures won’t do it justice anyway, but I will find some online of the range we were hiking so you get the idea.
At every overlook all we could see were cascading, jagged mountain ranges, where a peak quickly drops 2000 feet to a valley before jumping back up to another peak. And behind every ridge there was another, taller point. As we looked closer to the horizon, the mountains took on the blue haze of the sky, and eventually the only thing that separated them was a rough faint line.
We had to force ourselves to keep moving. Despite the beauty of the ridge we ended up hiking 21 miles to Icewater Creek Shelter, arriving just over an hour before sunset. Pretty soon we had set up our sleeping bags on the top level of the shelter, eaten dinner, and talked to the other hikers, some of whom were through hiking (nobody we had met before).
There were two older guys hiking together, Bear Paw and Chili Head. There were also several section hikers.
Tomorrow we are planning another big-mile day. We will probably hike over 20 again to get to Cosby Knob shelter. We expect another day of perfect weather.
Goodnight.
I love this post! Your descriptive writing enables me to visualize your day and surroundings. Thank you!
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