Graduate of Bergton Elementary (Class of ’65)
I’m sure you have heard of the Appalachian Trail. It extends the length of the east coast for 2198.4 miles, from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Mount Katahdin, Maine. After finishing classes at ETSU my friend and I decided to “do” the trail through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This mountainous section of the Appalachian Trail tracks about 70 miles along the North Carolina and Tennessee border, with elevations rising well above 6000 feet.
My friend Jim was a Vietnam Vet and loved the outdoors. We both had done a lot of overnight camping but this extended trip required more planning than usual. A permit and reservations for shelters were required by the park, so they had some idea of where we were in the event of an emergency. And there was no place to restock supplies once we started the journey. All necessities (sleeping bags, food, water, extra clothes, cooking equipment, etc.) had to be carried our new backpacks. Luckily, we had a friend in our dorm that was from Townsend, TN. His parents ran a store just outside of the park and were willing to help us reserve the shelters and give us a ride to our drop off point. The trek, as planned, would take 7 days and 6 nights.
Finally, the day arrived for departure! We dropped off my orange Vega at our friend’s house and his mother drove us, on a back road, to the northern boundary of the park. Other than an AT trail marker, there was nothing there but a pull-off with just enough room to get the car off the road. Without much fanfare, we started our journey.
The first shelter was 8 miles away at Cosby Knob, and was a welcome sight after a vertical climb of 2800 ft., in a chilly misty drizzle. I was a little surprised when 8 fellow trail hikers arrived at the shelter for the night. Just before dark, a couple arrived with the man showing possible symptoms of hypothermia. One of the campers told them “ I don’t know your status, but you better jump in that sleeping bag to get him warmed-up”! This was a remote area so we were glad he seemed to be OK the next morning.
The Smoky Mountains are well named. Heavy dew dampens everything overnight, and the mist and clouds don’t move out until 10-11 in the morning. We learned quickly to keep kindling wood and matches in a plastic bag to keep them dry for a fire in the mornings. Also, we found that there were mice everywhere. At night we had to hang our backpacks from the ceiling and strip a tin can over the string to keep them from getting into our precious food.
The next shelter was at Tricorner Knob (7.5 mi). After an additional 1300 ft climb, the trail continued at elevations between 5000 ft and 6000 ft. We made a short side trip to Mt. Guyot, which at 6621 ft. is the second highest peak in the Smokies (I wasn’t that impressed – not much of a view and mostly brush). However, the hike from Old Black Mountain to Tricorner Knob was absolutely beautiful with the trail winding through large spruce trees and a forest floor covered with a thick mat of clover and moss.
At Tricorner shelter, we met a serious thru-hiker from New Zealand. He showed-up at dusk, immediately crawled into his sleeping bag outside of the shelter, built a small fire, cooked his supper while lying in the sleeping bag, and was gone at daylight. He was probably covering over 40 miles a day.
All of the shelters were similar. They were constructed of logs with heavy wire fencing across the front and a door that was usually worse for wear and had to be tied shut. Similar wire was stretched across a log frame so you didn’t have to sleep on the ground. Some of the shelters had a second row of wire above to accommodate more people. The shelters would sleep 8-12 people, maybe more, depending on the remoteness of the location. They provided rustic but welcome protection for the night and during inclement weather. There was usually a pump or spring available for cooking and drinking water.
A few miles before arriving at the next shelter at Ice Water Springs (13 mi), we came to Charles Bunion. There, the trail was cut through a rock cliff that offered fantastic views and a sheer drop-off on one side that made me a bit uncomfortable. If you are in the Smokies and want a serious day hike, this would be a good one. It’s about a 9-mile round trip north, from Newfound Gap.
At this point we were almost halfway through the Smokies. I hadn’t planned on a two-part adventure, but I’ll have to continue in next month’s issue of the Chimney Rock Chronicle.
Until then!
R.D. Cullers
Graduate of Bergton Elementary (Class of ’65)
