Franklin to the Smoky Mountains
After the zero day in Franklin, it was time to hit the trail again. Dan had scheduled three nights to reach the Smoky Mountains, where we would be hiking at our highest elevations so far. The days getting there had their own challenges.
First up was the hike to the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) which the trail goes directly through. The descent down to the river valley was notoriously steep, with an actual, walk-in-the-door-off-the-trail, restaurant at the bottom. The weather forecast was not looking good, and many of the other hikers were planning to wait it out at the Wesser Bald shelter just before the descent.
We decided to push on rather than take a wait for the weather all day. The view from the top was a sweeping vista with mountains hovering on the horizon. At first, the trail dropped very steeply and suddenly along a narrow path. After the first half mile, it levelled out and became more reasonable.
That night we stayed at Gorgeous Stays; more than just a hostel, the owner Elena has taken several forms of transportation and turned each into a camper with it’s own theme. There’s a red double decker bus with a Harry Potter theme, a small caravan with flamingo’s, a canine cabin, and several more. Laundry, loaner clothes, and small self-serve kitchen were available.
The next day the storm hit, and the other hikers at Gorgeous stays took a break from walking. Except Dan, he went out into the storm and made the arduous climb out of NOC. I chose to linger in our flamingo themed caravan and wash some laundry. When I joined him after the rain, it was still misty and mysterious, but no longer pouring rain.
We continued on towards Fontana Dam. The shelter on the lake there is known as ‘The Hilton’ because it is more protected from the eements, has hot showers, and a great view of the lake. If it were a real Hilton, the view alone would be worth an extra 100 dollars.
As we were packing up our tent and heading to the Next Big Climb (4200 feet over 11 miles) we realised it was Easter Sunday. The climb from Fontana Dam to the Mollies Ridge Shelter is the first real haul – but worth every step. As we climber higher the lake spread out below us sparkling in the bright spring sun.
When we got to Mollies Dan and I found the busiest shelter we seen since Hawks Shelter, with easily 20 people. A lot had taken 1 or even 2 days off, waiting for the weather to improve, so it had created a bubble of hikers. Everyone was in a good mood – it had been a beautiful sunny day, and we had entered the Smokies!