OPEHIKES

Woke abruptly at 3 in the morning to the sound of thunder in the bunkhouse at Standing Indian… turns out, this was just the elusive Mike (the dog guy) who wasn’t in the bunk next to me when I went to bed. I woke up early the next morning and gathered food from the hostels pantry for a resupply and took off to climb some mountains. Snowbird being the biggest out of my two day stretch to Hot Springs, it was a good warm up first thing in the morning, 3000 feet up over 4 miles, my legs were on fire.  Mid afternoon and making my way over Snowbird, I stumbled down towards Brown Gap where I had planned on taking a “pack off” break and eating lunch. The downhill was graded rather nicely and it made the walk a little more enjoyable. As I reached the gap I noticed a wooden sign placed off the side of the trail, us hikers usually stop to look at the wooden signs because they tell you where you’re at, what attractions/features are close by, etc. This one happened to read “Trail Magic Ahead”. O...

A night in Gatlinburg well spent. Dozer, 109 and I emerged from the hotel early in the morning and wandered into town for a quick bite to eat. We had planned on stopping at the outfitter for a few items and a shuttle out of town but we arrived entirely too early for that. Sitting on the stoop to the NOC, dialing shuttle numbers appeared to be unsuccessful. Meanwhile a man in an old pickup truck pulled into the parking lot, eyeing us down he knew for sure that he found a handful of hikertrash. “Y’all heading up to Newfound Gap?”, we certainly were. A brief conversation and we were all piling in and on our way. Dozer, thinking quick made sure to snap a picture of the license plate before we left.  We arrived at Newfound Gap 15 miles later and what felt like an hour long car ride up the mountain. The man provided some sodas and snacks as trail magic and we set off to complete the second half of the Smokys.  The weather for the next few days looked promising, no rain or heavy wind...

I started my day at the Fontana Hotel, it was still pretty early and I was excited to grab some breakfast. I stumbled my way out the door and down to the reception area to see what was on the menu…  individually wrapped muffins and a shot of orange juice. It’s not much, but I’ll take it! I finished eating, grabbed my backpack and made my way towards the shuttle that was provided by the Hotel. Yashua drove me back down to the Marina where I left off as to not miss an inch trail. I stepped off towards the dam, following the edge of the water for roughly two miles, eventually reaching the famous “Hilton” shelter that was erected next to the lake. Checking it out for a brief moment and taking a moment to talk to three other hikers Tink, Double Time and Mike (the dog guy). I ventured down the roadway towards the Dam that was currently under construction, gazing up into the Smoky’s where the peaks of the mountains were completely isolated by clouds. The rain had started to pick up and I ...

I caught a ride out of Robbinsville early in the morning. Craig was nice enough to drive me back up to the trailhead at Stecoah Gap. The weather was looking a bit dismal but the temperatures were supposed to be tolerable. I set off at roughly 9am towards Fontana, a 16ish mile hike for the day, the elevation appeared to be flatter between the two waypoints with the exception of Jacob’s Ladder right off the rip. A thousand foot climb that spans roughly one half mile. Difficult, but doable. After my ascent up Jacob’s Ladder I came across a lovely hiker named Tink. A lady from Ontario who had already completed her trek Southbound 5 years prior who wanted to experience the trail Northbound. We shared a brief conversation about her hiking partner who had just stepped off trail and she seemed happy to be hiking at her own pace now. The day continued on and roughly 10 miles from Fontana you could start to see Fontana lake through the trees, a milestone for sure. The next few days would be spen...

I started off the day at the NOC, trying to get the last bit of juice into my electronic devices before setting off. 10 o’clock rolled around and I decided that it was getting too late to wait any longer if I wanted to get any sort of substantial mileage in. I unplugged and packed up, stumbled out the door and made my way towards the trail. It was damp and cold as it rained throughout the night.  The climb out of the NOC took a majority of my day on the trail as it was 4000’ up over 10 miles. Halfway through the climb the storm clouds rolled in again, the views were skewed and I was slightly disappointed as Cheoa Bald at the top was supposed to be a fantastic scenic point. As I got near the top I stopped to talk to an older gentleman named Mike who was slackpacking his way to Fontana where he would eventually get off and wait for his friend to start his journey in March at Springer and they would hike out together into the Smokies.  I pulled over on the trail shortly after at ...

Early start at Wayah Bald Shelter. I ate my breakfast in a timely fashion and set off before 8. The next destination was the Nantahala Outdoor Center. A neat adventure park that’s placed directly on the trail. I stepped off slow and steady, a 16 mile day with plenty of time to get there I walked slowly, hopefully slow enough to help everything heal.  The views were excellent, the weather was perfect, I took the blue blaze to the top of Rocky Bald and they DIDNT NOT disappoint. I sat there for a few moments to take it all in, by take it all in I mean a handful of snacks.  Climbing down into Tellico Gap was a breeze, I was feeling better, knees were holding up and my Achilles wasn’t bothering me at this point. I took my time and pressed on to Wesser Bald, a 1000 foot climb to the top but well worth the effort. As I made my way up, I ran into Dozer filtering his water on the side of the trail, we stopped to chat for a moment and discussed evening plans.  The top of Wesser Ba...