Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 107 – Clingmans Dome highpoint
10th November 2023
Mt Collins Shelter (1995.6) - Russell Field Shelter (2017.6)
Daily miles: 22.6
Total miles: 2005.7
I had a good nights sleep. It was nice and toasty in the shelter and it was 3:30am before I had to blow up my mat.
Howard, who was right next to me, had gone when I woke up and I hadn’t heard a thing. Just before 6am the whole shelter started packing up and it felt a little stressful because everyone was moving so quickly.
Leaving the shelter in the dark
It was a little drizzly to start with and I got scared and put on my full waterproofs. I hiked out with Toe and May Queen and very soon after we left we took all our layers off. It was misty but not raining and not cold.
We were also climbing up to Clingmans Dome which is the highest point on the AT and the highest point in Tennessee. May Queen was moving I would say unusually slowly and I was able to keep up with her and Toe went off a lot faster because it was uphill. I hiked with May Queen and somehow I was in the lead as we went up through the mossy forest and climbed up rocks and roots as we made our way to the top. I don’t know if she was happy behind me but she didn’t ask to pass. We tried to make the time go quicker by talking about all different sports.
Hiking with Toe and May Queen
The mist descended
We made it to Clingmans dome and it was the exact same experience I had last time I was here. Completely covered in cloud, slightly raining, no views and cold wind. Last time however I didn’t bother walking up to the top of the observation tower because there were no views and I was on my own. This time May Queen and I went to the top snapped a photo and ran - literally ran - down. It was getting cold in the wind.
Clingmans Dome
We ran to the top
No views but still pretty
The mist amongst the tree tops
Selfie!
Let’s take one with the view!
We then joined Toe, Jet and Thigh High and we all walked to the Double Spring shelter together where there was water. We passed the 2000 mile marker on the way. At the shelter I made a hot chocolate because everyone else was making stuff and it was only 10ish so I wasn’t going to eat lunch. Not that I had anything to eat for lunch.
Hiking with May Queen and Jet
Celebrating reaching the 2000 mile mark
Not far to go now!
Lunch break
I hiked out with Professor and we chatted until we were caught up by Toe and Jet as we were dilly dallying, then Thigh High, Neptune and Late Start caught up and we were hiker training it. Professor fell behind and I was in the middle of the train for a while, but I dropped to the back when we started going uphill and Toe was absolutely crushing it on the ups and I would then fall behind and catch back up on the downs.
Hiking with Professor
Still misty
Hiker train – Toe, Jet, Thigh High, Neptune, Late Start
We came to the next shelter where we got more water - from a not so great piped spring - and I ate the rest of my crisps, but it got really cold really quickly and I didn’t stay long before moving on. There was also a bit of an odd character there who Rabbit Foot had warned us about on our group chat. I hiked out with Professor again and he was hiking my pace uphill which was great because it meant I could keep up with him. We talked a bit but we are also both people who need to breathe and don’t need to be talking all the time so we hiked and chatted on and off.
Trying to keep warm
We were mostly just trying to keep warm as the weather had taken a turn and the temperature had dropped from about 11°C / 51°F down to 6°C / 42°F and It was very cloudy and misty and it was kind of raining I think. It could have been blobs coming off the trees but it seemed a bit too much for that. It was all we could do to keep moving to keep warm.
I had my gloves on and it was quite a while of going uphill before it got warm enough to take them off. We started going up and it got steeper and steeper and we were going very, very slowly. It just seemed to keep getting steeper. Robin Hood caught up to us and we all hiked together for a bit. We went steep down and then started climbing again up to Thunderhead mountain. Thankfully by now the weather had improved slightly and it wasn’t quite so wet and freezing cold, but our feet were wet and cold and uncomfortable still. The trail over the last couple of days had been so nice and not many leaves, but the leaves were back and abundant and wet. No chance at all of dry feet.
The mist cleared
We reach Thunderhead mountain where there are no views because of the trees and on the way down the hiker train – Thigh High, Jet, Neptune, Late Start all lead by Toe – catch up to us. We walked along the ridge to Rocky Top where there were views across the Smokies for the first time that day, actually when I was hiking up the hill with Professor we saw the sun for the first time and it was so low in the sky we felt it was like sunrise but it was already 3:30pm
Views on Rocky Top
The sun!
Views from Rocky Top
Hikers on Rocky Top
Robin Hood
Neptune
Me, laughing at the picture I just took of Neptune
Turned out to be a nice day
Friends!
We stop and appreciate the views of the clouds low in the valley and the sun coming through the clouds. We only have 1.5 hrs of light left so we move on. I keep up with the hiker train for a while and then we start going uphill and I really need to pee. I’ve needed to pee for about a couple of hours now. I’ve been drinking a lot today. The heavy breathing and air have been drying my mouth out.
Hiker train
I finish the uphill and the I absolutely fly down the other side to catch up with them. I don’t see them and at first I think my efforts are futile but I hear them and continue on. I catch up with them just as they arrive at the next shelter and where they planned to get water. I drank the last of mine because I was thirsty and we were about to get more.
We ran in to May Queen, Hendrix and Howard having come back from getting there water. It had taken them 45 minutes!! Not something we wanted to do. So we decided to push it to the next shelter where there were reports of a puddle you can collect from. We risked it. Before we left I asked if everyone had enough water between us to have enough spare so I could take an Aleve tonight. I didn’t care about eating hot food I just wanted to know if I could take my pain killer! That was a yes so we carried on.
I hiked with Thigh High for the first time properly and we had a good chat. He hiked behind me on the PCT in 2016 and we established that we had loads of mutual friends in common but we never met.
The light through the trees
With Jet in the lead and us chatting the whole way we made it the 3 miles to the shelter really quickly. It was a bit weird when we arrived as there were people’s belongings there but no people. They were just coming back from collecting water and we made our way down there too. It was a 0.3 side trip but without our packs it didn’t seem too bad.
We found the stream and the puddle just as it was getting dark. Our head lights weren’t doing that great a job with the cloud that had settled in. Just before we went down there I put on my waterproof trousers and I was glad I did because it was cold. We all filled up our water capacities. Normally the bladders are king when it comes to filling up from difficult water sources but this time the smart water bottles had it and they were used to fill the bladders from a puddle.
We all hiked together back to the shelter and it was now very dark, very cold and very misty. The plan was to eat dinner here and then carry on to the next shelter 3 miles away. There was some debate as to whether we should carry on or just stay here. It was cold, dark and wet and my preference was to stay here where I knew there was room in the shelter. Howard and Robin Hood were already decided on staying here, and it only meant 2.5 more miles on to tomorrow which meant 15 miles instead of 13.
If we hadn’t stopped here to get water I would have just carried on to the next shelter but as we had stopped I got really cold and had no motivation to get going again. Everyone else, apart from Neptune, decided to stay here too. It was such a miserable night and the hope was it would be a lot better in the morning.
Neptune has this weird thing where if he says he is going to a shelter he has to go there. Stubbornness can be a strength but it can also be a weakness.
After this decision was made I heated up some noodles and I tried to eat them as fast as possible so I could then get into the shelter and get out of these clothes and into my sleep clothes and get warm in my sleeping bag.
I ate noodles which were a little crunchy and because of the wind went cold incredibly quickly. They were disgusting. I’m struggling with food. I don’t want to eat any of it and I’m enjoying none of it.
In the shelter it was a lot nicer out of the wind, but I was still really cold and it took a while to actually move and get myself organised, and it was a crazy amount of time before I took my shoes off.
In this moment I have never felt so ready to be done with this hike. I don’t like being cold and wet and I am looking forward more than ever to have some home comforts and some convenience. Turning on the tap for water. Going to the toilet and flushing it. Going to the supermarket and eating fresh things. Being clean and smelling nice…
The weather outside is still gross and I’m lying here in my sleeping bag willing my toes to warm up and listening to the drops of rain on the shelter. I’m hungry (hence my mood!). Tomorrow is a town day and the option for hot food will be there. I’m thirsty but I don’t want to drink anything because I will then have to get up and pee in the night. Best to be dehydrated.
The whole shelter had settled down and was quiet by just after 8pm.
