Make it count: Day #13

Wednesday, March 25 - Day # 13 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 15.5
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 135.9/2,193 (6.20%)
Wayah Shelter to Rufus Morgan Shelter (tent at Rufus Morgan Shelter)
Total ascent - 2,632’
Total descent - 5,252’
Total States Completed - 1/14

Bounce-Back Day! I love these days. Yesterday - I got knocked down (literally knocked off the trail). Shaking it off and coming back for more builds character. Today was one of those character building days.

Last night was one of the worst storms I can ever remember. High winds, lighting, thunder, heavy rains. The lightning was right on top of me. Light, crack — BOOM. My Big Agnes tent held up to the test. At one point - 1 of the corners almost blew in. I was also worried about getting washed away in a flash flood. I don’t know how many inches of rain this area received yesterday - but it was a bunch.

About 2am it mostly stopped. I was actually able to sleep mostly from 2-7am. When I got out of my tent - the shelter folks were yelling down to me to make sure I was OK. They indicated they were generally concerned for my well being. I had backup - if my tent blew over - I had a dry sac with clothes and the shelter folks told me last night I could come join them at any time if it got too bad. Backup is nice to have - this is one of the main reasons I chose the AT over over trails. If I was completely alone last night - with no people or shelters near by - that would have been a very dangerous situation. The older gentleman I saw collecting water last night asked me: “How did the tent hold up?” I said: “It did OK - it kept me dry”. He replied: “It’s not going to get any worse than that - you’re good”. This guys like my guardian angel - he’s my Clarence from “Its a Wonderful Life”.

It’s 9:25pm now - I’m currently in my tent at the Rufus Morgan Shelter. This place is awesome. The weather improved throughout the day. The afternoon was sunny and very pleasant. I got into camp around 4:45pm. I was able to dry out some gear while I cooked dinner. My tent is setup by this flowing brook. Perfect sleeping location - peaceful!

Today’s hike was solid. I took my time. It’s fun running into people along the way. I either know or have seen most people going my pace. I had a chance to hike with Tyler for a couple of miles. My original Tramily (Nora, Maddy, Abby, Triple-B, Wilson, Josh, Pepper) are at the shelter 5 miles back. They’ve been doing shorter days.

So — the big thing going on right now on the AT — the Smokey Mountain National Park is closed (as of noon yesterday) due to Covid-19. We’re trying to get confirmation if the AT Trail is closed through the park - but this appears to be the case. The AT passes through the Smokies from Mile #164 (Fontana Dam) to Mile #239 (Davenport Gap)

This will have HUGE implications. If the Smokies are closed - I’ll try to get a shuttle to bring me to Davenport Gap and then I’ll continue northbound - bypassing the Smokies for the time being. Hopefully - if things improve with Covid-19 — I can come back and do the Smokies later. It really only takes 5-7 days to complete this 75 mile section. I could come back - complete it - then return to where I left off going northbound. It’s still a thru-hike. There’s actually a strategy called flip-flopping - where people due Georgia to mid-way north - then they get transported to Maine and go southbound until they hit the point where they stopped. It doesn’t matter how you do the trail - you just got to do it in 1-year to be considered a successful thru-hiker.

This is all confusing and not optimal - but - these are the conditions that present themselves. All kinds of chatter on trail trying to figure this thing out. I have a tentative shuttle leaving from Fontana Dam scheduled at 8am on this Saturday morning. $200 for 2 people. An additional $20/person up to 6 people max. I gotta talk this out with people on the trail tomorrow. It’s roughly a 2-hr drive to bypass the National Park.

With all the other stuff happening - I still have 2 big days to get to Fontana Dam. Tomorrow is a BIG day. The day starts with a 3,500’ vertical climb. What??? Yes - eat your Wheaties and make it happen. Wish me luck - how far I go depends on how well I handle that mountain.

Good night from a peaceful campsite setting in the southwestern woods of Carolina. Here’s to a solid day tomorrow (both hiking and logistics wise)