McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 12/02/2024 | AT Mile 2013.4 | Day Total: 19.1 miles | Gain: 4931ft

Another chilly morning in the Smokies. It was 19 in the shelter and the temperature dropped to 13 when I stepped outside. Water bottles were mostly frozen. I had to warm the caps up with my hand before I was able to open them. I warmed up some water and dumped it into them to melt the ice and prevent them from freezing while I’m hiking.

After making breakfast and packing up I ventured out into the cold. I’ve got a little over 3 miles to Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the whole AT.

On my way to Clingmans Dome I hiked up Mt Collins. Not really a view here, just a wooded summit. The trail descends a little before the last push up to Clingmans Dome.

Recently the name for Clingmans Dome has changed to Kuwohi. All the signs still say “Clingmans Dome” though.

The climb up wasn’t too bad. Like yesterday I started with all my layers on then soon shed a layer. As I got closer to the top I saw a glimpse of the large foundation cylinders that support the dome to my left. A few paces later I was on n the side trail to the base. A rather large ramp leads to the top.

It was a bit foggy/cloudy this morning but it quickly cleared up to beautiful blue sky’s and sun! Yet it was still pretty frigid. The view from the top was stunning! I only stayed up there for a few minutes because it was quite windy.

It’s all downhill from here! Not really… I descended down to Double Spring Gap Shelter and on my way pasted another good view sobo. I took a short snack break at the shelter before continuing on.

After that little break, I walked to Silers Bald. I had a few views towards it before I reached it. It was interesting to see how the trees would be frosted on one side of the ridge and not on the other. I had snow falling on me every time a breeze came through.

At the top of Silers Bald there is a nice rock in the sun, and it decided it would be a good place to eat lunch. It was just a little bit after 11 but I was feeling hungry so I had an early lunch.

Had a bunch of small bumps that went over along the ridge for the next five ish miles. Saw some turkey prints in the snow – I think they are turkey? They are pretty big.

The next shelter I passed by was Derrick Knob Shelter which has been closed due to aggressive bear activity. Pretty sure it was this event that caused the closure – very interesting…

A FarOut Comment:
“We sat here to eat a late lunch. There was a guy with a tent set up taking a nap, later known as “Bear Meat”. His food and bag were hanging on a bear cable. Bear approached his tent. The 4 of us were yelling hey bear and charging at it. The bear hissed at us and proceeded to jump on his tent. Ended up shredding his tent and sleeping bag up pretty good. He got out in time to not be injured.
It took 10 total hikers charging and yelling at the bear to get him to finally run off.”

The spring nearby was flowing really well and I filtered some water. I was keeping my eyes peeled for a bear.

I pushed on and climbed up and down some large bumps. I passed through 3 gaps: Sugartree Gap, Starkey Gap and Beechnut Gap. At this point in the day, some clouds had rolled in and the sun was lower in the sky.

After all the gaps I climbed up Thunderhead Mountain. It was a pretty steep climb and I was sheading a ton of layers. The top had some hardy bushes that were short but it soon opened up. It was an amazing view.

I was along the ridge for .6 miles until I reach Rocky Top. In between those two there were breathtaking views of the early stages of the sunset.

After Rocky top, I descended 1.1 miles down to the shelter tonight. It’s about .2 miles off trail and the water source and another .1 further.

When I reach the shelter I first grabbed some water and then got comfortable. I made some dinner and watched the mice run along the walls. I really hope they don’t bother me tonight.

Tonight might be the coldest night I have in the Smokies. I fired up some hand warmers and threw all my layers on. Journaling in the cold is not quite as easy as when it’s warm outside. Using text to speech makes it a bit easier. My hand goes to and from the hand warmer back to the keyboard.