McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 12/03/2024 | AT Mile 2031.2 | Day Total: 17.8 miles | Gain: 2558 ft

Coldest night yet, it was 15 degrees in the shelter and 13 outside. Was a little chilled but nothing a few jumping jacks wouldn’t cure. Water bladder was super frozen. I duped out the massive ice cube and hiked the .1 down to the spring to refill. This also warmed me up quite a bit.

It was a slow moving morning. Everything was intermittent as I had to warm my hands up every few minutes while I was packing up and making breakfast. We also got a good 2-3 inches of snow last night!

Dispute the snow I was moving quite fast this morning. I made it the 3 miles to Russell Field Shelter in just over an hour. It took a moment to get my core warmed up but once it was I dropped a layer.

Right before the shelter I noticed that the tip on my trekking pole had broken off. I’ve been waiting for it to fall off for the past few days. It got a crack in the plastic just above the carbide tip and it was hardly holding on. It’s from getting stuck in between rocks and me leveraging it when I move forward. I didn’t want to wear down the pole and have to replace the whole thing so I stored it away on my backpack for now. I should be able to get a new tip in town.

Next shelters also about 3 miles away but there a 800ft climb right before it. After using two poles of over 2000 miles it was extremely awkward only using one. I had gotten into quite the rhythm with the two of them.

I decided that I would eat a quick lunch at this next shelters because I would be warmed up from the climb. I cleared some snow off the picnic area outside and sat down for 5 min to eat lunch. I didn’t feel like making a wrap so I just ate the ingredients separately. My cheese had frozen solid and the texture was not appetizing. It didn’t really cut just fell off in crumbly chunks. I still ate it anyway.

The next few miles were downhill. The majority of the day today I’ll be descending and leaving the Smokies. With the new snowfall I was able to see all the fresh animal tracks. Lots of mice, deer and maybe coyote? The one the stoped me in my tracks were the small dinner plate sized ones… bear tracks…

The bear track walked down the trail for a while. They eventually went away the rest of the day I saw over a dozen bear tracks either on trail or crossing it. They sure are active in this area.

This afternoon the sky’s cleared up and the sun was warming me up! I was able to drop my rain jacket and rain pants for the first time in a day or so. My skin feels so clammy after being trapped for so long.

The snow began to melt off the trail and my shoes got wet. I should be able to dry them in the bathroom at the shelter tonight. It’s supposed to be heated!

Before I made my final descent to Fontana Dam I took a short side trail to Shuckstack. It’s a fire tower with a good view all around. When I got to the base I began to climb and realized that there was only one side to the railing and no railing at the platforms invetween the staircases… I don’t like heights to begin with and this was too much. I snapped a picture of the smokes from the first set of stairs and went back down.

The descent to Fontana Dam was uneventful until I saw a furry black butt running away from me about 100 yards away! A Bear! I wasn’t shocked because I had been seeing so many prints in the snow today.

About 20 minutes later I heard a bunch of rustling and loud, really loud, grunting and huffing nearby. The noise was on both sides of the trail and I froze and shouted “HEY BEAR!!!”. I couldn’t see what animal it was coming from until it was up on the hillside next to me. A wild boar the size of a small bear. It slowly made it way further away snorting and growling loudly. I continued swiftly down the trail. This was the most frightened I’ve been on trail yet.

There’s a 1.1 miles road walk to and across the dam. This is also where I leave the Smokies. I think I have a love hate relationship with them. Beautiful but freezing. I’ll have to revisit in warmer weather. These next few miles were really easy.

The Dam had some amazing views! I could see the fire tower that I was at a few miles ago and the southern end of the Smokies. There was a little bit of a breeze here and I was in the shade so I threw my jacket back on.

Shortly after the dam I reached the shelter. This shelter is one of the best things I could come across after leaving the Smokies. Heated bathroom that was like a sauna, power, tap water, and a clean shelter. Before I even went to the shelter I spent 10 minutes warming my core in the bathroom. When I went to the shelter there was a a group of four guys. They were out for a few days but weren’t able to get to Newfound Gap today because the road was closed. They are staying here tonight. This is the first time I’ve had company at a shelter in a long time. They had a large fire going with a hot set of coals!

I set my stuff up I the shelter and joined the guys down by the fire for some dinner. They work in Cincinnati, two are nurses and the other two are respiratory therapists. All young 30’s.

After I finished eating I put my food bag in the back of the bear proof trash can and dried my shoes and socks by the fire while having some conversation. They offered me some of the jumbo marshmallows they had brought and I happily gave in! This was a nice treat after the Smokies!

Before I went to bed I went back to the sauna (heated bathroom) and warmed myself up before heading to bed. There’s a small bench in here that I journaled on while warming up.