We left Clingmans Dome around 7:30 a.m. on Monday August 20th. We took the bypass trail instead of the half mile paved trail to the tower.The trail was sheltered in a way by trees and a rocky cliff overhang. I kind of liked that better because it blocked the wind that was blowing quite gustily.
This first part of the trail was rocky in some areas and slick gray rock slabs made you catch yourself more than a few times. It was pretty nice after a little while though, and leveled off some as we hiked on toward Double Spring Gap Shelter (2.75 miles from Clingman's Dome). I can't count how many times we rolled our ankles trying to catch ourselves. It seemed like we couldn't get a good stride going.
Onward we went. It was a beautiful day. Hiking towards Silers Bald Shelter. The haul up Silers Bald was very rocky and steep. My legs did not like me at all. Elevation is now 5,607ft. We saw plenty of evidence of bears and boars but did not see them. The views were outstanding. It was a good day so far.
Hiking on from Silers Bald to the Miry Ridge trail junction was relatively level. But we soon arrived at Proctor's Ridge which just about did me in. We finally made it and decided to stop for a while and eat some lunch and rest our (my) weary legs.
Did I mention the trail was rocky? This picture is part of the trail we had to climb up and over. Few level spots followed by quite a few steep, short climbs. Very hard on the knees I might add.
We had planned to stop at Derrick Knob for lunch, but we were all hungry so we stopped a little sooner. Lunch consisted of pb&j sandwich, CLIF bar, and a handful of M&M's. yummo :) Soon to come up was the Narrows, a short rocky steep climb, followed by Derrick Knob Shelter. We never found the water supply at Derrick Knob Shelter though. We looked all over for it and just couldn't find it.
Now onto Brier Knob. Which is aptly named because of all the blackberry bushes that scratch you as you go by. Brier Knob- This was quite the haul. We climbed 700ft in just over half a mile . It was very,very steep and my legs were like jelly. Seriously. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. I need wings for this. Next up was Thunderhead Mountain. I was dreading this one. But it was better than Brier Knob. Not so steep. The views were not quite so nice as you would think being at 5,527ft. above sea level here.
Onward we go to Rocky Top! I have to say that all the pain was worth it. Rocky Top was absolutely stunning. We could see Fontana Lake, Mount Le Conte, Clingmans Dome. All unobstructed views for miles and miles. The weather was perfect. It was the most amazing place I have ever been.
Next stop- Spence Field Shelter for the night. It is about 2 miles from Rocky Top and we are so ready to rest for the evening.
Got to hang your pack up. We wouldn't want the bears to eat your dinner :)
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| Spence Field Shelter-home sweet home for the night. |
After arriving at the shelter, we found the water supply and filtered a bunch. We were almost out after not finding the water at Derrick Knob Shelter. We are tired, in fact, I went to bed after eating a granola bar for dinner. Alex and Matt cooked Ramen noodles and then sacked out beside me on the bunk. Two guys were also at the shelter and they camped out on the top bunks. We meet 17 people on the trail through out the day. All were very nice and encouraging to us. Matthew really helped me out by telling me I could hike this hike and make it. He was great. Alex led the way the whole time. He plodded on carefully and steadily all day. For me, it was very hard on my knees and calves.We couldn't decide which was worse- rocks or roots, or steep uphill hikes or steep downhill descents.
I woke up at 6a.m. and just sat there soaking in the quiet forest around me. Nothing was stirring. It was very peaceful. I cooked a pan of oatmeal for myself for breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it ( especially since I didn't eat dinner the night before). Around 8 a.m. the boys got up and we decided to take an early out by hiking down one of the side trails, close to Cades Cove. We hiked 16 miles in 13 hrs and I was tired. Alex's legs hurt, my legs hurt and Matt was starting to feel it,too. We packed up and headed down Bote Mt. trail and a 5 mile downhill trek to Laurel Creek road. It was great to see Jackson, Caleb, Micah and Amanda in the truck to pick us up!. And they had ice cold coke for Matt, Alex and me :) It was great and I am glad I did it. I will complete the hike by going back to Spence Field via Bote Mt. trail and down to Fontana one of these days. I am already thinking of a family hike to Rocky Top in the near future just because it is so amazing.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope I didn't bore you . Get out there and hike!
