Into the Smokies and Feeling Magical

Today I woke up ready to rock and roll. I took my time making some breakfast, taping up my feet, and packing back up. Around 10, I went downstairs to check out and wait for the shuttle to take me back to the trail. When I walked outside, Scott and Little John were chilling waiting for the shuttle too. I hung out and talked with them for a few minutes until the shuttle pulled up. A whole raft of hikers piled in a 15 passenger van heading out for another day on trail.

As soon as my feet hit the ground, I was ready to go. Today’s hike was absolutely beautiful all day. The beginning started with a few miles walking around Fontana Lake. I really hadn’t hiked near much water so far so it was a pleasant change of scenery.

After crossing Fontana Dam, I rounded the lake and approached a sign that said “Great Smoky Mountains.” I feel as though those words hold such strong meaning in the world of a thru hiker. There’s that sense of excitement because of all the stories you hear about hiking in the smokies. There’s a sense of pressure because of the difficulty. It truly makes you examine yourself as a hiker and how you will measure up to the challenges that come throughout the Smokies.

Without skipping a beat, I tore my hiking permit and dropped half of it in the deposit box. The hike was challenging as I began to climb in elevation, but the beauty of the scenery made it seem easier. After a little while, I made it to Shuckshack, which was a fire tower with an incredible view. When I got up there, the guys told me the stairs were sketch, but, while not entirely wrong, I felt like it was definitely worth the climb. You could see everything up there. Mountains for miles. Even Fontana. It showed not only where I’d been, but where the trail would take me over the next few days.

When I came back down, I sat on a cement slab to eat my lunch. As I was making my chicken salad tortilla, a spider crawled from under the chicken salad. I know everyone is thinking, “Did she eat it?” The answer is absolutely. There is no wasting calories out here. Once I finished lunch, I popped back on trail.

The rest of the day was just gradual ups and downs. At one point I couldn’t tell if I was walking into a fairytale or Disney princess movie. All the sudden, these beautiful little purple flowers just appeared everywhere. It made the trail feel magical. I also felt like I could see a bear rolling in anytime.

I rolled into the shelter right on schedule...better late than never. I set up my tent and got dinner cooking. Tonight was pretty low key. The rest of the group planned to get up super early to hike before the rain got bad. I was not wanting to get wet, but also not all that motivated so decided I would start earlier tomorrow, but the sun was definitely going to be up when I did.

As I lay in my tent I can’t help but smile at the beautiful day I was blessed with. From the hike around the lake, to the views off the fire tower, to walking through the flowery meadow, I couldn’t help but feel like today was a little magical.