Mollies Ridge Shelter and the Third State

After waking earlier than usual, I made breakfast, broke camp and set out with Forest by 9 a.m.

The following picture was actually shot yesterday, but I forgot to include it. On a sunny day, the view is just spectacular.

We entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a stretch of about 71 miles, after crossing Fontana Dam. For those of you not familiar with Park rules, it's important to note that I had to get a thru-hiker permit in advance, and that permit requires us to stay on the Trail and go through the Park in no more than 8 days. So, as much as I would like to take advantage of some of the great fishing locations that my friends have pointed out, it just isn't possible on a thru-hike. In addition, I should probably note that while pets are not permitted in most areas of the Park, service dogs are. As always, we will be careful not to disturb local wildlife and to Leave No Trace of our passing.

We kept a slow, but steady, pace throughout the day today. Our goal was Mollies Ridge Shelter, which was about a 12-mile hike up the North Carolina border into Tennessee. Twelve miles sounds manageable for a day, until you consider that it included climbing from the Dam (elevation 1,782 feet) up to an elevation of 4,576 feet (from orange symbol to orange symbol in the following GPS profile):

Because the Trail is so busy right now, it was also important to arrive at the shelter ahead of some of the crowd so that I could find a flat space for my tent tonight that was NOT next to the privy. By minimizing our breaks throughout the day, we arrived at the shelter by 7:30 p.m., ate dinner and set up camp, just as planned. We are both worn out, but all in all, it was a very good day. I think we will both sleep well tonight.

Forest is accumulating a long list of fans on the Trail; he gets so many compliments. Everyone knows his name; few know mine. It's pretty cool that way. 😉😀