12 miles

Fontana Hilton shelter (mile 165.3) to Mollies Ridge shelter (mile 177.3)

Why is it that people who snore like a god damn lawnmower always fall asleep so frickin fast?

I did not sleep much at all. The person next to me was a champion snorer, and he did not stop. All goddamned night it drilled into my brain. I dozed here and there, fantasising about smothering him with my pillow.

I got up as soon as it was light, packed up my gear and left. I was halfway across Fontana Dam before I realised what I was doing.

Well, so much for taking a zero.

The thing you need to know about the Smokys is that they are a son of a bitch. They are also best not attempted when you are sleep deprived.

You need to stay at shelters in the Smokys, camping is only allowed by thru-hikers when the shelters are full, and the first one you reach is 12 miles away. 12 miles of climbing. To make it even more awesome there was still snow. Well slush, and mud. And misery.

The day passed in a blur of climbing, slipping and splashing. I got three occasional view, but for the most part everything was covered in clouds. Pacecar and Clipper caught up to me at one point and I managed to keep pace with them for a little while. But I got slower and slower and they pulled away. I contemplated stopping at the campground at Birch Spring, which was at the five mile marker but I decided to push on. The clouds started looking more and more ominous as the day wore on and I was about a mile from the shelter when thunder rolled and cracked around me. It was pretty scary, as the thunder and lighting sounded pretty damn close. And then the hail started.

Officially, Mollies Ridge shelter had room for twelve people. If you are on a thru-hiker pass (which I was) you have to make way for section hikers who have reservations. The shelter was pretty much full when I got there, and I knew there were two section hikers behind me. The thought of setting up my tent in the freezing hail, wind and slush almost made me cry. I’m not exaggerating here. I almost cried. I was wet and cold and exhausted.

Thankfully I was able to squeeze into a place. I only had enough water to drink, not to cook. Again, going to the water in the cold was not something I wanted to take until tomorrow. I ate some protein bars, ducked out and tied up food bag, then changed into dry clothes and crawled into my sleeping bag. I was asleep in minutes. It wasn’t even 6pm.