Completing the Smokies in 48 Hours on the AT

This morning we got up in the shelter around 4:30am and slowly began to pack up. There were a couple guys snoring crazy loud, so it felt like we hardly made any noise getting packed up. Then we were out and walking just before 6am. The spur trail back to the AT wasn’t so bad. We were back on trail in no time at all.

Our morning began with a gradual climb. Which was actually really nice, because it was freezing cold! It got down to the low 20s or possibly high teens last night. And I could feel it as we began walking this morning. Because of the climbing I just wore a buff, my gloves, and my wind gear over my regular outfit. When we were climbing I was the perfect temperature. At times it was even too warm, and I had to roll up my sleeves or take my gloves off. But when the trail would level out it was frigid! I would quickly bundle back up. And even still I was chilled through.

The trail brought us along a ridge for most of the morning, with some great views once the sun came up.

Fortunately we had rolling climbs to do for most of the morning. Compared to what we were doing through the Smokies, these climbs felt really gradual. I didn’t get out of breath and was able to just continue along at a good pace. Then when we were about 5-6 miles into the day we stopped off at the next shelter briefly. There was a water source there and we figured we would just fill up now. That way we didn’t have to stop off again for the rest of the day.

I always love walking through these forests of rhododendron.

Leaving the shelter we had another climb to get up. It definitely felt a bit longer and steeper than the previous ones. But we made our way up to the top just the same. I had really cooled down as we stopped at the shelter. So it felt great to heat back up again. When we got up toward the top of the next climb the sun even started to come out. Everyone and then the trail would weave over to the eastern side of the ridge and we would enjoy the rays. Then we would curve toward the other side and be back cast into shadow. It made it hard to stay a consistent temperature. I was either perfectly comfortable, cold, or a little bit too warm. What a fun game!

Heading up one of our final climbs in the Smokies.

After that we enjoyed about an hour of downhill. With the occasional brief stretch of uphill in between. At this point we really only had two more small climbs to go up before we were out of the Smokies. The first one was only about a mile long and was delightful. Most of the climbing occurred in the first half mile. Then after that we just slowly made our way the rest of the way up. Then headed back down before we began the last climb in the Smokies.

This one went on for a couple of miles, so it wasn’t exactly the quickest. But once again most of the climbing occurred right out of the gate. Then we would alternate between flat segments of trail and the occasional steeper push here and there. After that it was truly all downhill from there.

The trail goes past this rock retaining wall briefly.

When you’re heading northbound on the AT you get toward Mt Cammerer. Then a side trail goes up to the peak and the AT begins heading down toward Davenport Gap. After that it’s about 7 miles of downhill until you hit the road! I wasn’t too excited about the downhill on my knees. I always find a mixture of up and down to be a good balance. Oftentimes a really steep downhill can make me a bit sore. But I just tried to go down as easy as possible and take my time. Over the first few miles there were alot of steps to go down. Those can be especially hard on the knees. I always make a point to try to ease my way down and use my quads and glutes as much as possible. That helps to take some of the pressure off your knees, rather than moving down quickly using just your knees.

Beginning a long stretch of downhill after our last mountain in the Smokies.

Surprisingly though my body feels really good! I was noticing that my right knee felt a bit sore which wasn’t ideal. But then I realized that I actually just had a big bruise on my knee. The other day I was maneuvering around something along the trail and bumped my leg into a tree trunk that I didn’t notice. It didn’t hit too hard. But was one of those moments where at the time, I knew I’d be getting a mark. Apparently I put it out of my mind though until now.

As we got closer to Davenport Gap I got service for the first in a while. I’ve been coordinating with a hiker named Popeye, who lives close to this area. She wants to come out and do some trail magic for us today! Which is pretty perfect, because we’ll be getting to Standing Bear soon. We should be able to stay and do all of our chores there. But I don’t believe they serve any kind of food typically. I met Popeye just before the Mahoosuk Notch on the AT. So it would be very cool to see her again!

Dropping our permits after hiking through the smokies in just 48 hours!

While I had service I always decided to give my mom a call. She’s going to be busy this week so it would be nice to catch her while I can. We talked for a long while on the phone as we made our way out of the Smokies. Then passed the permit drop box by Davenport Gap! I was still on the phone at the time. I signed my permit and dropped it in. Then continued across the road to the trail on the other side.

The trail follows along this road and then crosses the highway briefly. The highway will be open as of March 1st! Which provided more options for hikers.

We still had about 2-3 miles to go to get to Standing Bear. A hostel which is right off of trail. I passed by when I was on trail in 2023. But we had stayed at another hostel, the Discerning Hiker Hostel, to have a quiet night. The bigger hostels can be a crowded during peak AT season. Which is at its height toward the end of March and start of April each year. I passed through in early April so the bubble was in full swing.

The other side of this river had massive rock slide damage from Helene.

Passing by the spur trail to Standing Bear.

The trail was nice and easy with a lot more downhill as we continued down to the highway. Then the AT crosses over and follows along the road briefly. This was the first time that we caught a glimpse of the destruction from hurricane Helene. We are just about to head into the damage. I’m really not sure what to expect if I’m being honest. The section we passed today was a mess. Massive rocks had fallen down from the road toward the river. The highway was actually still closed too. It will only be reopening at the start of March, and I believe it will only be one lane.

The bunk room at Standing Bear.

After crossing the highway we began a pretty good climb out of the road. It only went on for a half a mile though so it wasn’t bad at all. Then we dropped back down to Standing Bear! I was shocked how quiet it was when we rolled up. Even though we’ve hardly been seeing anyone on trail lately. When we walked up there were no hikers to be seen. But we were able to check in and get bunks in the bunk room. It’s only $25 a person, and you have access to the kitchen area, showers, and laundry. That seemed like a good deal to me! There was still some leftover breakfast when we arrived. So we dug into that after checking in.

This adorable cabin is one of the places you can stay at Standing Bear.

Then made a frozen pizza while we did some other chores. I got my electronics charging and got my boxes from Maria who runs the hostel. Bowl&Kettle sent me another box of meals! Which I’m so excited about. They are a very small company making home made dehydrated meals. Right now they have 3 separate kinds of meals, all of which were delicious. The chicken tikka masala and the street corn grits were my favorites. And the crawfish étouffée was really good too. Even as someone who doesn’t lean toward seafood flavors necessarily, I really liked it. The rice was delicious and there were pieces of actual crawfish throughout it.

Bowl&Kettle sent a box of delicious meals for my next resupply!

I’m stoked to be packing those out for this next section. I also ordered two super random things off of Amazon, just for fun! I really never send myself “surprises” along the trail. But I ordered an assorted back on Asian candy. It had a bunch of different styles of candies from multiple countries. That sounded fun and exciting!

The sign when you first enter Standing Bear.

Then I ordered something that I heard about ages ago and have been dying to try. A type of chocolate bar made in Dubai was really popular online last year. Loads of people were making videos trying it, and then recreating it at home because you couldn’t buy it in the states. But now companies have started making them all over. So I got one of the “Dubai” pistachio chocolate bars to try. That should help to spice up my resupply.

After I went through some stuff and got organized I started doing other chores. There isn’t a washing machine here, but there is a washboard! I don’t think I’ve ever used one before. Getting the clothes soapy and using the board was probably even more effective than a washer. Plus we haven’t done laundry in about 8-9 days!After that I took a steaming hot shower which was fantastic. It may only be 4 days since the last shower, but boy did I sweat a lot during this last section.

After that I got some writing and video work done. Then Popeye arrived. She pulled out all the punches and literally brought everything you could think of. Half gallons of chocolate milk, pizza, salad, soda, electrolytes, personal care items, ziplocks, fruit, and snacks. My mind was blown with how much thought and effort she put into making our day! After such hard few days through the Smokies I truly couldn’t have asked for anything else in the world. Plus, we are literally alone here at Standing Bear! This hostel is usually bustling with hikers. They have the capacity for a whole lot of people there between the bunk house, cabin rentals, and tenting.

The unreal spread of goodies that Popeye brought for us at Standing Bear.

Over the next couple of hours we hung out with Popeye and talked trail. And absolutely feasted and gorged ourselves. There is nothing like a full fat half gallon of whole milk! This jug was just shy of 2,000 calories and was so rich. Just what my body needed. And the pizza was unbelievably good. She wasn’t messing around and brought 4 small pizzas! Cheese, veggie, and 2 bbq pulled pork. I can’t express how grateful I felt to her coming to support us like that. I don’t think I’ve ever needed calories more in my life. And after such a mentally draining section of mileage it was amazing to be able to hang out and share stories with Popeye.

Drinking a half gallon of chocolate milk by a roaring fire!

Jarred who works at Standing Bear hostel built a big fire outside as we were eating. So after a while we headed over there to sit by it. It was definitely starting to cool down. I drank my half gallon of milk by the fire, and really didn’t know how I could possibly be happier. Moments like this wipe the slate clean after a harder section of trail. It recharges you and gets you ready to roll again.

Later on in the evening Popeye had to head on home so we said goodbye to her. This was truly the most incredibly surprise! I knew we were going to see her and she wanted to bring trail magic. But I never could have imagined the spread that she brought. It was truly a thru hikers dream.

For the rest of the night after that we just sat by the fire. I got some writing done intermittently. And continued to drink milk and take down calories. Popeye brought strawberries and a tub of whip cream. Which was the perfect dessert. And will also make for a pretty damn good breakfast.

Tomorrow we’re planning on doing a slightly later start. We are just shy of 40 miles from Hot Springs. But I believe we are going to be staying there. There is an Airbnb which the owners want to turn into a hostel type business. And since Laughing Heart isn’t currently open there really isn’t another go to place in town. I’m excited to see this new spot, which might just be the next big hostel in Hot Springs! I’m not sure when and if Laughing Heart will be reopening for the season.

But this means that we probably don’t want to do a 30 mile day tomorrow. Because then we will get into Hot Springs way too early the next day. That just means doing a later start tomorrow, which sounds great. Plus, if we keep doing 30s every single day we will literally get to Katahdin weeks before it opens. And if we flip to another trail we will just wind up burning 2-4 days for travel between going there and coming back out east. It makes a bit more sense to finish the AT up first if weather allows. Katahdin usually opens around mid May or the start of June. And finishing around then gives plenty of time to do the PCT and CDT after.

This kitty Rick came by in the evening to say hello.

This time table surprisingly gives us a whole lot of freedom. We’ve already banked about 2 weeks of time this year. Which means we have the ability to do a shorter day here or there. Especially if we continue to do 30s every other day we’re hiking. And if we hit some bad weather further north we have to time to take a day off here or there to avoid that too. This is an ideal position to be in, truly. Today also marks the end of my second month on trail! I can’t believe how quickly the time has already gone by. And we are just shy of 1,600 miles in for the year already!

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