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Stalking Tortoise & Smoking Sox Section Hike #37 - Winding Stair Gap to Clingmans Dome

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    • Friday April 28th, 2023

      With 26 orphan miles left in this section, I promised myself that I would return to western North Carolina and knock them off in two section hikes. This weekend was going to be the harder of the two - the 16.1 miles from Stecoah Gap to Fontana Dam. I worked until 11:00, then made the 6-hour drive to the Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge near Stecoah Gap. And now I can say that I have slept in a covered wagon.







      Not a bad little place to lay my head. The lodge welcomes hikers (with cash in their wallets), but the majority of the clientele are bikers from all walks of life. I enjoyed dinner and some bourbon around the campfire with members of my motorcycle club until 22:30 before retiring for the night.
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • Saturday April 29th

      Up at 06:30 to chow down breakfast and load my pack with hydration and snacks. It was a short 25-minute drive up Fontana Dam where Nancy Hoch from the Hike Inn was waiting for me. She shuttled me down to Stecoah Gap so I could take as much time as I wanted to hike back to my vehicle. And what a good decision that was! More on that later.



      I hit the trail a few minutes before 08:00. The initial climb out of the gap and up Jacob's Ladder had me huffing, puffing, cursing and feeling like my breakfast was going to hit the eject button. A fine start to the day. But hey... I had ALL day. It took me until 10:00 to finish the 2.4 miles to reach the Brown Fork Gap Shelter.It was here that I met the slowest thru-hiker I have encountered in the last 20 years. Jim (just Jim) had zero'd at the shelter yesterday because it rained part of the day. He left shortly after I arrived and I passed him on the trail shortly after finishing my break.




      My stomach settled down after my snack break at the shelter but I wasn't setting any land speed records over the 6.1 miles to the Cable Gap Shelter. My mind was running through the different scenarios for the rest of the day. Leaving an orphan on an orphan hike was out of the question. Could I make it to the Fontana Dam Marina store by its 18:00 closing time? Maybe. Will I make it to the dam before dark? Definitely.

      It was close to 13:30 when I descended to the shelter and guzzled a quart of cold water and gobbled down my lunch. There was quite a collection of section and thru hikers passing through and tanking up at the piped spring. Jim eventually arrived and decided that 6.1 miles were enough for him for the day. He was concerned with reported slippery trail conditions on the descent to the dam. I wanted to remind him that rain was in the forecast overnight but he was happy setting up his bed in the shelter. One thing I found interesting with a number of the thru hikers is that they were slack-packing this section. I would think that it wouldn't be a bad day of hiking for a thru, especially after crossing Cheoah Bald the day before. But there are a lot of hostel and lodging options in the area...

      I focused on the 5.5 miles separating me from NC Route 28. If I pushed hard, I might be able to hit the marina store for a cold Coke. There were no difficult ascents before the steep descent, but my lack of training for this hike slowed me considerably. I made it to the marina at 18:10. :( Seeing the lake and the dam from the ridge was the second best view of the day.



      A shuttle driver was waiting for his two customers at the marina parking area and quizzed me on if I had seen them. Based on his descriptions, I was sure that they had not caught or passed me since they left Stecoah Gap at 09:00. That news concerned the shuttle driver greatly. He mentioned that he does trail maintenance in this area and felt that this section was one of the toughest in the southern portion of the trail. I took a long break on a bench outside of the marina rest rooms and guzzled another quart of water from the bathroom sink.

      I have to admit that the thought of asking someone for a ride to the dam crossed my mind. But I knew that Sox would give me so much grief for skipping the last two miles of the section. Time for my secret weapon - a frosted Tastykake blueberry pie. After eating half, my teeth were buzzing and my feet were ready to finish the section.

      From the marina, the paved road leads up a gentle incline and then descends to the dam over a mile and a quarter. From the marina, the AT climbs steeply to the highest point of land between Route 28 and the dam then meanders for two miles before reaching the Visitor's Center. Up, down, up, down while following the jagged shoreline of Fontana Lake. The real bite in the ass was reaching the Fontana Dam Shelter and having to walk uphill on the access road to reach the road coming in from Route 28. In a word, I thought those last two miles really sucked. The best view of the day? My vehicle at the Visitor's Center. I finished the 16.1 miles at 19:30. 11.5 hours of slow hiking.



      Thirty minutes later, I was back at Iron Horse wearing clean clothes and feasting on prime rib and a baked potato. I'm glad I gave myself the entire day and took away any artificial barriers to finishing.
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard

      The post was edited 1 time, last by StalkingTortoise ().

    • Sunday April 30th

      My calf and quad muscles were knotted up on the drive home and into Monday. Just to make it interesting, I had a business trip that started on Monday which gave me the opportunity to walk through the Cincinnati and Minneapolis / St. Paul airports as well as the Mall of America. By Tuesday, the knots were almost gone and I could start thinking about the last 10 miles of this section.

      The plan is to visit my son in Franklin over the July 4th weekend and pick a good day to hike from Wayah Bald to Winding Stair Gap. Sox commented that this is the first time that my mileage is ahead of his - I'm always the one with the missing sections. I'm looking forward to shuttling Smoking Sox through this section and sitting in a camp chair at the dam with a cooler of cold celebratory beverages.
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • LIhikers wrote:

      The inside of the covered wagon looks very inviting.
      A mini-split AC / heater, microwave, fridge, USB chargers in the headboard shelf lamps, and towels for the nearby bathhouse. All this and I didn't have to worry about flaming arrows.

      Glamping at it's finest.
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • I had a chance to look back at my hiking mileage summary spreadsheet yesterday and it's been a while since I did anything over 15 miles in a day. Between the Whites and the Smokies, my daily mileage has been in the 10-12 mile range. The last two big days were Hot Springs to Allen Gap and Carvers Gap to Mountain Harbour Hostel. Glad to see this ol' body can still churn out miles when needed. Then again, these three hikes were all day hikes with a cooked meal and a bed at the end of the day. There just may be some correlation there. :huh:
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • Saturday July 1st

      10.1 miles was all that separated me from linking up my Springer - Winding Stair Gap and Wayah Bald - Clingmans Dome sections. Sox had gutted out these miles last October as he was nursing a sore Achilles while I soaked my sore feet in the Franklin Microtel. When my son (Cookie Monster) informed me that he would be working in Franklin for three months, I hatched a plan to schedule a visit and complete this orphan section.

      Mrs. Tortoise shuttled us up to Wayah Bald on a humid and overcast morning. Unlike my amazing sunrise views from last October, we had nothing but clouds. Izzy the Wonder Dog was chomping at the bit to show that she was still a worthy hiking companion. We set off for Wayah Gap at 08:30.







      It wasn't long before we started meeting NOBO hikers - a combination of LASHers, day hikers, and flip-floppers. We crossed the paved Wayah Road just before 10:30 and stopped for snacks and some water for Izzy. From here to the top of the climb to Siler Bald, Izzy set the pace with Cookie Monster following. However, she showed her loyalty to me by backtracking occasionally to ensure that I was still following. The climb up towards Siler Bald was very well graded but I was still sweating profusely in the humid conditions. CM and Izzy were waiting on me at the top of the climb and we made the easy decision to pass on the side trail to the top of the bald.

      With only four miles to go, I gave Cookie Monster free reign to descend at his and/or Izzy's pace. He was kind enough to offer to wait after each mile for me to catch up. Nice kid. At three miles to go, I sent an inReach message to Mrs. Tortoise with our ETA in Winding Stair Gap. She timed her arrival perfectly and had just enough time to hike NOBO for a few tenths and meet us at Moore Creek.



      It was 15 years ago that I hiked into Winding Stair Gap as part of my Georgia section. I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders when I finished this hike back at the same point - a precursor of the feelings I will experience when I finish the final southern section on top of Max Patch.

      I changed into a clean shirt before heading for Lazy Hiker Brewing in downtown Franklin. A 20 oz. IPA and a burger from the food truck was a welcome reward for the hike. The post-hike shower and nap weren't bad either. Speaking of Franklin, this was the first time I made it into the town proper. My previous visits have all been south of US 64 and didn't give any indication of the classic Main Street environment. Besides Lazy Hiker, we had Sunday brunch at Gracious Plates on Main, BBQ from Haywood Smokehouse, and beers at the Currahee Brewing. We stayed in a great Airbnb that was close to everything but on a quiet side street.

      Springer to Clingmans Dome... that has a nice ring to it. :D
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard

      The post was edited 2 times, last by StalkingTortoise ().

    • Nice trip report S T,
      and congratulations. I know that feeling of satisfaction when you finally connect the dots.

      Unfortunately, for some reason, you photos are not coming through.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier