Sunday morning jaunt to Spruce Flats Falls with my lovely bride. Original plan was for Charlie's Bunion, but I've got some work to catch up on today so we made a quicker trip virtually in our back yard. Nice fine mist the whole way up and back. The trail was more crowded than I would have expected on a rainy Sunday morning, but lots of folks looking for fall color.
Killer day today thanks to my wife handling the home front and supporting my hare-brained schemes. Woke up at 5:30, drove to Clingman’s Dome in time for sunrise, walked up to the fire tower, then hit the AT and walked 23 miles to Cades Cove. First 10 miles or so were great - rolled through balds and shelters averaging about 3 miles an hour. Somewhere after that came Brier Knob, which was probably the most grueling and demoralizing climb I’ve done in forever. I don’t know who officially made the plan to route the AT over Brier Knob, but I may have cursed aloud at Benton MacKaye just to be safe. Coming down from Brier Knob, the trail was basically a layer of loose rocks and protruding roots covered by a layer of leaves. Somewhere around there, I twisted my right ankle pretty bad, making miles 13-23 pretty brutal, since it was pretty much all downhill over more rocks from there to the end. It also probably marks the last time I’ll be planning a 20+ mile trail day. This is I think the 5th longest trail day I’ve logged, but, well, I’ve discovered that 40 doesn’t really get along with high mileage. It was still a fantastic trip, though, with possibly the best hiking weather I’ve ever walked through. The views were breathtaking, the “lovely” scent of lots of Carrion flowers, and marking off some miles I’d been planning for a *long* time, probably since doing the AT from Cades Cove to Fontana with Sam back in high school. It was also the first time carrying my newish pack under weight, and it was absolutely the best pack experience I’ve ever had on a long hike. I’d been a hard core Gregory fan since about 1997, but made the switch to the Osprey Exos 48 and I’m absolutely smitten with it. Packed 6 quarts of water, tons of food, extra clothes, and just in case supplies. Best gear purchase I’ve made in a LONG time. The hike also went exactly to plan for once. I’d planned on hitting the trail at sunrise and finishing in 12 hours. Not counting the trip up to the tower at Clingmans Dome, I stepped onto the AT at exactly 8AM and walked out into the Cades Cove picnic area at EXACTLY 7PM, so a total of 11 hours of movement. I also learned that Apple Watch auto-offs hiking workouts at 20 miles. Only downside is now I’m walking like I’m about 89, thanks to my not-so-sturdy ankle. As soon as it starts working, I’ll be on here begging for help picking up my car at Clingman’s😂
Jodie and I went up Schoolhouse Gap to White Oak Sinks this morning. Trail to the falls was closed, and the other trail was a little, shall we say, treacherous???
