Jill called yesterday the "worst day". The worst day continued today and she woke up in the middle of the night and was...SICK. She was very worried when she continued to shiver and had to keep returning to the woods to...you know. She phoned me about 1pm and said she had left the guys very early and had hiked as fast as she could to Clingman's Dome (the highest point of the A.T.) with the hope of getting a shuttle into Gatlinburg at the visitor's center. She was told there weren't any services to help her there and she would need to wait 2 hours for a shuttle. She went down to the parking lot and found...a shuttle! She got into Gatlinburg and tried to find a room at the Grand Prix. The office was closed on Sunday so the owner could go to church and spend the day with family. She went to the Motel 6 next door, but they wouldn't have a room until late afternoon. The gal there told her she knew the maid at the Grand Prix who would give her a room and she could pay at the office on Monday. She grabbed the opportunity and got a room at the Grand Prix. She wasn't able to get ahold of Southpaw or Ken or Limey, so she called me and asked me to relay the info if I heard from Ken first. She said she was feeling much better and thinks it was just a 24 hour bug.
The Norovirus lasts about 24-72 hours and she had many of the symptoms, so she is not sure what it was. Let's just hope that the guys don't get it!
The guys hiked and made it to Clingman's Dome in time to catch the later shuttle the Newfound Gap. There they caught a shuttle into Gatlinburg. They had hiked past the spot where Jill caught her shuttle back at Clingman's Dome to the next road crossing. They caught up with Jill at the Grand Prix. They got a separate room...just in case she was still contagious. They were taking no chances! Ken found it ironic that, for the first time, they couldn't catch up with Jill on the trail. I told him a woman with intestinal problems and no bathroom has super human resolve and it didn't surprise me at all!
View from Clingman's Dome
They are now entering the part of the A.T. where the hikers like to say they hike with their left foot in Tennessee and their right root in North Carolina, since the trail follows the state line and they go back and forth.
The hikers hiked about 5 miles to the Derek Knob Shelter and ate lunch. During the afternoon hike, Jill started walking slower and slower and started feeling sicker and sicker. She was worried she was getting the Norovirus so she sent Southpaw and Ken on ahead to get a place in the shelter. She was worried she would have to leave the hike and by the time she reached the shelter, she had hit an emotional and physical wall and broke down. The guys were worried about her and Ken made her supper while she rested. When I talked to her, she said that helped...a little.
They spent the night at the Siler's Bald Shelter and all hoped that IWOX would be up for walking the next day.
I received a couple of text pictures early this morning. No words necessary, though the second picture came with the caption below.
Morning Snow
"Help, I'm freezing! Bring me a hot cup of coffee?"
A bad storm was coming, so Ken left early and hiked fast for 6 miles to the Spence Field Shelter to ensure they could have 4 bunks in the shelter. Limey had now joined them as a traveling companion and they were now a quad of hikers. Ken got there around noon and the rest met up with him at 2 pm. Even though the shelter is only 3-sided, it had multiple bunks and a fireplace. Ken had already started to scavenge for wood (none available close to the shelter) and the others joined him. With temperatures estimated to hit 20 or below, they wanted to make sure they had enough wood to keep the fire going throughout the evening and night to come.
The shelter filled up quickly and many hikers continued on to try to make it to the next shelter at Derrick Knob, 6 miles further down trail. The Spence Field Shelter is meant to hold 12, but with the storm they stacked like cord wood and fit more in to sleep on the floor.
Ken had a hot meal of broccoli and noodles. The afternoon was spent telling tall tales, I am sure.
Limey, Southpaw, unknown, unknown, IWOX
Ken worried after the hikers who went on ahead and hoped that they found shelter before the storm hit.
The hikers got up early to catch the 8:30am shuttle back to the trail, but it was full. A visitor to the village offered them a ride back to the trail head in her jeep. They squeezed in and were thankful they didn't have to wait for the next shuttle.
A few miles down trail they came to a shelter with an overlook of Fontana Lake, known affectionately as the Fontana Hilton. They took a rest (and pictures/video) and got back on trail.
Fontana Lake
A short distance down the trail was the Fontana Dam. For those of you who saw the movie "A Walk in the Woods", this is the same dam. At 480 feet, the Fontana Dam is the highest dam in the eastern United States! The dam is a 1 1/2 mile hike across with an awesome view down to the base. Ken took a video but he says it doesn't come close to the actual view.
Once across the dam, they began a long uphill climb. They were now in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park! At the crest of one of the hills, Ken got a breathtaking shot of the village below.
"I took this on top of some mountain"
A little about the park: Established in 1934, the Smokies is the most visited of the traditional national parks. The highest elevation of the A.T. is at Clingman's Dome at 6,643 feet. The Smokies also has the most rainfall and snowfall on the A.T. in the South, and many hikers are caught off-guard by the snow and cold temperatures that the high elevation means. And our hikers are heading right for it...
Up, UP, UP they climbed until they reached Mollie's Ridge Shelter. When they arrived, it was "Very Cold!" Ken put every piece of clothing he had, wrapped himself in a space blanket and climbed in his sleeping bag. He called me from inside his tent and I tried to help him visualize somewhere warm. He picked one of our favorite spots...my Uncle Jim and Aunt Gayle's house on Abaco Island in the Bahamas. We talked about the palm trees, warm sand and gentle breezes. He finally said it was more torture than help (he also said he was warmer!), so we laughed and I bid him a good night.
After an early breakfast, the group headed down trail with the Fontana Dam as their destination and their entry to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
The trail was a steady downhill drop with only a few 'ups'. They arrived at the road crossing around noon and waited for the shuttle to take them to Fontana Village so they could pay their $20 hiking fee and print their hiking passes...required to hike in the national park. They thought this would be a fairly quick process, however, this was not to be.
The process of obtaining the pass was to enter info online after which the pass is sent to your email address. Jill and Ken had no problems. Unfortunately (or was it good fortune?), Dennis had forgotten his email password and had to wait 3 hours for his wife to get home to assist him. So onto Plan B...get the passes and a room in the village.
While they waited, they resupplied and ate a big lunch at the grill.
They checked into getting a room at the Fontana Lodge, but all the rooms were full. So Plan C was to catch a ride back to the trail, which they were able to do at approximately 6pm. While waiting for the shuttle to take them back to the trail, they saw "Limey" (aka Michael Salter), a fellow hiker originally from Great Britain. Limey asked what they were doing heading back to the trail so late and they explained there were no rooms so they were going to camp on the trail. He told them HE had a room at the Fontana Lodge and they were all welcome to join him. Plan B was back on! They did so and were VERY thankful for his generosity when a bad thunderstorm moved through that night.
Fontana Lodge
Keep in mind that their original plan was to quick get their hiking passes, grab lunch and get back to the trail. So now I ask you...was Southpaw's email password issue a problem or a blessing?
Jill and Denise have been labeled the "Breakfast Club" by the younger hikers. Ken most times just has coffee and then hits the trail with a protein bar.
Our hikers hit Jacob's Ladder after 4 miles...a tough 700 foot climb in .6 miles with 10' switchbacks!
Ken said you could hit yourself in the butt coming around the trail; it was so steep and curvy.
They arrived at the Cable Gap Shelter, which was a tiny cabin that should hold 6-8 but really only fits 4. The shelter was full, so they camped a little further away along a stream.
Bob, a man from the Frist Baptist Church choir, took the group back to the trail at the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). He gave them a card and inside was $100! Everyone in Bryson City was super nice and wished them well on their journey. Here are IWOX and Southpaw at the NOC.
There was a loonnnngggg uphill climb of 7 miles. They were passed by many hikers. When they got to the Sassafras Gap shelter, there was a white flag flying...a warning sign of a Norovirus outbreak. They gave the shelter a wide berth and continued to Cheoah Bald.
Jill's Picture of Cheoah Bald
They could see Fontana Lake below them and the mountains all around. Ken shot a nice video of the view.
They continued on to and arrived at Locust Cove Gap just in time, as they were out of water. The shelter and campsites were full, so they set up camp at a nice flat spot a little further down the trail.
