Entering Great Smokey Mountains National Park
We're off the trail for a luxurious two nights in Gatlinburg, or as we've termed it - Country Vegas. It's a crazy little tourist town with a reputation for fudge and moonshine. We're loving the discovery of these places that we wouldn't normally seek out.
We reached two hiking milestones this week. We summitted Clingmans Dome, which at 6643' is the highest peak on the AT. We won't be above 6000' again until Mt. Washington in NH. We also crossed the 200 mile mark, meaning that we officially have less than 2000 miles to go (that doesn't sound as encouraging as I'd hoped!).
A couple of nights ago, I had a moment of thinking how impossibly interminable this hike is. How many more nights will we set up and break down this damn tent? How many more days will we spend trudging up and down these damn mountains? In that moment, it was overwhelming. We can't think about the trip in its entirety, but only focus from one town to the next; keeping our feet under us and not wandering too far ahead. We can surely make it six days from here to Hot Springs, and that's all we need to worry about.
Hells Angel Shiz - stylish AND sun protection :)
In an effort to heal my Achilles and Shiz's feet, we scaled back our daily miles considerably for a few days. It worked - we've both recovered nicely - but as any running friend will attest, dialing it back for injury prevention is tough. We were each worrying that we would disappoint the other and, absurdly, that we won't make it to Maine "on time". As if that has any meaning! We had to talk ourselves down numerous times and remember that taking a few easy days is vastly preferable to not being able to finish at all. Makes complete sense rationally, but there is sooo much space for self-doubt and worry out here!
I can't tell you how great it is to hear from you here or on Facebook. You don't know how encouraging your notes are for us! Thank you.
Sweet Pea
Crossing Fontana Dam
Fontana Dam view from halfway up Shuckstack fire tower - we were too scared to climb all the way up!
Clingmans Dome lookout - we arrived in dense cloud cover, so we had to imagine the views.
Arriving in Gatlinburg and ready for two nights off!
Header image: a beautiful break of sun on our approach to Clingmans Dome.