Day 10 started inauspiciously at about 2 a.m. when I woke feeling very chilly. The inside of the tent, and the outside of my sleeping bag, were damp with condensation. Eventually I broke down and got out my headlamp, found water, stove and Nalgene bottle, and proceeded to make myself a hot water bottle. Half asleep as I was, I started by pouring water into the Nalgene bottle to measure the amount I needed, but neglected to take the lid off first, so got water all over the floor of the tent. After three minutes on the stove, I had a nice hot water bottle to warm me up. It helped and I was able to sleep some (including having a dream involving someone trying to repair a broken boiler), but an hour or two later I was shivering again and had to repeat the process. This time falling asleep was harder and I spent a lot of time thinking about the Smokies and whether I wanted to be hiking in them in mid March. I thought to myself, I could call a shuttle and get to an airport and be home in my warm bed the next night. The idea had a strong appeal. I don’t think I fell asleep until after 6 am, and then I slept soundly until 8:20.
At that point I got up and looked on Google Maps for nearby airports. Knoxville TN was the closest, then Asheville, then Atlanta much further away. There were flights from both Knoxville and Asheville to Toronto. I then texted the Shuttle Sherpa that Slim Jim had told me about. He answered right away. He said Asheville was a lot closer and he could meet me at Wayah Gap parking. We arranged an 11:30 pickup which gave me 3 hours to pack up, buy my flight, and get 5 miles back down trail and eat a breakfast of granola bars as I walked. I felt quite sad heading down. The mountains are beautiful, the views stunning, the process of hiking has a soothing rhythm, being in the forest brings me joy, but the lack of good sleep over several nights, the cold and the prospect of more of it, and the idea of eating granola every breakfast, wraps with peanut butter or cheese every lunch, and Knorr instant sides every dinner for six months really wasn’t appealing. I reflected that some of the things I love about my other outdoor experiences – cross country skiing and canoe trips – is doing them with friends, in relative comfort, with great food and at a reasonable or even relaxing pace, and in mostly warm weather. The AT definitely has its attractions but so far wasn’t living up to what I look for in those other activities.
Josh from Sherpa Shuttles arrived at the parking area soon after me. He told me he got into the shuttle business by accident because during Covid the shelters were closed, and Slim Jim and One More, who were staying at a house Josh’s parents owned, wanted daily rides from one access point to the next to practice for their next attempt at a thru hike. Later Josh and his dad posted their shuttle service online, and were booking rides the next day.
We got to Asheville airport around 1 pm. The highway construction around Asheville is crazy. Seems all the retirees from Florida want a second home here so house prices are nuts. Sheila and I have stayed in Asheville several times – dogsitting for or visiting our friends Dino and Lisa – and at one point we’d imagined buying a second home here, but we are now definitely priced out of that market.
Flight left Asheville for Atlanta at about 5:30. I got a last glimpse of the Appalachian mountains out my window, facing west into the sun, and thought to myself, I’ll be back. Not sure when or in what way, but the draw of those mountains is real and I could see myself resuming this hike in a few weeks or next year, or just chipping away at sections of it over the years.
So, how far did I hike overall? The approach trail is 9.2 miles, and Wayah Shelter is at mile 120.5, so a total of 128.7 miles in 9 days (not counting the 5 mile reverse trip on day 10). That averages to 14.3 miles a day. With 2058.5 miles remaining, that’s 4.8 months of hiking. I’m confident I could pick up the pace once I’m put of the Smokies; I did do two 25 mile days last may on the Maryland section hike. So if I do go back, say, April 5, I could easily finish in August.
The question is, do I want to. I’ll need to think about that over the coming days.
That’s probably my last update for a while.