At the start of the Smoky Mountains four of us Warrior Expedition hikers set out together, me, Amity, Emerald, and John. Or, I should say Feather Blue, Calamity, Penguin, and Wick! Lol, we now go by our trail names out here 🙂
The first night Amity and I stayed at Birch Spring after hiking our first 8 miles into The Smoky Mountains.
After Birch Spring we made our way 11.4 miles North to Spence Field to set up camp for the night! I saw my first major sign of wildlife, two whitetail deer!
From there we made our way 11.8 miles north to Siler’s Bald, there were some beautiful views of the Smoky Mountains on this stretch! We then made our way to Clingmans Dome, which is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail at just over 6,000 ft. Unfortunately, it was a super foggy day and we had no view once we got up there.
Later this day we made our way to Newfound Gap where we were picked up by Saint Patti, a super supporter! She was accompanied by her mother and they drove us into Gatlinburg where we had rented an Airbnb for the night and went out to dinner together!
After a quick night in Gatlinburg we were brought back to the trail the next day just before lunch time and hiked 10 miles to Pecks Corner Shelter. The following day we had to make some itinerary changes due to bear activity! A few days prior, a hiker that was slightly north of us had his backpack stolen out of his tent, we are guessing he had food in it! Since the bear was aggressive and ripped it out of the tent they closed the shelter we were planning to stay at, therefore we had to call it an early day the next day after 5 miles and hunker down in a different shelter. Normally you would be allowed to stealth camp in the woods, but since we are in a national park it is illegal. We didn’t mind too much though because it was a cold, foggy, and rainy day! We had a little fun in the shelter meeting other hikers and playing charades. However, after being in such close quarters with about 20 other hikers I was ready to get back to my tent!
After getting an early start the next day we had about a 15 mile hike to a gap where we got picked up by a supporter who drove us 30 miles into Maggie Valley, like all supporters they treated us like royalty! We stayed in a really cute Cardinal Inn, and they brought food right to us where they grilled out and even treated us to homemade moonshine! The next day we were driven back to where we left off and hiked the last two and a half miles of the Smokies….. Signing off, Feather Blue! 🪶💙
Hiking Through with Feather Blue 