Tuesday, May 31st

Brown Fork Gap Shelter (152.9 mi) to Birch Spring Tent site ( 172.3 mi)

Hiking Miles: 19.4

Total Ascent: 4,912.4 ft

Total Descent: 5,038.4 ft

Total Grade: 511.7 ft/mi

Steps: 49,557

I woke to the sound of rustling quilts and deflating mattresses as both Kenny & Kyle rose early (the sun wasn’t fully up) and headed out on trail. I was thinking that I would start an early morning routine soon, ahead of Stevie in order for us to collectively gain a few miles each day on our journey. Over time, this would ultimately shave off several days to our finish date. Or perhaps allow us the privilege of a few “zero” days. It essentially guarantees that my pace would have matched Stevie’s pace (had we started together) up until the time he caught me. 

We got up between 5:30 am (me) and 6 am (Stevie) and left the shelter together around 7:00 am after we ate our breakfast. It wasn’t a great night sleep as Stevie will attest to in our video. We did however pick up our pace a bit today, but we only hiked 19.4 miles due to challenging terrain. We also stopped a few times to enjoy the sights, to eat some food, and to resupply our snacks. 

We were six miles into our hike by 9:30 am when we reached a significant milestone – 731 .4 miles, which was exactly one-third the overall distance of the Appalachian Trail. We stopped to take a special celebratory video, and also to rest. 

Close to mid-day, we stopped into Fontana Marina and enjoyed a Bunny Tracks pint of ice cream each while thoroughly taking in the scenery at an outdoor table. The temps were approaching the high 80’s and the day was warm, more of what we expected in the south.

Stevie took a liking to the several pontoon boats that were docked, and commented that he would love to own one some day. We signed our southern trail names (Gator & Croc) on the Class of ’22 poster that hung on the side of the Marina Store, and just while we were packing up to leave, a worker opened the Marina door and whistled loudly at someone down the dock ramp. The sound of his whistle was deafening and it didn’t help that he was only about five feet from me, and he immediately apologized.

We also stopped at the Fontana Dam Shelter (to eat a few snacks and collect some cold water at a strong pump) and the Fontana Dam Visitor Center, but unfortunately it was closed except for the restrooms that we took advantage of. We then proceeded to cross over the Fontana Dam which was pretty cool.

Shortly after leaving the dam, Kenny & Kyle passed us and we all entered the Great Smokey Mountains together at the permit box. 

The steep ascents and descents (significant grade) was expected but the beautiful views along the way today made it worthwhile. The sky throughout the day was bright blue and relatively clear except for patches of white clouds that occasionally rolled by. 

We later met Kenny and Kyle again at the Birch Spring campsite where we set up our tents on a hill. We cooked dinner, I hung my food bag, and Stevie placed the bear can near a tree. During dinner, we discussed that I would try to head out at bit earlier than Stevie in the morning to test our hiking paces and to assess that approach. 

Later that evening, Stevie had heard a noise thinking it was a bear tossing something (perhaps a bear can), but fortunately it was not ours.