The rain that began yesterday continued today.
Relentlessly.
There was so much rain that by midday, the trail was a continuous stream of mud.
Day 16, Mollies Ridge Shelter to Derrick Knob Shelter
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
| Weather | Heavy rain and thundershowers from morning to early afternoon; temperatures from the mid-40s to low-60s |
| Trail Conditions | Water and mud |
| Today's Miles | 12.0 miles |
| Trip Miles | 189.0 miles |
Depending on what side of the ridge we walked, there was a cold breeze blowing or it was just cold.
But oh, that mud.
After waking up, we tried to eat breakfast and pack our gear as quickly as possible. The cold and rain made that difficult.
Mollies Ridge Shelter had a canopy over an eating area. That allowed us to get out of the rain briefly, but it was crowded with other hikers trying to do the same thing.
Walking on a muddy trail presents a number of challenges not found on a dry trail. The mud is often a slick ooze that renders the treads of your shoes useless. Steep inclines are particularly difficult in this kind of mud. You can't get much traction.
The mud also hides roots, making slips and stumbles more likely.
It's tempting to walk on the edge of the trail where it is less muddy. This practice is frowned upon because it unnecessarily widens the trail.
And it's not always a better way to go. The slope of the trail's edge is slippery, making one more way for your feet to slide.
At some point on days like today, you give up your attempts to stay out of the mud. Your shoes and pant legs are already covered in it. You're not going to get any cleaner or drier, so you just walk and accept the conditions.
After we had walked much of the morning in the sloppy mess, Landon mentioned he was beginning to feel some pain in his feet and legs.
The terrain wasn't easy, and the weather made hiking more difficult. To make matters worse for him, it had been a few years since he had last done a rigorous hike like this. I knew he was having trouble when he asked me to set the pace.
After nearly six miles of hiking, we stopped for lunch at Spence Field Shelter.
The shelter sat on an exposed ridge at 4,916 feet in elevation. We tried to stay out of the blustery wind by going into the shelter, but we couldn't get away from the cold.
While eating lunch, I found I had a sufficient cell signal to check the weather forecast. Seeing it only made us feel worse.
The forecast read something like this: "Today, rain and thunderstorms, followed by rain and thunderstorms. Tomorrow morning, rain and thunderstorms, then rain and thunderstorms, followed by rain and thunderstorms."
And on it went like that for the whole week.
Knowing about Landon's feet and leg pains, I asked him if he wanted me to contact my sister-in-law, Vicki. We had originally planned for her to meet us on Thursday at Newfound Gap. She was going to deliver to us our food for the remainder of the Smokies.
An alternate plan I proposed to Landon was to ask her to just pick us up at Clingman's Dome tomorrow. We would bail out and I'd just return in a day or to and pick up from there.
Landon agreed that was a good idea. When I texted that idea to Vicki, she readily agreed to meet us tomorrow. I told her I thought we would arrive at Clingman's Dome at around 4 p.m.
Landon was relieved, and at first, I was too. We had both been miserable all morning.
Then something unexpected happened. The rain slowly began to fade.
The wind continued to blow, but the weather was improving. The sun never came out enough to dry anything. Still, there were brief moments when we thought it would.
The change in weather didn't improve the pains Landon felt in his legs and feet, but it lifted our spirits.
By the time we reached Rocky Top, which was barely more than a mile past the shelter, the rain had completely stopped.
If you're not from Tennessee, have never lived in Tennessee, or have never seen a University of Tennessee sporting event, you may not know or appreciate this outcropping of rock.
As the legend goes, this was the inspiration for a song by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant. It's an incongruous choice for a school song because it has nothing to do with state or school pride, and is mostly about drinking moonshine.
As we neared the summit of Rocky Top, Landon asked me, "Do we have to sing the song when we get there?"
"Do you know the words?" I replied.
"I know there's a 'woo!' in there somewhere," he answered.
That's about as much as I know too, and I've lived in Tennessee 20 years.
As we descended from Rocky Top we saw a small rabbit. Seeing it was more proof the weather was improving.
We next had to climb to another rocky mountaintop called Thunderhead. As before on Rocky Top, the weather had not cleared enough to offer a view. At least we were starting to dry out.
When we weren't slipping in the mud, I noticed yellow trout lily were beginning to appear on the trail.
The thick blanket of clouds lifted enough late in the day that we were finally able to get a couple of views. There were still clouds, but at least we could see farther than a quarter mile.
Landon and I stopped for the night at Derrick Knob Shelter. Unsurprisingly, it was about as crowded as Mollies Ridge had been.
I checked with Landon, and he still felt it was the right thing for him to get off the trail. By now, however, my feelings had changed. I no longer wanted to get off the trail when he did and felt ready to complete the Smokies as planned.
My original plan was to have my wife pick me up at Davenport Gap, which is the end of the AT in the park. I intended to take time off from the trail to relax at home before driving to Baltimore and attending a work-related conference.
Now Landon and I made a new plan. He would leave with Vicki from Clingman's Dome. If we couldn't reach her beforehand and tell her of our new plan, I would take the rest of Landon's food. That should give me enough to go the whole way as intended.
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And listen to the ripples as they moan
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
Sing me a song of my own
Black muddy river
Roll on forever
I don't care how deep and wide
If you got another side
Roll muddy river
Roll muddy river
Black muddy river, roll
This trail report was published on