Day 17, Pilkey Creek to Lower Forney Creek

We started with a modest climb immediately after leaving our campsite. After getting back to the trail, we didn't have enough elevation change again to qualify as a climb until late in the afternoon.

The creek flowed into an embayment of the lake. There were a lot of these coves along the lakeshore.

This time of year, the lake is rimmed by a strip of dirt and gravel. TVA drops the water level about 50 feet from September to mid-March.

I walked along the lake without haste, enjoying the tranquil beauty of the water and the trees. I had hiked in Great Smoky Mountains National Park many times, but this hike was the first time I had been on Lakeshore Trail. It was lovely and enjoyable.

Then, a thought occurred to me. I remembered the people who lived along the Little Tennessee River before there was a lake and a park. They also sought a quiet, peaceful life, but were forced from their homes on the very soil I found so serene.

The Cherokee who lived here first were driven from their homes by white settlers. Then the settlers were pushed out, either because of logging, the formation of the national park, or the damming of the river.

The suffering and sacrifice they endured cannot be undone. I am hoping, however, that we are finally beginning to understand that and will never forget it.

With mostly flat terrain, this wasn't a challenging section of the trail. Then when it followed an old roadbed again, it became even easier to walk.

Today's weather was much like yesterday. A clear sky made the temperature feel warmer than it really was.

We've been lucky for several days with good weather. The last chance I had to look at the forecast showed some rain may be headed our way in a couple of days. For now, we'll enjoy what we have.

I wasn't expecting to see many wildflowers this late in the season, but I saw a few asters along the trail. They grow well in full sun and were getting plenty of it today.

The flowers and the many views of the lake caused me to lag behind Tengo Hambre and Just Awesome. That wasn't a problem, though, because our destination was already known. We're required to have reservations for each night, so I didn't have to wonder where they might stop.

Once again, the trail passed reminders of people who lived years ago in this remote part of the Smokies. Stone fireplaces and foundations were all that remained of their homes. Many of these had been occupied until the early 1940s.

According to Hiking Trails of the Smokies, nearly 600 families were forced to leave their homes because of the impoundment of Fontana Lake. More than half of them lived within today's park boundary.

On a narrow section of the trail, I stepped off the side to allow a group of seven women backpackers to pass by. The first one in the group asked, "Are you Gravity?" I laughed, knowing that JA and Tengo had told them I was a short distance behind.

When I reached a bridge at Chambers Creek, I found Tengo and JA had stopped to take a break. This was a little too early for lunch, so we agreed to walk a couple more miles before stopping again.

We had just 6.5 miles to go to reach our campsite and plenty of time to get there.

After resting for about 15 minutes, we crossed the bridge and continued down the trail.

We stopped again at about 12:30 p.m. and spread out our tents to dry while we ate lunch.

When we finished and prepared to leave, I decided I should collect and filter some water. We still had a little more than four miles to go for the day. Tengo and JA left while I stayed to filter a liter of water.

The last section of the day's hike included some ups and downs. I began to get sweaty on the climbs, so I was glad to find a breeze on the last ridge. I paused there to allow my shirt to dry.

At the bottom of the last descent, the trail crossed a wide bridge at Forney Creek. Our campsite was upstream of the bridge, and I arrived there just before 4 p.m.

We were surprised to find a log smoldering in a fire pit. Previous campers had failed to extinguish it, so it had been smoking all day long. We shook our heads in disappointment, then doused it with six liters of water.

There was plenty of daylight left for taking care of camp chores. I also had time to repair a blister on one of my toes.

By 6:15 p.m., I had eaten dinner, hung my bear bag, and crawled into my tent. I wasn't tired, but the night air was turning chilly.