Day 13 of AT in TN NOBO

Mollies Ridge Shelter (mile marker 177.7) to Derrick Knob Shelter (#189.8).
Daily Mileage: 12.1

Yesterday’s miles took us from an Elev. of 1,700 ft to 4,700 ft. Today we would hit 5,600 ft before sheltering at 4,900. Hiked most of the day with Cassian, Chris and his 9 year old daughter Maxine (trail name: Drama-llama). Chris and his wife both work from home in Austin TX (he is the CEO of 2 small gaming companies CatNip Games & Shroud of the Avatar) and they home school Maxine, so they are able to get her involved in real world learning experiences such as section hiking different trails in the U.S. . The 2 of them have definitely added some fun and excitement to the late day proceedings around the campfire.

Got to within 1.5 miles of Derrick Knob Shelter before the rain started. Was able to get there quickly and change into dry clothes. Temps at this elevation are low 60’s during the day and @ 50 at night. But seeing as the Smokies are a bio-diverse rain forest (the constant mist gives the mountains it’s name) all the clothing stays wet and you have to put it all on the next morning. 😣 But you have separate dry sleeping clothes to greet you each night which thankfully improves the mood!Meer informatie