Day 19 of AT in TN NOBO

Mt. Cammerer Lookout Tower (mile marker 233.9) to Green Corner Road pick-up spot (241.8).
Daily Mileage: 8.0

Rained a bit last night (with no bear activity!) but not bad when I started hiking at 9am. It’s 0.6 miles to get back to the AT from the lookout tower, but I have plenty of time today to go the mostly downhill 8 miles to meet Nate the shuttle driver at 2:30 for my off day tomorrow in Newport TN.

A rainstorm was supposed to hit the Smokies today, and I was hoping for dry hiking weather down the mountain (4,000 ft descent to the valley floor)…. Success, it stayed dry! A fairly uneventful and relaxed trek down and was able to talk to a fair number of the day hikers (it’s Saturday) coming the other way and hear their itineraries for their hikes.

One interesting thing of note was having to break through the cobwebs going across the trail every couple of minutes as I was the first one trail blazing this part of the trail this am. It’s actually pretty annoying and was happy this was the first (and last 🤞) time I’ve had to do this. 1st world problems!! 🙂

I took my final steps in the Smokies and left the boundary @ 12:30. I had to deposit the other half of my Smokies permit into the box to conclude my stay in this National Park. See the attached video for a cute story of who actually put my permit in the box.

That last 1.3 miles upon leaving the Smokies was a blast back to reality. I passed a couple of roaring streams, I crossed a bridge that spanned a river filled with rafters and kayakers, and I walked under Interstate 40 that connects Asheville NC to Knoxville TN. (See pics & video).

Nate picked me up at 2:15 and ushered me 25 mins down the road to the beautiful (?) 🙂 hamlet of Newport TN and my modest accommodations at the Best Western. It’s actually been the perfect place for a 36 hr stay with on-site laundry, a great breakfast included, and less than a 5 min walk to Ruby Tuesday, a Papa John’s, a Cracker Barrel AND a Walmart to re-supply. 😋Baca lagi