Reset search
United States
Satellite

United States
Mynatt Park

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • TravelerHeading North on AT from GA/NC
      Day 12

      Day 12 of AT in NC/TN NOBO

      May 13, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

      Fontana Marina (mile marker 164.7) to Mollies Ridge Shelter (#177.7).
      Daily Mileage: 13.0

      Pretty day, temps @ 70 and clear. 9:00 am. Shuttle driver “Shua” (he’s not a fan of his name Joshua, so his trail name is just the last part 🤓) took me the mile down from the Lodge to the Marina to continue where I left off.

      1.6 miles in on a paved road, I hit the Fontana Dam Visitor Center which was very interesting. The dam is the largest east of the Mississippi and was built over a 2.5 year span in the early 40’s. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Roosevelt knew he had to bolster our air forces, so he order a dam to be built in Fontana that would ultimately employ 1,200 workers over 2.5 years. The hydroelectric energy from the dam would be used by
      local steel co’s which in turn produced over 50,000 planes for the war effort. What is now the Fontana Village with its Lodge buildings, the cabins, etc. all used to be where the workers and their families stayed in the 1940’s. Pretty amazing piece of history.

      1.2 miles after walking over the dam, I dropped off my Smoky Mountains permit into the box and headed 10.2 miles straight up into the woods, destination Mollies Ridge Shelter for the evening. There were 4 hikers in the shelter and 8 of us in tents. It was a clear night at the campground, and a bear (or 2) were heard grunting and sniffing around our tents between 2-3:30 am, which was a bit disconcerting. But our food bags were hung up on the cables, and we were all left alone. We would hear bear each of the next 3 nights at around the same time. The Smokies are renown for their bear population as well as for their population of wild hogs.      Read more

    • TravelerHeading North on AT from GA/NC
      Day 13

      Day 13 of AT in TN NOBO

      May 14, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

      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!      Read more

    • TravelerHeading North on AT from GA/NC
      Day 14

      Day 14 of AT in TN NOBO

      May 15, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 75 °F

      Derrick Knob Shelter (mile marker 189.8) to Mt. Collins Shelter (#202.8).
      Daily Mileage: 13.0

      Day 14 started off calm and relatively clear, but would certainly not end that way in what would be the toughest test of our journey thus far.

      Today’s trek took us up and over the highest point on the whole Appalachian Trail: 6,658 ft Clingman’s Dome. We began at an Elev. of 4,771 ft and ascended to the top of Silers Bald (5,452 ft) by 12:00 for a nice, quick group lunch. We wanted to get going as rain was predicted for later in the afternoon.

      The group started to spread out and by 1:30 I hiked past Double Spring Gap Shelter and started the 3 mile ascent up to Clingman’s Dome. 1 mile later it started to rain and progressively got worse over the next 3 hours. Temps fell into the upper 40’s with strong thunderstorms and torrents of water rushing down the trail. Being soaked, cold and trekking in water up to your ankles is a bit worrisome, especially when you still have 4 miles left to reach the relative dry/warmth of the shelter. I got up to the top of the fire tower/dome, took a quick pic & video (zero views obviously from a tower that normally has the best views in the Smokies 🙁) and kept moving now downhill towards the shelter.

      It was tough to see the correct way to go in the heavy fog & rain, but I was fortunate to get to the shelter by 4:30 and get some dry clothes on and start a fire. Chipmunk was there from the previous night (he didn’t want to leave and hike in the storm that day). I was worried about Cassian, Moment (his trail name, a 24 yr old guy from Pepperell, MA who is very chill), Chris & “Drama-llama”. 2 hours later Chris & Maxine walked in, which was amazing… she was pretty calm about the events of the afternoon for a 9 year old. Chris on the other hand was trying to stay calm for her sake. 🙂Cassian & Moment it turns out had turned around halfway up to the Dome and went back to Double Spring Gap Shelter. Thankfully as Cassian had been having a leg problem and it would’ve been tough for him to successfully make it to Mt. Collins. So…. all ended ok and we lived to tell the tale. 😮‍💨      Read more

    • TravelerHeading North on AT from GA/NC
      Day 15

      Day 15 of AT in TN/NC NOBO

      May 16, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 82 °F

      Mt. Collins Shelter (mile marker 202.8) to Newfound Gap parking lot (#207.8) for shuttle ride down into Gatlinburg TN for a zero day tomorrow.

      We all woke up this am to sunnier skies and calmer weather. The privy was a good one and the spring for water was close by. All was right with the world!

      Mid evening last night, a hiker named Swiss Chris (Chris from the German area of northern Switzerland) got to the shelter in time to set up shop inside the shelter with me. A really nice guy. His intent is to thru hike to Katahdin by mid September. So it was me and Swiss Chris in the shelter, Chipmunk was out in his hammock, Chris & Maxine in their tent, and another nice couple from Wisconsin (both UW grads!!) in their tent. The bear came again last night and roamed around, but Chris & I were safe inside the shelter. (Btw, one of the attached pics is of me, Chipmunk & Swiss Chris).

      We all (except for the UW couple… they are section hiking Southbound) headed out Northbound the 5.0 miles to Newfound Gap for our 15 mile shuttle rides down into Gatlinburg TN. We just needed to get there by Noon, and it was mostly downhill. Got there in plenty of time and were welcomed by @ 75 cars/tour buses, and 100+ people. What a melting pot of humans. 🤓 You can imagine the look on Elmer & Ada’s faces when we came walking out of the woods!

      Chris, Maxine & I shared a shuttle I had reserved down into G with driver Nate. He is a newly minted triple crowner (when you have successfully thru-hiked the big 3: AT, PCT & CDT). A great guy and incredibly knowledgeable and loyal to the hiking community. He comes all the way from Asheville NC each day to shuttle hikers all over a wide geographic area on both sides of the Smokies.

      Got into the Fairfield Inn & Suites in G by 1:00 and started laundry, catching up on things now that I had WiFi, and best of all, 2 large pizzas & beer delivered to the room! Nothing better than that! 😋      Read more

    • TravelerHeading North on AT from GA/NC
      Day 16

      Day 16 of AT in TN (zero day)

      May 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      Zero day here in Gatlinburg, TN.

      Getting food re-supply for
      the pack, walking around Gatlinburg sightseeing & people watching, updating journal & Facebook, and just all around chilling.
      Celtics-Heat game 1 tonight and shuttle pick up tomorrow at Noon to head back to the trail.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Mynatt Park

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

    • 2024© FindPenguins
    • Home
    • About us
    • Blog
    • Group Tracking
    • Press
    • Terms
    • Privacy Policy & Cookies
    • Support
    • Legal notice
    • English