Watch Out for Crazy Train
Greetings from mile 178 on the AT! I’m at Mollies Ridge shelter in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s at 4,600 feet and quite chilly at the moment, which is why I’m in my tent and huddled under the covers. I hiked 11.5 miles today. I mentioned that I’m in the Smokies, but to be honest, I’m not sure what state I’m in right now. [Wife’s note: Tennessee, I think, but it’s so close to the border, it’s hard to really tell.] The trail goes back and forth over the state line between North Carolina and Tennessee so often that they don’t even bother to tell you where you are most of the time.
This morning, I woke up at the Hike Inn, which really is a lovely place. I stayed there because S. found a recommendation for it in a Facebook group for 2024 thru-hikers, and it was absolutely the right call.
I was feeling fairly nervous about today’s hike, because it seemed from the map that there was going to be an awful lot of elevation gain, and there was. I think 4,300 feet in aggregate. And on the map, it looked like it was going to be really steep. Nancy (from the Hike Inn) drove me back to the trailhead, and on the way, I explained my trepidation, and she told me not to worry, because the trail actually has a more gradual grade to it than the earlier sections.
So I get back on the trail, which started at the Fontana Dam Visitor Center. And the first part of my day was just walking across the dam, which was pretty interesting. While I was crossing, I looked down at the bottom and saw a bunch of sports cars gathering. Apparently, there's a road here called the Tail of the Dragon that has something like a hundred hairpin turns. [Wife note: I read that there are 318 turns over 11 miles!] So it tends to attract a lot of people who want to drive it. I think you start at the base of the Fontana Dam. I could actually hear them driving around all day, but once I’d crossed the dam, I hooked a right into the park.
At first, you’re just walking on a road that takes you into the park, and eventually, you come to the trailhead on the left. This is where you’re required to deposit the first half of your Smoky Mountains National Park permit. I didn't take a picture of the box, because when I pulled up, there was sort of a traffic jam of four or five other hikers putting their permits in. It wasn't anything particularly special to behold, though. It looks like one of those metal boxes you drop your keys into at the dealership when you leave your car there for service after hours. And it says, “A.T. THRU-HIKERS DEPOSIT PERMITS HERE” in bright green letters on the front.
After that, I began hiking up. The first three or four miles are pretty much just uphill, because we were coming out of the valley. And thankfully, Nancy was right — it actually wasn't that bad.
Once I’d gotten some elevation, I came across a really nice spot that looked like a good place to stop and have a snack. So I did. There were some other hikers there taking a break, too, and one of them was this very nice, very polite guy who reminded me of Colin Robinson from What We Do in the Shadows. You know, kind of a nerdy, older gentlemen. We talked about hiking stuff for a little while, and then he stood up to go. As he was putting his pack back on, he asked me whether I had a trail name yet, and I said, “Nope. Just Rob. How about you?”
He looked at me for a second and said, “Crazy Train,” and then walked away.
No one would ever look at this guy and think, “You know, we need to call him Crazy Train,” so I’m pretty sure he named himself.
The nice part about getting elevation and keeping it is that you get to do a lot of ridge walking. So you're high up, but it's pretty flat, and the views tend to be really great. And for whatever crazy reason, when I reached the first ridge today, I immediately thought, “Thank you, Ridge!” And then, for whatever even crazier reason, I immediately pictured Ridge from The Bold and the Beautiful responding, “You're welcome,” as the smooth opening riffs of Player’s “Baby, Come Back” played in the background. [Wife note: Um... wow... anyway, the guy who played Ridge was the bassist for that band, so that’s the connection.] Strange, I know. The mind of a hiker, I guess.
The campsite was pretty sparsely populated by the time I got to it. Some hikers were choosing to go on a little further, but the temperature was starting to drop, so I called it a day. I set up my tent and made mashed potatoes and salmon again for dinner. I think that’s going to be a common theme for a while. Tastes good. Easy to prepare. Filling. By the time I went to hang my bear bag, it’d gotten so freaking cold that I just climbed into bed, and all the other hikers here seem to have done the same. Later on in the hike, I imagine there will be a little more socializing around the campfire in the evenings, but for now, thanks to the weather, most people are just eating and then getting the hell into their tent for the night.
