Dad and son in the Smokies

 6/8 - 6/11/25

Fontana Dam Trailhead

The ladies are on a trip so the boys are going backpacking.

Weather looks somewhat standard for the Smokies this time of year, hopefully we will get lucky.

The plan is to hike up to Gregory Bald then take the AT and come down Jenkins Ridge to Hazel Creek and then take the Lakeshore Trail back to the trailhead. Caltopo says 38 miles and 8800' of elevation, should be fine over 5 nights. But, things did not go according to plan.

Started at Fontana Dam, nice walk and view of the lake and no need to pay the newish parking fee that the park implemented recently.

Then up the AT, it is steep and relentless

The Flame Azaleas are popping as we get higher which gives me hope to see them blooming on Gregory Bald. 

Weird growths on some of them, no idea what is going on

Shuckstack Firetower

Campsite 92

Gregory Bald looking down on Cades Cove. I had thought we would come back for the sunset, but storms came through right after dinner. 

Campsite 13 (near Gregory Bald)

We got to the intersection with the AT and my son said his hips were killing him. He was using a kid backpack and he has grown so much in the last year that the hip belt wasn't really wrapping around very well. He had a large bruise on each hip bone, no wonder he said they hurt. It was obvious that my original plans were going to work, so we called an audible and decided to skip most to the remaining trip and head down hill to what had been going to be our campsite in a couple nights. This would shave about 20 miles off the trip. So back down to where the creeks start flowing. 

We got to campsite 90 on Fontana Lake and no one was there, which surprised me since it is pretty popular. 

Home for the next two nights (Site 90)

The next day, we did a day hike over to Hazel Creek so he could see some of what we missed by changing plans. 

Hazel Creek from the bridge near Proctor

My son really wanted a campfire, so he dragged a couple perfect pieces back to camp where I could use my saw. 

Dinner time and almost time for a campfire. A solo hiker showed up and set up camp around the corner while we were hiking.

As I was getting the fire going, we heard the solo guy yelling. He seemed pretty stressed and it sounded like he had said bear. So, let's go see what's going on. We walk around the corner and a very large black bear is about 10 feet from the guy and not really moving away. This is weird since I've seen a ton of bears in the park and they always run from people. If I had had my camera, I would have got some great photos. Instead, we got some rocks and a couple bouncing off his head drove him away. I talked to the solo guy and he said he thought the bear had dragged some of his food into the trees and he was going to shoot it if it came back. That's when I noticed he had a pistol in his hand next to his leg. I told him not to shot the bear and it probably wasn't going to come back anyway and we went back to get a fire going. Less than 5 minutes and we heard multiple shots, thankfully he was shooting into the air and not towards us or the bear, but the bear did not care at all and just proceeded to wander around the camp. We all decided that maybe we would pack up and hike out tonight if the bear was going to be wandering around like this. 

So, 9pm pack up everything and load up for a 6.5ish mile hike in the dark after our 10ish mile day hike. We made good time and got to my car at exactly 12am and then drove the 4 hours home. It was a very long day. 

I called the backcountry office the next day to report the bear issue and they closed the campsite for a while. 

Great trip with my son, would have been better with a better pack and without a problem bear. One good thing was the realization that a new pack was needed for our planned trip to WY in another month. 

Two Balds and a Firetower in the Smokies

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

11/5 - 11/9/21 (4 nights)

2021 Bag Nights: 37

Clingmans Dome to Fontana Dam via the AT with a side trip to Gregory Bald

Night 1: Double Spring Gap

Night 2: Derrick Knob

Night 3: Russell Field

Night 4: Site 13

Caltopo says about 41 miles (range: 1677' to 6573' gross: +9630' -14246')

Weather looks perfect

The AT goes through the middle of the Park. We started at Clingmans Dome on the Right and ended at Fontana Dam on the bottom Left.

We left our packs in the car for the hike to Andrews Bald. It is just long enough that the hoards of people at Clingmans Dome don't make it. There were about 10 other people enjoying the day and the views.

Fontana Lake a couple miles and 4000' down

Then back to the car and our packs and down the trail. A lot of the AT is in the trees, but there are some nice views along the way.

We got to Double Spring Gap and were able to find a place to setup away from the shelter a little bit. There were more people than I expected, we were hitting the last of the southbound thru-hikers. Most of them were planning on being done by Thanksgiving. Everyone was nice, we had a small fire and chatted a bit and then bed.

Day 2 

A little cold in the morning, but not bad once the sun was higher, great day for hiking.

My friend's son

Last bits of fall still hanging on.

We got to Derrick Knob early after a short day of hiking, enough time for a nap in the hammock. Talked to thru-hikers, bourbon and a fire again. Great day.

Day 3

Weather forecast still accurate, beautiful day. Up and over Rocky Top

Fontana Lake down below

Russell Field Shelter

More thru-hikers, more bourbon and conversation

Day 4

Off the AT for the night to Gregory Bald and Site 13, that's Cades Cove down below

We setup camp and then hiked the 1/2 mile back to the bald for sunset. 

Cade Cove again

Day 5

Woke up early to catch the sunrise from the bald

My friend and his son headed down the trail to get water. I told them I would catch up in a bit. I started to head into the trees to take care of some business and saw a bear watching me. This is the first bear I've seen in the Smokies that did not immediately run. I took a couple photos (heavily cropped) as he went back to foraging and then headed down the trail. 

Back on the AT heading towards Fontana Dam, the trees were glowing in the sunlight.

Side trip for lunch and a view at the Shuckstack Firetower

Chimney from the old cabin

Then back to the AT, I'm ready for a burger and a beer

Last bit is the road across the dam to the trailhead/parking lot.

Fontana Lake has been lowered for winter

Shuckstack Firetower in the middle of the ridge. 

This was a great trip, very fun to hike with my friend's son. I could have done with fewer thru-hikers, but still never felt crowded.