It was great hiking weather in the morning as I climbed out of NOC around 8 am. It rained quite a lot overnight and everything was still wet. The 40-ish deg weather was just right for making the big climb while not overheating in long pants and a light-weight long-sleeved shirt.
I did notice that it kept getting colder and colder as I climbed higher. Eventually, I found myself walking through snow.
I was only planning to go 7 miles to stay at Sassafras Gap tonight but when I arrived it was still snowing and just seemed like a terrible night to stay in a tent or a shelter. I stopped at the shelter for lunch and met Eva, a 10 week old pup. She was delighting in the cold weather, even choosing to play in the spring. Despite her joy, I decided to press on to Stecoah Gap where I might be able to book a cabin and be warm for the night.
It’s a strange juxtaposition knowing that yesterday I was getting sunburned relaxing down by the river and today I was at risk of freezing if I staid out overnight. After some more climbing I summited the peak at Cheoah Bald but from inside the snow cloud I couldn’t appreciate the views. The frozen spider webs and other winter views made up for it by being quite pretty, albeit cold.
Eventually I lost some altitude and the skies cleared up, the afternoon could actually be accused of being a nice day. Once out of the snow, the green trees confirmed that it was, in fact, still springtime.
The downhill into Stecoah Gap was steep but thankfully I had reception to make a phone call to the nearby shelters and found an available bed. The cabins provide dinners and breakfasts and the manager allowed me to resupply out of his pantry at a very reasonable rate. I’ll need pick up a few lunches in Fontana, otherwise I’ve got more than enough food to get to Gatlinburg.
Dinner was fantastic and we had the company of Duke, Lucy, Gracie, and Paul (3 dogs and cat). They put me up in a room with EZ and True and with overnight lows in the teens, we were all glad to have a warm bed for the night.
Day 17 Mileage: 13.8 mi [NOC -> Stecoah Gap]
Total Mileage: 158.8 mi