The morning began with the gentle pitter-patter of rain tapping on the shelter roof, nature’s version of a cozy white noise machine. While it made for prime “ snuggle-into-your-quilt-and-ignore-the-world conditions”, hiking in it ranked somewhere between “unpleasant” and “hard pass.” Thankfully, Mother Nature showed a rare moment of mercy and gradually dialed the rain back as breakfast was devoured and packs were loaded.
Unfortunately, while the weather showed restraint… the shelter’s resident house mouse chose violence.
Pappy became the latest victim of trail rodent sabotage when the tiny food critic tunneled straight through his custom food bag. Oddly enough, no food was stolen, apparently this was purely a structural vandalism project. Once again proving that mice on the AT aren’t hungry… they’re just tiny chaos engineers.
With fingers crossed and a healthy dose of trail optimism, attempts were made to contact the backcountry office to confirm whether Laurel Creek Road was open. The phone, however, had committed fully to its voicemail era. Trusting the website and possibly the hiking gods, we set off down Russell Field Trail around 9:45 AM, blister fully re-armored and hopefully ready for duty.
The upper elevations greeted us with lingering snow drifts measuring roughly 10–14 inches deep, just enough to keep things interesting and test everyone’s interpretive dance version of “staying upright.” While there were a few gravity-assisted moments, overall the fall count remained respectable and mostly entertaining. As elevation dropped, the snow evolved from fluffy drifts into wet icy mush, then graduated into premium Slip-N-Slide mud. If there had been judges scoring style points, we absolutely would have medaled.
Despite the trail attempting to turn us into human curling stones, the surrounding scenery remained breathtaking, reminding us why we voluntarily sign up for this nonsense.
Lower down, several creek crossings demanded some precision rock hopping. Miraculously, everyone stuck the landings and avoided an unscheduled full-body creek baptism.
Reaching the intersection of Russell Field Trail and the old logging road on Anthony Creek Trail felt like entering the promised land. From there forward, glorious footbridges carried us safely across all remaining creek crossings like civilized trail royalty.
Then came the moment of pure joy: Ground Control rolled into the picnic area driving the legendary truck, Toothless. Spirits soared. Feet rejoiced. Knees sent thank-you notes.
Before heading back to Newfound Gap to retrieve The Yeti, we stopped by the backcountry office to confirm our safe exit and provide an update about another hiker still on trail. The staff were visibly relieved, as a nasty cold rain system was looming, the kind that makes hypothermia far too comfortable of a possibility. They politely expressed appreciation for our decision-making skills, which we will absolutely be adding to our hiking resumes. 😝
After successfully retrieving The Yeti, Pappy and Prepper were delivered back to Fontana Dam to reunite with their vehicles. With several days of Smokies re-entry delays pending, it was time for a strategic pivot.
I made the call to head home and have a long overdue medical consultation regarding my kidney stone, now officially named “Mick Jagger,” presumably because it refuses to retire and insists on making dramatic appearances.
If the tramily has to re-enter The Smokies without me, I’m perfectly at peace with it. Having already completed the Smokies section of the AT back in October, those miles still count toward this year’s hike, provided the full trail is finished within the calendar year.
So now, the next adventure involves medical imaging and hopefully getting an official photo shoot of the legendary “Mick Jagger.”
Stay tuned… because like its namesake, this stone may still have a few tour dates left.
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