I’m writing this at the end of another week of magic and hiking in the bubble out here on the North Carolina and Tennessee border! Since I last posted, we have hiked through the Smoky Mountains National Park! I am so excited as I have never been to this park besides driving through a part as a kid. Some fun facts I’ve learned since being here, this park is the most visited park in the US every year and the Smoky Mountains are the most biodiverse forest in North America! This is so evident, even in early spring, because we have hiked through multiple homes and when spending time looking at the floor of wildflowers, it’s easy to see at least ten different kinds just from one small area.
I actually remember picking up some AT hikers when I was in Tennessee as a middle schooler. I was so infatuated by what they were doing and could not believe they only showered in waterfalls (that’s not real that’s just what I thought and was too shy to ask). Here’s some dorky photos:
2015 where we picked up the hikers! I was 13..
10 years later in the same spot as an AT thru hiker! Everything is connected
Mothra!
Some big things have happened this week including finally getting dubbed my trail name!! For a few days, the people around me have been calling me “Bic” because it was only the second week and I was already on my fourth lighter. I thought it was funny but it just didn’t feel like me. However, when we were climbing into the Smoky Mountains, there is a 2.5 mile ascent that is straight up and has no breaks. Strider and I were so brilliant to do this climb right after eating as much as we could in Fontana Village, carrying a heavy pack with full resupplies, no water, and it was 80-something degrees and sunny. This was the hottest that it had been since we started and the full sunshine made it almost feel like a death march. I’m being so dramatic, but at one point I looked at Strider and asked if this was what the Marines boot camp was like. He laughed and said, “close”, which validated my exhaustion. Before you start thinking how soft I am, I am not adjusted to the heat yet, only the cold. We actually have gotten comments from so many people asking how we’re in shorts and no jacket in the cold because we are just more adjusted to that temperature right now. I’ll get used to the heat…..I hope.
Anyways as we got near the top, I was locked into my feet and did not want to look up at the never ending climb in front of me. However, when I did look up, I saw the most beautiful Luna Moth perched on a tree in the sunshine. Immediately I was filled with this childlike euphoria and all my exhaustion dissipated immediately. I started jumping around and telling Strider not to get too close so he could see it as well cause I didn’t want to startle it. I was so excited that he thought we had made it to the creek for water and was bummed to see it was just a moth. I have never seen a Luna Moth before but ever since I was a kid I have loved them so much. They are so beautiful, and their life cycle has always stuck with me. They only live 7 days as an adult and they don’t eat during this time. It’s almost like this is their final celebration of life, to float around and enjoy the night. While they’re not necessarily rare, they are nocturnal so seeing one during the day is not common and is a good omen that signifies “new beginnings” in some old legends. It was so magical to me and for the rest of the climb I was practically skipping. We saw multiple people at the creek and I asked if they saw the moth and none of them did which for some reason made it even more special to me.
How perfect. My first ever Luna moth sighting
That night around dinner, the group at camp dubbed my name as Moth Girl since I was asking everyone we saw if they saw it and no one did. I loved the name. It means so much more to me than Bic. When I was a kid, I went through a phase of being obsessed with butterflies. I had a big encyclopedia book on them and spent a lot of time outside looking for them. However, I saw a lot more moths than butterflies and their quick movements freaked me out. I specifically remember my grandpa telling me that moths are just like butterflies, just not as colorful. If you just watch them you will realize they are so similar, he told me, and their beauty has always been there. Somethings just need a little more time to recognize and admire when it’s not as in your face about it. My grandpa passed when I was 10 so this is one of the only memories of my own I have of him. I actually have a moth tattoo above my knee that reminds me of just that and it feels especially significant on the Appalachian Trail. Unliked Colorado, the East Coast wilderness doesn’t shout its beauty, it hums with it. I just have to slow down, pay attention, and let myself really see.
Then, Mothra. As we were waiting for the shuttle in Gatlinburg, I told a man named Mozie I was going by Moth Girl now. He said that reminds him of his years living in Japan when all the kids had little Mothra figurines and stuffed animals. I learned that Mothra was one of Godzilla’s first enemies, but she’s actually a hero. She protects humanity from Godzilla’s destruction and also is seen in Japan as a warrior versus human overconsumption to save nature. This felt so special to me as it is what I try to do in real life as an Environmental Engineer and conservationist. I watched the Mothra vs Godzilla scene and was officially sold is completing his triple crown this year and we have taken some time to get to know him the past weeks. He told me that’s the first name he’s ever given out even after all his long hikes which again, felt so special.
So yeah! Mothra! Some people were sad I wasn’t going by Bic anymore. I told them that’s my trail middle name, on my government papers. 😉
And now, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Before the trail, I had only learned about this town through the context of the Civil War. This was the battle of a big Union victory, because the Union got control of some important gunpowder ingredients in the South. Now, however, it is one of the most commercial towns I’ve ever been in in my whole life. It’s like if you asked a 10-year-old kid to think of his dream town and then put a 2 ski lifts through the middle and added a 7D movie. Ripley’s believe it or not, a real human body museum, a million American restaurants, fudge, ice cream, Margaritaville. Then multiply that by 30. I knew it was going to be insane from earnings from other hikers, but when I pulled up to the main street of Disney-like attractions and animatronic T-Rexes and pirates, it startled me. The constant noise and visual stimulation of colors that are so far out of the natural world made my brain hurt.
Can’t even photograph the craziness
At first, it was a really funny time. A few other hikers we were with were joking we were going to go to Dollywood, but after some nice trail magic people at Newfound gap told us it was an hour trolley ride plus $80 ticket. We decided that this wasn’t worth the bit. We ended up going into town, doing laundry in a random hotel wearing our rain gear around a bunch of other tourists, getting a free burrito from the taco place, and taking our shower at our wicked cheap hotel. A bunch of hikers warned us of how expensive this place was, but I cannot believe how cheap our hotel room and meals were! We met up with a couple of other hikers and decided to go to Margaritaville for dinner but when we went inside and asked the lady which restaurant was better in the resort, she told us neither are very good. “Go to the Mexican restaurant next-door,” she said. We literally got convinced out of eating at Margaritaville by Margaritaville. Anyways, it was a fun night of hanging out with other hikers and then walking the streets and seeing a bunch of little kids on a sugar high running around with a blue ring around their mouth.
We held parrots for some reason? My favorite picture ever cause Strider was not pleased that they put a parrot on his head..
The next day we took the trolley up to Food City (best grocery store name ever) to get our resupply. We saw our friend Rabbit, who is from Ireland, along the way and he joked that there might be free transportation in America, but it’s gonna be something dumb like a trolley. He’s kind of right! It was a wicked hot day and we were laughing carrying our bear bag and other grocery bags through the tourist town streets on a busy Spring Break Friday. At first, this town was such a funny thing to me, the juxtaposition between the woods was so extreme, it could only be comedic. After 24 hours, this comedy faded away into depression. I’m not sure I can explain exactly why I felt this way, but I felt pity for the workers and even for some of the families walking around these areas. I needed to get back into the trees and away from the overwhelming smells and sounds and lights and colors and germs.
So funny watching Strider carry a bear bag through tourist town on a Friday
The Great Smoky Mountains
The Smoky Mountains have been the most beautiful part of the trail so far. We have been so lucky to have gotten fantastic weather as we had been embracing ourselves for the worst from other hikers scary weather stories. The only bummer about having nice weather is that we never got to see the true “Smoky Mountains” of the beautiful low clouds in between the hills. The only thing we saw was what we found out later was a forest fire :/ However, every single day we had a view that overlooked such beautiful rolling mountains. The shelters are much different in the National Park, everyone must sleep in the shelter due to heighten bear activity, which means they’re quite large and hold about 12 people. The wind up here was also pretty nasty so there is a giant tarp that sectioned off the main room of the shelter. There is also a fireplace in each shelter which, in the first few, we realized were built a little too shallow so instead of warming the place it just smoked the whole place out.
Not the “Smokey” mountains I wanted, but the Smokey mountains we got
Fireplace in the shelter (for context)
The first two shelters we got to, we were too late and had to set up our tent outside. This is proper practice according to our permit (please don’t yell at us). I was grateful to do this, especially on one night when it was so cold, I woke up and noticed that our friend Giddyup’s tent had completely frosted it over. My water was slushy with ice and there was a bitter freezing wind. I stayed nice and warm in my sleeping quilt, which Strider taught me gets a lot warmer when you shake it out after taking it out of the dry sack. Not everyone in the shelter was as lucky and no one seemed to have a good night of sleep there.
Cold
Hiking up to Kuwohi, formerly called Clingmans Dome, was the first time I actually felt like through hiker. Day hikers were asking us: “Where did you start? Are you camping? No way you came from Georgia and no way you’re going to Maine.” This high point on the trail is 200 miles in and I was about eight days after a shower so I noticed how strong the perfume and cologne and soap smelled off these day hikers. I also realized this probably goes both ways. Since we took a zero in Gatlinburg, when we got back on trail, there was a whole new bubble of people. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone over the days in the Smokys and having family dinners again cause we made it back into the bubble. We also ran into some old friends, including Moonpie and Sugar glider, who was happy to see because they redid our nails!
Sugar Glider has been painting everyone’s nails on trail
Smokys Squad!
The days hiking in the Smokies are spent gawking at the view and using an app called “Seek” to look up all the different types of flowers we can find. Strider made a comment this morning that I think perfectly encapsulate the Smokies, “Just stand right here and try to count all the different shades of green you can see from right here.” We’ve been hiking through different biomes, and ny personal favorite biome is a mossy field of plants and trees. It is so beautiful and the natural colors of green are not replicable (sorry Gatlinburg you can try).
We tried to do all the side quests we can, legs willing, just to take in as much as we can before we leave the Smokys and enter into areas impacted by Helene. On our final day in the Smokies, we met a southbound through hiker who started his hike in early June last year. He had to stop hiking due to the hurricane, because a lot of the trail was closed. He came back to the trail starting in March and is finishing what he started. It was so interesting to talk to him about what we can expect to see ahead of us and how he handled not finishing his thru hike the way he intended. Due to the climate crisis, it is becoming more and more common to have that type of resilience in the idea of finishing a thru hike. I spent the day thinking about how the “rules” of completing of a thru hike are not concrete. It is entirely personal and a huge accomplishment, as well as a privilege, to be able to see the entire trail. Every morning I get to wake up and do something entirely new that I’ve never seen before and it’s fun to think about how this trail looks throughout the year as I’m seeing it on some gorgeous days of spring, but people just a month ahead of me, have seen this exact area buried in snow. Every day out in the roots and rocks, I realize a little more and more how much of a big deal it is to hike the Appalachian trail. I am so lucky. Thank you Smoky Mountains, I hope to be back soon!
Charlie’s Bunion
Something that astonished me in the Smokey’s was trees growing from the roots of fallen trees. How
It’s so hard to photograph the vastness of the wild flowers
thanks for reading! See you out there! <3 Mothra
200 miles!
