Backpacking the AT - Day Two

Day 2: Helvey’s Mill Shelter mile 594.3 to Dismal Falls mile 612.4

It was quite chilly this morning, and my sleep had been very minimal, but we crawled from our warm sleeping bags and were greeted by a beautiful sunrise.

We hurried to heat water for coffee and oatmeal, and the warm meal was just what we needed to get us going.

It was much too cold to have a leisurely morning, so we were packed and ready to leave camp by 8am.

The trail quickly climbed up, up, up without much downhill relief. I seriously felt like the most out of shape person ever.  Carrying 35 pound packs was really testing us! The sun was bright in the sky, though, and we took our time, taking breaks as needed.  

We made it to Jenny Knob Shelter a little after 1pm and stopped to take a much needed lunch break. We dined like queens on jerky and tuna packets, crackers and cheese. 

Back on the trail, we had a nice downhill section ending at a paved road. Civilization! We waved to passing cars as we continued our hike.  Also during this section, we sought out our first stream to collect water in our bottles.  Both of us chose to carry mini Sawyer Squeeze water filters, which fit on top of SmartWater bottles.  It was pretty easy to just scoop up some water, attach the filter, and drink!

As a side note, we both had downloaded the FarOut app, which provides downloaded maps of the trail, along with elevation profiles, and points of interest along the way, ranging from water refill points, shelters, high points, hostels, towns, and more.  The app functions even without cell service, but also offers real time comments from other hikers.  For instance, if you came to a listed water stop and the stream was dried up, you could comment that so other hikers would be aware of the situation.  There are tons of little tips included, and we found this app to be invaluable throughout our trip.

The trail headed away from the road and we were immediately heading UP. This wasn’t a meandering, switchback trail, this was up, at a sharp incline.  The climb to the top of this mountain was long and slow. We’d take ten or fifteen steps and then stop to rest. Ten or fifteen more steps, and then adjust our packs. Ten or fifteen more steps and mutter, “What the fuck?” This went on for over an hour. 

Atop the mountain the trail leveled out, but instead of smooth sailing, we were jumping from rock to rock, careful of every step. We decided to name this mountain, “Get Ready to Get Fucked Mountain.”

 At long last, the trail turned downward and we were ready for it. Down, down the mountain we went. The sun was getting lower in the sky and we still had quite a bit of hiking to do.

Near the bottom we came through a grassy field, filled with amazing views.

Finally, we crossed a cool bridge and were at Kimberling Creek where we planned to camp for the night. 

On closer inspection, we decided this was not an ideal location for us, and we made the decision to press on to Dismal Falls, which came highly recommended through the app.  We had two miles of hiking to go and one hour until dark. We had to get moving.  The trail was full of twists and turns, ups and downs, but it was Golden Hour and that setting sun made everything glow. 

We could hear the falls for a mile before we finally came to the spur trail. That last mile seemed to take forever.  We were really hustling, not wanting to have to try to navigate this trail after dark, let alone set up camp for the night.

After a short downhill hike, in near darkness, we came to a campsite with a fire pit and enough room for two tents. We had just the right amount of daylight left to get our tents pitched and then it was dark.

We still hadn’t seen the falls, but that would have to wait until morning. I started a fire while Misty collected firewood and then we heated the water for our dinners. 

Shortly after finishing our meal, we decided to head for our beds. The 18.5 mile journey, which was two more miles than we had planned for the day, with our heavy packs, had wiped us out. I was certain I would sleep better tonight.