Rock Top is the summit of a mountain in the Smokies.  It sits just below it’s big brother, Thunderhead Mountain.  The views from Rock Top are worth the grueling hike to get there. At 5,440 feet, Rocky Top isn’t the highest mountain on the Appalachian Trail, but it emerges from the woods allowing you to see just how spectacular the mountain range is and will give you a better appreciation of just how steep a climb you just made.  So after taking in the sites and eating a quick lunch, I snapped a few photos and prepared to head back.

The decent down from Rocky Top was both satisfying and tiring.  I really didn’t realize how much I had pushed myself until I started to walk downhill.  When you switch from going uphill to walking downhill something major happens to your feet.  You’re no longer walking on the balls of your feet, instead all your weight is now hitting on your heel.  You really need to make sure you step with purpose or your feet will pay the price. On the way down I ran into people, unlike on the way up.  One of the great things about hiking is when you run into other hikers, everyone is friendly. They will all give you advise if you ask for it and do so in glee.  Unlike the rest of the world, when you run into a hiker and ask a question, you usually get an answer with a smile.  It’s one of the things I really love about hiking and backpacking.  I chatted with a doctor who went to Duke, a woman from Wisconsin, two college age boys who were trying to make it to where I had just gone (one of which looked like he’d rather be anywhere else but where he was), and two older women taking a lunch break.  All of them were friendly and stopped to chat briefly before I or they continued on.

Some of the last people I passed on the trail had spent the night in a hike in campsite which you pass on the way up and down from the AT.  These are places you can reserve online (at least in the Smokies), but require a mile or two hike to get to.  They are about as backcountry as you can get in the US these days.  No cell service, no running water, no bathrooms, no road.  You bring everything in with you and take everything out (yes, even toilet paper).  The Smokies are full of Black Bears, which are not as cuddly as they look, but really not as scary as they sound. A hikers best friend in bear country are ziplock bags.  I’m sure the inventor didn’t have this in mind when he/she created them, but airtight also means odor tight (mostly).  All food that you carry with you in bear country should be in a ziplock or resealable bag.  When you camp at night you should never have any food in your tent. Ever. Instead you put all your food in a waterproof bag (after you put your food in a ziplock bag) and hang it from a tree.  One of the nice things about the Smokies is they have set up pulleys and ropes for you already.  You don’t need to go find a tree and rig it yourself.

As I walked back into my campsite the toll of my hike was starting to kick in.  My legs felt stiff after sitting for awhile and my feet started to throb.  The pants that I was wearing made it great going through high grass, but were also very warm and upon taking them off I felt 1000 times lighter. I also had a nice rash on my inner legs from where the pants were rubbing.  I was beat. I had used all my water on the way down and was now chugging bottle after bottle of water to make up for the lack of it on the trail.  After just an hour of relaxing I could barely move. I had definitely over exerted myself and now my body would pay the price. So I decided to take a little drive around the Smokies in the A/C to recover. More on that in the next post.