Mission:         Enjoy Spring Break in the Mountains
Personnel:      Joe, Bryan, Matt, Ben, Adrian
Duration:       Week Long Backpacking trip
Location:       Great Smokey Mountains National Park, North Carolina
Date:            Late February, 1996

When we planning this trip most of us had never been under a backpack before. By the end of the trip, we had figured out a lot, especially the danger of over-packing.  We spent many weeks planning, discussing strategies and shopping for equipment.  We supplied a lot of business for the local Army/Navy Surplus stores and the catalog departments of Cabela's and Gander Mountain.
 

Whenever any of us got our new equipment, we had to make sure it was the correct size:
(Matt testing his new Sleeping Bag)
 
As the departure date drew nearer, the excitement built continually.
Finally, on the eve of their departure, the equipment was lined up, and the gear packed!
(Joe in his Fish'n Hole Hat, Adrian considering taking his Chemistry Safety Glasses)
 
Although they didn't have Fish'n Hole Hats, or safety glasses Ben and Bryan were eager to try out their new woodland camo backpacks:
(Ben and Bryan, packed and ready!)
 
The group decided that the best time to depart would be around 6 in the morning.  That would put them down in the Smokies with some light left on Saturday evening.  The crew feasted on Pancakes, Eggs, and Biscuits and Sausage Gravy before piling into Ben's parent's Suburban for the ride down....
(Matt, Bryan, Adrian, and Joe, 6:00 AM, and ready to go!)
 
The ride went fairly well to Lexington, Kentucky where the group stopped for lunch at Ben's friend Beth's place.  They piled back in and pushed down through the Cumberland Gap.  They stopped for dinner at McDonald's and a short break.  Unfortunately, they made a wrong turn on the way out and got an unplanned tour of Knoxville before heading down into Gatlinburg.  Somehow we managed to get there at rush hour, and the roads were packed.  It took almost an hour to get through Gatlinburg, but we passed the time by playing songs like Dueling Banjos in the Suburban, and enjoying the fact that we were finally in the mountains!
It was nightfall by the time we entered the mountains.  Little did we know that tradition was beginning for Joe as he got to drive the "white knuckle" shift through the mountains at night.  We stopped at the top of the range to admire the view that spread in front of us in all directions.  The night became black as we descended into Cherokee, NC for a late night snack and to call home.  After assuring all the parents that we were fine, all was well, and that we would call them when we got out of the woods, we decided it was time to address the last little issue:  We needed a place to sleep for the night.
Not many campgrounds are open in late February, and most of them that we came to were closed.  After driving around for about an hour we stumbled onto a guy at a gas station that referred us to his friend's campground.  When we got there they were closed, but were gracious enough to let us plop or tents down and spend the night.  This sounded easier than it actually was, since we borrowed the tents and this was the first time we had ever set them up.  The headlights from the Suburban helped us, and around midnight we finally bedded down for the first night of this adventure.
The morning came very soon, and we broke camp in the fog.  We stopped at a place called "Grandma's Kitchen" for breakfast, probably one of the worst meals any of us had ever had.  The ranger at the station was friendly, and recommended the Forney Ridge area.  He said there may be some snow up there, and the trail might be a little rough, with some stream crossings.  (Later experience showed that this was a severe understatement.)  We bought some maps and souvenirs, filed a back country itinerary, filled the canteens, and loaded into the Suburban to head to the trail head.
Once there we unloaded the Suburban, and realized that all the group gear still had to be packed.  This led to a last minute rearrangement of packs, and stowing of equipment....
(Ben and Matt doing some last minute packing)
 
With that done, we lined up the packs to pose for what we figured might be the "last" picture of all of us together in one piece!
(Fat Boy clan, lined up and ready to head into the woods)
 
The first day of Backpacking proved to be very long and hard, and wore on all of us.  Then, just when we thought we were done, we found The Bridge.  Obviously, some park personnel had thought it would be funny to span the river with a flattened log as a bridge (minus any hand rail).  This led to the final coordination test on the first day:
 
 (Adrian carefully crosses the "bridge")                                             (Ben prepares for the "bridge")
 
With the bridge out of their way, we made camp and bedded down for the night.
 
The next morning we got up and had the classic trail breakfast of oatmeal with grape nuts and Hot Tang.  Back across the "bridge" and on up the trail.  Luckily there were no more bridges to contend with, the FatBoys just had to cross the river wherever they could find a chance!
(Matt crossing Forney Creek)
 
These river crossings happened repeatedly, and every so often we would take a break to wring the water out of our socks and empty our boots.
(Joe dries out his boots and feet after crossing Forney Creek)
 
We were figuring our Mothers wouldn't be happy if they had known that their sons were heading down to the mountains to use slick logs as bridges, and then wade waist deep in cold white water all day.  We are all sure that  Mom would not have been happy at all if she had known that the trail was completely washed out in places!
(Better not tell Mom about this one!) [Don't look down....]
 
Well, we survived the bridge, the multiple river crossings, and the washouts on Day 2.  At this point we set up camp at an empty campground high in the Smokies and prepared dinner.  After dinner Bryan set about the nightly task of hanging our food sacks from the trees to keep our grub away from the critters.
(Bryan with his rope and throwing rock)
 
Day 3 dawned nice and warm, with all the FatBoys well rested.  We broke camp and headed up the trail.  We would hopefully reach the Clingman's Dome trail and then turn down Forney Ridge today via Andrew's Bald.  The group set out with a lot of energy, but slowed down gradually as the steep trail became harder to negotiate.  At one point we started to wonder if we were walking on a trail, or a creek with all the runoff coming off the mountains.  Then we rounded the corner:
(Bryan and Joe examine the trail that as it changes to snow!)
 
Funny thing about elevation.... it may be warm enough for shorts at camp, but up higher there was still snow on the ground.  Being the FatBoys that we are, we were overjoyed to see some of this white stuff, and scurried on up the trail to enjoy the winter scenes!
(Matt and Ben smile as they head up into the snow)
 
Gravity is a cruel mistress though, and FatBoys tend to break through the snow and have to struggle.  Matt, the little guy (NOsinkinSnowa), didn't have too much trouble and served as the motivation to keep moving up-hill.  In retrospect I think we might have kept up with him just because we all wanted to kill him for floating over the snow with such ease.  It seemed like an eternity, but then we finally made it to the cutoff for the Clingman's Dome Trail, and the Forney Ridge Trail.  Let me tell you , seeing that sign made one of the happiest bunches of FatBoys you have ever seen!
(Bryan, Adrian, Ben, and Joe:  Just happy to see the sign)
 
 After celebrating the trail junction, the FatBoys headed down Forney Ridge Trail toward Andrews Bald.  Because we were now descending, the snow lightened up, and by the time we reached the bald, the ground was clear.  As we looked out across the Smokey Mountain Range, the mist and fog in the sky made it very clear where the name for the mountains came from:
(Looking out across the Smokey Mountains)
 
(Matt and Ben enjoy the View across the Smokey Mountain Range)
 
The break was short lived and soon we were headed back down the trail.... That is as soon as we found the trail off the bald.  Once we found the trail, it was a constant descent along the ridge with fantastic views off to either side.  Soon we ran into a region where tornados from the preceding fall had run through, and trees were laying everywhere.  We picked our way through them and finally rested on a pile of rocks along the trail.  As we were sitting there, the pile started to shift.  Needless to say, we got out of there in a hurry and although they were shifting, the rocks never slid.  We pushed on and ended up pulling up short of our destination for the day and pitched tents next to a stream and prepared dinner.
The next morning we broke camp and walked the 1/2 mile remaining to our desired campsite.  It was a cool and rainy morning, so we struggled to light a fire.  Once it started, we enjoyed a warm breakfast and rested around the campsite for the rest of the day.  The sun came out and we all aired out our gear.  Some of us fished, and we all rested.  We all took turns cutting wood for the fire through the day, but Joe was probably the most effective with his Machete and Fish'n Hole Hat....
(Joe chops wood for the FatBoy's campfire)
 
After a restful day we prepared dinner and then bedded down for the night.  The next morning was again warm and clear as we broke camp and loaded our packs.
(Joe instructs us on how to clean dirt out of a tent)
 
This was to be our last day in the Smokies.... We packed down the trail and ran into some of the first people we had seen since the trail head.  We stopped for a quick break about halfway out and ate lunch.
(Matt and Bryan enjoying lunch)
 
Before long we could hear cars and knew we were nearing the road.
(FatBoys walking out of the Smokies)
 
There was about a half mile stretch between us and the truck when we hit the pavement.  Needless to say, after almost a week on the trail, we were all very happy to see that blue Suburban!
(Adrian: Glad to see the Suburban)
 
We took one last round of photographs before loading our gear into the Suburban.
(Ben and Bryan: Done and feeling good!)
 
After packing up the truck we returned to the ranger station for some more souvenirs, and informed the rangers of the dead fall and rocks we had encountered.  That evening we drove over to Adrian's brother's house in Tennessee to sleep for the night.  From there we headed back home for Kalamazoo.
 

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