Great Smoky Mountain National Park - Mollies Ridge - January 12, 2003 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Great Smoky Mountain National Park - Mollies Ridge |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | North Carolina |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | January 12, 2003 |
| Duration: | 2 days |
| Trail Conditions: | Good |
| Trail Traffic: | Light |
| Trip Weather: | Sunny, Partly Sunny, Partly Cloudy |
| Trip Winds: | Moderate |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 31-40, Low: 0-10 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | 1/12/03 (Sunday) – Everyone was up by 8am this morning to cook breakfast and pack up for a long hike today. I hit the trail around 10am with Lee and Moehlich but they quickly pulled away on the climb up the ridge. Eventually we all joined up again and were met by Porter, Brunn, Woodward and Ewing for a short snack break. The rest of the climb was snow-free, and at the junction with the Appalachain Trail we hung a left and walked a short distance to the Spence Field shelter. (I almost stayed here during my thru-hike but pushed on to the next northbound shelter back in 1994.) It was really cold on the ridge, and we all took a long lunch break at the shelter where there was some scattered snow left from a storm last week. Around 2pm we headed on to Russell Field shelter and I left with Moehlich. It only took us about an hour to cover the 2.5 miles which were mostly down hill. After a short break, we pushed on to Mollie’s Ridge and hiked over a northern exposure that was covered in hard packed snow/ice. It was very difficult to walk on, and the 2.2 miles to Mollie’s Ridge took us well over an hour. By 5pm, Ewing was already getting water when we arrived at the shelter and I helped him load the water bladders at a spring down the hill. The spring was barely flowing so it took almost an hour to fill them up. By the time we finished, it was pitch black on the ridge. Porter and Lee got a fire going and Ewing and Moehlich started dinner. Some Boy Scouts left tarps on the outside of the shelter and it was twenty degrees warmer inside than out. After dinner, Woodward and I played some cards (Gin), while everyone else listened to more playoff games on the radio. Everyone was asleep by 11pm tonight. 1/13/02 (Monday) – All of us were packed up by 10am this morning for another double digit day on the trail. Lee and Woodward decided to hike down the Appalachian Trail to Fontana Dam and shave off a few miles. I considered it, but decided to hike with the others over Gregory and Parson’s Bald since I have never seen them. It turned out to be a good call. I got ahead of Moehlich and Ewing when they broke for an early lunch but they caught back up with me an hour later when I stopped 0.7 miles before Gregory Bald. We hiked the last mile together and the sun came out while we were on the summit. The views were spectacular and we decided to wait for Porter and Brunn and take a long break that lasted almost two hours. By 2pm, we were ready to roll and I took off ahead of the rest of the group. It was a steep and long hike off the mountain and which took us over two hours to reach the truck (parked at Twentymile). Porter and Brunn passed me on the way down the mountain but I caught them in the last mile when we had to ford the creek four times. Both Brunn and I plowed through and soaked our feet . Porter used some poles to cross - a good investment. Lee and Woodward were at the truck when we arrived and had some Doritos and chips waiting. We changed clothes, loaded the truck and had some left over beers from Friday night. Within twenty mintues, Moehlich and Ewing were off the trail and we headed to Robbinsville for dinner at a pizza place – Papa’s Pizza. We decided to take the I-575 route back to Atlanta this evening, and it turned out to be the right choice. Lee, Ewing and Woodward were still in Dawsonville when we hit I-400/I-285. Made it home by 9:30pm tonight after picking up my truck at Porter’s. |
Trail Map For This Area
There are no comments yet.