Solar Eclipse 2017

A full solar eclipse occurs every 70 years, and this year on August 21, it would cross directly over the Smoky Mountains. Two things:  My birthday is on the 21st, and I’ve never been to the Smokys. So I was going to go regardless of pretty much anything.

I began planning checked on the best routes to trek and some of the cool campsites available. There was quite a bit to figure out. The main road heading into Clingman’s Dome would be closed down for a VIP type access viewing event, the day of the eclipse. This means that no one could park even near the trailheads. Not a huge deal, but I was planning on camping around there the last night. This meant a fourteen mile long trek back to our cars, to camp in the same area. And then drive fifteen hours back to Chicago…

Packing List

Tent, Sleeping bag, Sleeping pad, Head lights, Stove, Hiking Boots, Wool Socks, Quick dry clothing, Raincoat, Rain cover for bag, Camera w/extra lens, Freeze dried food, Trail Mix w/peanut M&Ms, Granola Bars, Toiletries, Toilet Paper, Small spade for pooping, Pot (cooking), Kettle, French Press, Coffee, Whiskey, Chemical water purifier tablets, AND Solar Eclipse Glasses.

Things I didn’t need to bring:

I should put whiskey here, but I’m not.  We enjoyed our few slugs down the hatch before we went to bed at 8PM every night. It was well earned after all.

Alright so packing list complete.  Now time for the navigational aspect of trekking.  Booking shelters/campsites,and getting the most out of our time. 

Planning

One of the issues right off the bat I had to figure out was, they were closing down the main road to the area I was planning to camp. According to my plan, that would make it a 12 mi trek back to the next closest location they give to park your car. This equals out to a total of fourteen hours trekking back to the car, followed by a nine hour road trip back to Chicago. 

Yikes…

The Drive

I drove down to Chicago to pick Chris up. We loaded up the car and the 9 hour journey down to the Smokys was on.  It was Thursday morning, and the eclipse wasn’t until Monday at 2:30PM. 

We stopped in a Target somewhere in southern Indiana to buy a spade for pooping and duct tape, because, it’s duct tape. 

We were making good time.

Arrival

Getting into the town of Jacksonville, we could feel the Smokys beginning to surround us. Entering Knoxville through the hills, long winding turns take you right into the Appalachians. It was getting on dark but the peaks of these mountains were beginning to show as massive shadows peering down before us.

We got in around 9PM. The town itself is very touristy which leads to some interesting places. Most are pretty good however. Pizza, beer, and live music are all readily available.

We checked in with the front desk and the place we were staying was pretty budget friendly. It was a motel that climbed levels with the elevation. We were on level 300, so we drove our way up top. We saw some commotion when parking the car. We got out and a female black bear was getting into the dumpster.

It’s actually a common problem and one that should never happen. When people leave their trash available, the bears become used to scavenging for it.

But we met our first bear of the trip.

We hit the town for a minute to grab a bite. We split a pizza and two beers while we discussed the plans for tomorrow. We needed a parking spot, so we were planning to wake up at 6AM and be on the road shortly after. We even had our breakfast set aside and ready to go. We retired back to the hotel. No bear around.

Smokys

We both woke up pretty spry and ready to get after it.  It was drizzling on us as we walked to the car. Other fellow hikers were preparing their cars as well. I didn’t know what to expect. It was eclipse weekend! People were going to be everywhere!

Everything was packed up and we took off. We threw on a playlist Appalachian Playlist and cruised into the Smokys.

It was barely light out. The rain was coming down a light/misty rain. Almost perfect. Visibility was fairly low as a cloud was passing through.

Every now and then the cloud would disappear and vast cliffs opened up over the sides. Spectacular views sprang before us of both North Carolina on one side and Tennessee on the other.

Plan

The first day was to hike from Newfound Gap Trailhead, all the way up to Mt. LeConte shelter.  The next day, would be back down the mountain through Alum Cave, hitch hike back to the car, reload, and head out to our next shelter.  The next shelter was once again from Newfound Gap trailhead to Mt. Collins Shelter.  Then onwards to backcountry campsite #67 for two nights. Watch the eclipse without having to think of a hike that day.  Mt Collins reserved again in case we need it, but try to hike back to the cars on a 14 hour trek.  That was the plan.  It didn’t work out : p

We found a spot!  There were lots of spots.  DIdn’t have to freak out on getting their early.  They were expecting record numbers that weekend for the eclipse, but maybe Friday morning was a good day to begin. 

The rain had stopped, we threw on our packs, and we headed out of the parking lot to the trailhead.  There’s no better feeling that the feeling of hitting the dirt of the trail you’re embarking upon.  It’s an amazing feeling. 

Hike Day 1

We were in very good spirits and mostly just laughed about what we were doing. It was a very jovial and light mood. We had 60lbs on our backs and we were hiking up the smokys!

The trails are very well kept within the Smokys. As one of the most visited national parks in the US, they do a great job with upkeep. We were equipped with a map and compass, but it was always nice when we’d see signs with km on them pointing us the way.

The first hike was something like 6-7 hrs. The terrain is a decent climb (but nothing crazy). The flora inside the Smokys are vibrant green. So much moisture comes from the Gulf and becomes trapped within the Smokys. It creates a temperate rain forest of sorts.

First Sign

We were three hours into our hike when we came to our first sign - 4  - Mt Collins

“Is that 4 kilometers, or 4 miles?” I asked.

“I think it’s miles,” Chris responded. 

A little bit of a difference here. 4 km sounded a lot better than 4 mi! It turned out to be miles…

The rain started again. 

Rain

I love the rain. The way it hits the leaves before it falls to the Earth. The way is sprays in your face and enough collects under your cheek, it’s able to drip to the corner of your mouth where you get a brief taste of refreshing, cool water.

We put on our rain coats and covers for our bags. Strangely enough, our jovial moods came back to us. Thank you rain??

The terrain became more green and saturated as we walked further up the mountain. Moss was growing everywhere, ferns covered the forest floor, and massive trees seemed to be floating in mid air looking out over the mountains within a cloud. This was one of the best hours of hiking I’ve ever had.

Wild flowers in August were blooming beautiful blues.  Vibrant colorful mushrooms were out enjoying the rain as much as we were.

We trekked through two hours of rain and came upon a clearing. We were getting close to the top. We stopped once we found a nice view, and sat down for a while. Bags were heavy.  But the scenery was beautiful.

Shelter 1

Another mile up, and we made it to the shelter. 

First shelter mate:  Tory

Tory is the man. Like, I’m pretty sure this guy has wrestled bears before.

From the east coast, Tory had a story for everything. Seriously. This guy didn’t stop talking. But his stories were amazing! One of them was about his family hiking in Colorado. His kids were 6 and 7, they were caught in a storm, he hiked off to look for help but had to turn back. A helicopter ended up saving them. Typical.

Tory also helped me get my bearings with some of this Appalachian backpacking stuff. This was my first backpack camping trip, and he had a ton of helpful suggestions. I just need a few hundred dollars and I’d be right up there with the best!

Dinner

Chris and I ate mashed potatoes, and chicken that night. All dehydrated stuff from NASA. We were feeling great.

We offered a sip of whiskey to Tory, but he declined. 

We watched sunset off a cliff not too far from our shelter, came back, and went to sleep.

Day 2 Hike

We woke up and debated coffee. We decided to just hit the trail and get going.  We said our goodbyes to Tory and headed back down the mountain. Did I mention we slept for twelve hours straight?

The first part of the hike in day 2 is straight down hill for four hours. It can get pretty strenuous, but hey, at least you’re not going up hill. Right?

The Alum Cave Trail-head is possibly the most popular day hikes in the park, so we saw a lot of people coming up the mountain. 

The dayhikers were amazed when they saw us coming down with our big packs. “How long you guys been out on the trail?” “One day!” we’d shout back and laugh.

Once we got down the mountain, we now had a decent 2,000’ elevation climb to our next shelter. Onward!

The second day we didn’t get any rain and we were able to get into more of a groove going forward. We began entering these different habitats within the trail changed the scenery and kept things interesting as we walked.

I wouldn’t say we were getting tired of each other at this point, but we were kept about 50’ of distance between us.

Shelter 2

Our spirits were picked back up when we sat the shelter was less than a mile away. Once we got to our next shelter, we met some fascinating people apart of a hiking club. 

They meet once a month, they all have hiking nicknames (Queen B, 7-up, Frisbee).  But they were inspirational!  They barely had any weight on them, and they tried to get as many miles as they could within a day.  It sounded amazing! They finished that day with 20 miles. One of them even continued trekking for another 10 before he came back before sunset. I was blown away.

By far one of the best parts about trekking and camping is meeting the people along the way.

Day 3 Issues (day before the eclipse)

We woke up and heard some bad news. Clouds were scheduled to roll in tomorrow and may obstruct the eclipse.

Here’s what’s going through my head. 1) I really want to see the eclipse 2) I really want to see the eclipse 3)…

I rolled over and asked Chris what he thought. The next campsite was a good distance away and we began contemplating my decision to put the campsite as far away as I did from the car. We were both dreading trekking on the last day back.

We bailed. We hiked seven hours back down the mountain and back to the car. In some parts of the Appalachian Trail, it travels right along the road. Chris and I popped out on the road and walked the rest of the way back on smooth cement.

I won’t say the Smokys got the best of me, because I did in fact see a nonobstructed eclipse that very next day. But I definitely owe it a second visit.

Camping in Kentucky

We weren’t done yet. We got back to the car, rolled down the windows, cranked music, and made our way towards Kentucky. We didn’t know where we were going to watch the eclipse yet, but we had a few ideas. The first thing we needed though was a place to sleep.

We called up this campsite and they said just park anywhere in the park and put your admission slip at the park office.

It was music to our ears. We stopped at a gas station, picked up a twelve pack, grabbed some ice (ice!), and set up our tent. The stars were beautiful that night. Drinking beer and looking up at the stars doesn’t get old. Does it?

Eclipse Day

We packed up quickly and headed out. Chris was researching where exactly you’d be able to witness 100% totality.

It was a spot just outside a town of 300 in southern Illinois. Still, crowds were gathered, parking lots were charging for parking, and vendors were out selling food.

We drove out in the country and parked along side of a country road. We were still about 2 hours away, but we wanted to be set up nonetheless.

The house that we parked closest to invited us over for their bbque. We declined but thanked them profusely.

The sky was clear and the time was close. I had my camera set and my phone ready to video record.

Coming from a Biological background, I was reading up on how amphibians may begin to change their calls as they may think its turning into night. There happened to be a little pond across the street from us so it was something I’d be monitoring.

Then it was time. Glasses on.

As the eclipse began, the amphibians perked up their sounds, and engulfed us with a chorus of chirps and croaks .  A blue hue blanketed across the landscape. Chills crawled throughout my body. Screams from the neighbors rose up.

It was a perfect birthday.