Sections of the trail in the Smokies are truly on the ridgetop with steep drops on both sides. The storm of 2 days ago had downed dozens of trees that blocked the trail. We were soon moving at a snail’s pace. Darkness fell. The temperature dropped. With head lamps on, Turbo and I crawled between branches, passing our back to each other, and started to move again only to encounter another tree!

We were both nearing exhaustion when things cleared a bit and we enjoyed a few minutes of hiking in the moonlight. Trudging uphill, I saw a faint side trail… Could it be? Against the clouds, I saw the outline of a structure! It was Icewater Spring Shelter. I screamed out of pure elation. Turbo and I hugged and high-fived. We were totally spent, but overjoyed to find our home for the night. It was 7:30 p.m. We had hiked 20.4 miles in the nastiest conditions imaginable.

This remains my favorite day of my thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail and it was one of my best hiking days of all time. Nine days later, we summited Springer Mountain on a cool and clear day.

- Scott, Mast Store Asheville

For more of our Mast Family National Park Service adventures and recommendations, click HERE