Rest day in Cashiers, NC

Made it through the Smoky Mountains! After several short days out of the NOC to rest my knee, I met up with three other hikers at Fontana Dam just before the trail entered Great Smoky Mountains National Park. All three were setting a pretty fast pace so we set off into the park together. My knee felt great on the long ascent of several thousand feet into the park, and we ended up doing a long 23 miles. The weather was overcast and blustery, and turned very wet and very cold overnight. Thankfully the shelters in GSMNP all have stone fireplaces inside them, so we were able to stay pretty warm. The next day we slept in a bit and awoke to thick fog and lots of ice. We set off for another long 20 mile day and luckily the fog gave way to beautifully clear skies by afternoon. We summited Clingman's Dome at around 2:30, which marked the highest point in the AT at 6,600 feet! The view was amazing but it was incredibly windy and very very cold. That night turned out to be our coldest in the park, not less because a two hour long effort to build a fire in the fireplace was a complete failure. The next day, our third in the park, would be another 20 mile day. The weather turned out to be absolutely perfect, with clear skies and 60 degree temperatures. The views were amazing! That night we stayed in a full shelter with about twelve section hikers, which was a ton of fun, not to mention much warmer with so many warm bodies in the shelter. The next day, our fourth in the park, was just a short 8 miles to the park boundary where my parents were to meet us. We drove to Asheville for an incredible Indian food buffet, where we all consumed an outrageous amount of food. It was thru-hiker heaven! My fellow hikers stayed in Asheville for a rest day and I headed to beautiful Cashiers, NC with my parents for a day off. Thanks so much to the Lemming family for opening their home to us! It is an incredible place to rest and recover before we head back to the trail tomorrow!