Jordan takes a break while the gang hikes the Smokies.

They arrived at Fontana Dam today. They put on 15 miles yesterday. Unfortunately, the Great Smokey Mountains National Park doesn't allow dogs. Dogs have been prohibited since the parks creation in the 30's. Here is a link to an explanation why from the website. NO DOGS ALLOWED

So Tripwire / Backtrack will spend the next days in Day Care while Hollywood, Julia Child, and Y-Knot hike through the Smokies. Don't feel too bad for him though. He now has a chance to catch up with a lot of his trail buddies he has met along the way.

They will spend the night at Fontana and start tackling the next section in the AM. This puts them at 162.5 NoBo. They will come out at 236.9 NoBo. There is no cell service in the Smokies so there will be a blackout period while we wait for them to reach the other side. But, depending on the track they decide to take, we may hear from them at the midway point if they take a break and head into Gatlinburg, TN. Here is a pretty good map of The Great Smoky Mountain Naitonal Park so you can get an idea of the next leg of the trail. GSMNP MAP

They are going to be going up Clingmans Dome while in the park. There is an incredible observation tower there.  Click the picture below to see a full size image. It is very impressive a sight. Clingmans Dome is the highest elevation peak on the trail at 6643 Ft. It doesn't get out of the alpine zone however, and has trees all the way to the top. This is because Clingmans is in a more temperate zone than the mountains here in New England. As anyone who's hiked around the Whites knows, the trees stop right around 3500Ft up here.

Jordan gets to take a few days break while we wish good luck and happy trails to our intrepid travelers. Be sure to leave comments and words of encouragement for them all. When they finally get internet access again, they will be glad to hear from their fans.