Our first day out of the NOC was 40k steps.
Some good days. Some days more up and down than others.
There was a lot of ice and snow. Temperatures got down to 17 degrees. The shelters in the Smokies allow fires and those made a difference.
Gatlinburg was great for respite from the cold and laundry.
Had a real meal.
We overlapped with Rambling Man & Venom who had a rocky relationship and with Pony Keg who was doing a yo yo (had hiked SOBO and was now hiking NOBO back to Katahdin).
We stopped at some hostels and used the wonderful hot showers available at the campground with the Fontana Hilton.
We made good use of all of our gear.