The 'new' Tricorner Knob Shelter on the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains. The open front design is a lot more pleasant than the old 'hiker in a cage' style of the old shelters.
The corner boundaries of Swain County and Haywood County in North Carolina, and Sevier County in Tennessee meet atop the 6,100 ft. Tricorner Knob, hence the name. Tricorner Knob also marks the point where the Pisgah Ledge ends, after rising to over 6,000 feet near Asheville, NC.
Along with Tricorner Knob, there are several other 'sixers' in the area of Tricorner Knob - Mt. Chapman @ 6,417, Mt. Guyot @ 6,621 (second highest peak in the Great Smokies), Old Black @ 6,370, Mt. Hardison @ 6,134, and Mt. Yonaguska @ about 6,100 ft.
We hiked the last 3 miles of the Balsam Mountain trail in a blinding rain storm, with lightning stabbing the surrounding peaks. At nearly 6,000 feet, there are few places to hide, so we kept sloshing through the small stream that the trail had become. We stopped a couple of times to discuss the option of turning back, but the rain was warm, and the spriits still high. We kept trudging on through the storm that continued to increase in fury. Just when we thought that we'd never make the shelter alive, I recognized the sharp turn in the trail that indicates that the junction with the AT was right ahead. We hurried on, barely pausing in the pouring rain when we reached the sign marking the AT, and dashed on down to the shelter that nestles in a little cove on the south side of the trail. We had no more than stepped inside, shedding soaking rain gear and packs, when the rain quit and the sun burst through the clouds. The timing couldn't have been better. We hung out for a while, talking to a fellow that was on his way to Maine, via the AT, and then climbed back up to the Balsam Mountain trail to start the long trek back to Pin Oak Gap. By then, the air was washed clean, and we enjoyed a cool and refreshing Smoky Mountain summer afternoon breeze on our way back to the car.

BTW, this was Annie's first 20+ miler, but it won't be her last.