We are planning a trip in early or mid November for a section of the AT through the Smokies.
Our initial plan is to arrive in Gatlinburg on Wednesday night, at meet the shuttle fairly early on Thursday morning at Clingman's Dome Parking lot. I have a quote from a shuttle service that is $164.00 for up to five people.
They will drop us at Fontana and we will end up at Clingmans on Saturday in time to hit Gatlinburg for dinner and beverages.
Day 1. Hike 13 or so miles the first day and stay at Russell Field Shelter.
Day 2. Approx. 9 miles to Derrick Knob Shelter
Day 3. Approx 10 miles to Clingman's Dome.

Trip plans are flexible depending on participants work schedules. It can be a Friday thru Sunday if that works for more people. Looking at either the weekend of the 8th or the 15th of November. Let me know if you would like to join a small group of hikers that really need to start training now in order to be ready for that hike!