Day 21 - Newfound Gap to Tri-Corner Knob

Ten of us piled into the motel room Wednesday night. Dave and I got a bed, with Phil and Jason on the floor in our room. Watched some TV for a while, including part of Boot Camp (c’mon now, that doesn’t look so tough after all), South Park, and the Simpson’s.

Tim’s sister Mary is on a road trip and happened to be in Tennessee, so they hooked up. Pretty cool. Got up and out of the motel by 8. A hiker picked us up and was only going to take us ¾ of the way but ended up bringing us all the way to Newfound Gap. It was cold up there. Some Texas women asked me to take their picture in front of snow.

It was a beautiful clear day with lots of great views. A thru-hiker had told us that the second half of the Smokies are some of the easiest miles on the AT down south, and he seemed to be right. Took a bunch of pictures and made really good time.

Got to the shelter around 4 (started at 9). It was already starting to get crowded, so we quickly threw down our sleeping bags. I believe 19 people jammed themselves in. I was between Dave and Tim. It was so cold that I put on two pairs of long underwear, shorts, sleeveless shirt, two long-sleeved shirts, fleece, thick hat, two pairs of Smartwool socks, and was still cold. Nothing to do but snuggle into my zero degree sleeping bag. And with no light, nothing to do but sleep. I try not to look at the time, but it couldn’t have been 8:30.

I am always worried about the “pee factor” and try not to drink anything at night. Around 9 I woke up and thought I had to pee but couldn’t bear (no pun intended) the thought of getting out of my sleeping bag, finding my shoes, feeling my way to the cage door, and hoping that I didn’t encounter a bear on my evening excursion. So I held it -- for 91/2 hours!

Day 18 - Russell Field Shelter to Silers Bald Shelter

Food bags hung out of reach of bears

Let's see… I forgot to mention that along the way yesterday, all of a sudden we turned a corner and the ground was covered with little white flowers. It almost looked like snowflakes dotting the green grass. I didn’t take a picture because I expected to see millions of them in the Smoky Mountains (turns out they are called spring beauties). Anyway, it was too cold and wet today for the beauties to show their sweet faces.

Russell Field Shelter

Back to last night. I was a bit concerned being in a crowded shelter, but at least we were on the top bunk. And there are fireplaces in these stone shelters, which is nice. 

A guy staying here said it was too early for him to go to sleep when it got dark, so he tended the fire for a while. I did OK once I put my earplugs in. But there was a man whose snore sounded just like a bear growling, so I immediately looked outside, expecting to see a large animal on the other side of the cage. Nothing.

I guess it poured in the morning, but I didn’t hear a thing. Had a squabble with Dave. Then my pack cover broke. And as we began to walk, it started to pour. Lovely.

We had a 15-mile day ahead of us. I just wasn’t into it. Fell all the way down into the mud, and that was my breaking point. Was by myself, so I started to cry. Wondering what I’d gotten myself into and whether I could really last 5 ½ more months. Dave stopped to wait for me, and he was upset that I hadn’t said anything to him sooner. I was cold and wet and miserable and really having trouble moving one foot in front of the other. Sometimes the days just seem so long, and the miles come so slowly.

I’ve read that it takes six to eight weeks to get into “trail shape,” so I guess I’ve got a ways to go. We kept walking and soon enough came to a shelter -- 9 ½ miles down, 5 ½ to go. Ate some lunch but was so cold and wet I just had to start moving.

The miles were pretty easy ones, which helped us make good time to the shelter. And the rain had stopped! Took the opportunity to clean my muddy self off at the river and change into some dry clothes. Much better! This shelter looks the same as the last one and is just as crowded.

P.S. -- Found out from Breaking Wind that Pacman is a professional tennis player. Pretty cool!