March 26th - Day 22 - Zero Day in Hot Springs, NC
My journal entry today is a bulleted list and reads as follows:

• Slept in until 9AM
• Coffee & ate oatmeal 
• Trip to Outfitter
• Organized food bag from mail bag
• Hot mineral bath with 6 dudes
• Beer & Fire @ hostel
• Four Fingers is a drunk fool
• I can't wait to start hiking again

Certainly an interesting look into the mind of a sore, mile-less hiker. Nine AM seems early to my college self but on trail it is inexcusably late. I'm not sure why I wrote that I had my typical breakfast. I believe I got fuel at the outfitter, I went a little OCD before my hike buying gear, so not only was my budget already maxed out but I rarely needed anything other than what I had (less fuel). Maybe I'll do a gear list one of these days. It always took a little time to organized the food I had shipped to myself into a food bag. These early multiple hour events where just practice for the frantic repackings I'd have, like in the pouring rain outside a taco shop in Greenwood Lake, NY, but more on that later. As for the mineral bath, Hot Springs resort has an hourly rate on the hot tubs, so round up the Pabst Blue Ribbon and the dudes. If my memory serves me, Live, Blink, Dorothy, Dan, Grease, Haiku, and myself pile into one of the group tubs. I know that's 7 but whose counting. We take turns jumping into the French Broad River for a system shock. Grease is another very impressive character, certainly in my opinion one of the highest regarded hikers I've met. Hiking mostly with Sunbear their intelligence and wit is unmatched. Grease has to finish by mid-July to attend med school. I respect anyone who can get on trail for 6 months. There are a few fine individuals I would meet on trail, Grease and Sunbear are two of them, that I have the utmost respect for. 

Back at the hostel I meet Gandalf(young) a hiker Rambo talked about who has been in town for 5 days chasing a blonde bartender known simple as Deez Nuts. Four Fingers is in his natural state, stumbling around searching for someone to take to about football or whatever. He shows me how to drunkenly break your cigarette and then repair it without tape. Advice I hope I will never need.

March 25th - Day 21 - Walnut Mountain Shelter to Hot Springs, NC

Anyone who has ever had to get up early for a flight, vacation, anything out of the ordinary is well aware of the feeling of being too excited to go back to sleep. This is my feeling as a northerner waking up to see everything covered in snow.

View from my sleeping bag this morning.

 My trip to the privy is probably the most pleasant on the most trail. Its a door-less privy looking out over a pristine snow covered landscape with some gentle snow falling, feels like I am in a screensaver. Live -n-Learn confirms this experience with a trip of his own. My inner peace is broken when Four-Fingers wakes up, starts playing Trick Daddy on his cellular, and complains about the snow. We learn that he earned his name by dislocating his finger with a hatchet on the first night of his journey. Seems legit.

Walnut Mountain Shelter, complete with hanging hiker gear, holes for snow to come in, and a brand new picnic table.

As much as I have been enjoying the sunny winter here in the south, I also really like hiking through the winter wonderland. It only takes about 3 inches to negate the painful impacts your feet make with the ground when your hiking. This is a welcome change. It's about 13 miles down to Hot Springs and it seems as if I'll be taking my first zero day of the journey tomorrow. Dorothy and Blink catch up to Dan, Live and I on the way into town. Pooh Bear also leap frogs with us the whole way.

Following Live up a snowy grade.

On a more sour note, we meet a group of five college girls hiking in the opposite direction who give us Hershey kisses as trail magic, but we later learn they had to be evacuated that night with hypothermia and all around ill-preparedness. Link to news article. Hard times.

Hot Springs approach through leak-less trees.

Getting out of the woods and into to town is always the easy part of the day. There is an initial sense of relief, accomplishment, and hunger. Followed most often by food coma and the confusion and scramble to find accommodations. Today is certainly not an exception. Elmer's is a well known trail hostel, my mail drop is there, but they only have two spots, and not to be picky but I want greasy meat based food. Elmer's is known for the great, healthy cuisine. I  know its probably better for my and tastes good, but ill leave my spot there open for someone who really cares. We stop at the diner in town, I eat the hiker special burger. I have a care package coming in from a friend in Bozeman, but it is no where to be found. I check with Elmer's and the post office but Ill have to wait until tomorrow to check again. After a few laps across town and back we settle at the Laughing Hearts hostel. I highly recommend this to anyone hiking in the future. I buy some beer and a fire is made. despite the coldness and snow in the mountains, in town tonight is quite pleasant. Motor plays guitar and I am happy to be where I am, hiking the AT.

March 24th - Day 20 - Standing Bear Farm to Walnut Mountain Shelter

I met a thru last night named Rambo who was dead set convinced he was going to make the 33 mile trek all the way to Hot Springs today. Its around nine when I finally pack up and get out of dodge. My doubts in Rambo's ability only grow. I was about 100% convinced he was full of shit until at about 10 he rips past me and Live on the trail, Holy shit I thought. he wasn't joking. But even for most of the day I was sure we would catch up to him at the last shelter.

White blazes over Max Patch Bald

I had been hear about Max Patch Bald for a while. Today is the day, Max Patch is beautiful we were lucky again with the weather. I hike with Live and Handsome Dan all day.This would become my hiker posse for a long time to come.

With Dan's push I hike my first 20 mile day to Walnut Mountain Shelter. We hang out, have a great time, I eat two whole dinners. with resupply tomorrow the time to pig out is now. Rambo checked into the shelter log at four and said he is continuing on to Hot Springs. I stand corrected, maybe this kid is a badass.

At about midnight, Four Fingers stumbles in. Less than quietly and visibly drunk I glad it wasn't a bear or something, but at least we could have scared off a bear. I don't really get upset, he is a source of entertainment. He seems to be having a good time. Poorly outfitted he came across the first shelter realized it was full  and decided to trek on to Walnut Mountain. 

AT Journal Day 19

March 23rd - Day 19 - Tri Corner Knob to Standing Bear Farm
I wake up around 5:30 to the sound of pounding sleet and rain, maybe the reputation of the Smokies had final caught us. We had four beautiful days of hiking so far through the mountains which everyone had said would be our biggest challenge yet. The hills are no joke, but its fearsome weather had yet to play a factor.

Finally seeing why they're called the Great Smoky Mountains

I eat breakfast, visited the privy, and decided it was too early and too cold to go anywhere. I got back into my sleeping bag and slept another hour. Finally started hiking around 8, last day in the Smokies. Its a cold wet day, to keep moving is the only way to remain slightly comfortable. After enough hiking you start to be able to judge distance better, I keep thinking we must be getting close, I am hungry, should we stop here? Finally the smell of campfire catches us, we must be close. Tree Frog and Squirrel had rekindled a fire that the occupants had going last night. My gloves and socks are soaked, as is pretty much everything else, but I can only dry these items. We eat lunch and chat and keep the fire going for the next people to stop through; Grease and Sunbear. Its a long downhill to Davenport Gap from here. It gets warmer and the sun even pokes out when we reach the next shelter. Davenport Gap Shelter is the only shelter in the Smokies on trail that retains the bear fence, a chain link fence and gate that stretches across the open front. Despite my yearning for sleeping in this jail cell,  its only 3 miles to Standing Bear Farm, a hostel with a hot shower and a name I recognized from AWOL's book about his thru-hike (AWOL on the Appalachian Trail). 

Standing Bear is quite the place. Comprised of out buildings, kitchen, two bunkhouses, shower, caretakers office, privy. very basic but has everything anyone could possibly need. Never met the owners but the caretaker Rocket makes his money selling single beers and running the camp store (surprisingly good resupply). We have a root beer and a high five, listen to classic rock, and some stories from the Rocket archive. This is where Four Fingers comes into the story. Among all the people staying here tonight, Handsome, Rambles, Live, Panzer, Money Maker, Night Whisperer, Blink, Rambo. Pooh Bear, and W.O.L.D.? or something like that, I cant remember. Anyway, Four Finger made the biggest impression. Ole boy can put in some work on Bud Light, was stumbling around by 4 and would continue to do so until after I threw in the towel. 

AT Journal Day 18

March 22nd - Day 18 - Best Western Gatlinburg to Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
The day starts with a distinct and flavorful, six dudes in one hotel room, smell. I feel bad for the poor housekeeping staff that have to revive this room. The continental breakfast is more about quantity than quality, as i get older the less and less appealing this food is to me.

Mountain Mama and Godspeed told us yesterday that they would be headed back up to Newfound Gap and if we were at the NOC outpost at 9 they would be more than happy to give us a ride. Goal 1. It's a mile walk across a deserted Gatlinburg. a stark contrast to the drunken hustle and bustle of tourists last night. I alerted Dan to the ride offer and he too made the trek across town. As advertised the trail angels showed up and nine of us piled in and headed up the mountain.

Wrong Leg (in black,Center), Motor (red cap), Spaghetti, and Blink taking a rest on Charlies Bunion.

Three or so miles north on the trail a feature called Charlie's Bunion exists. Its pretty cool. We stop for lunch and a chill. The hike from here is very cool, It travels on the knife edge between Tennessee and North Carolina and the trees have turned to nearly all pine/evergreen. This is more of what I had envisioned the Smokey Mountains would be like. It will be about 15 miles total to the shelter tonight were we meet back up with Sunbear, Grease, Tree Frog, and Squirrel.

AT Journal Day 17

March 21st - Day 17 - Double Spring Gap to Newfound Gap (Gatlinburg)
Clingman's Dome is first on the menu this  morning. Despite a cold night, the skies are clear, making today all the better. Clingman's Dome is the Highest point on the AT, but it is rather uneventful hike. Not nearly as steep as mountains elsewhere, even Roan seemed to be a tougher hike. The summit is also wooded which is nice because that is obviously how its supposed to be, but you have to climb a man made obstacle to get any views. Other than the balds, this is true of most mountains in the southern portion of the trail. So Clingman's is a nice hike but other than the stat on paper it is rather unrewarding.

Spaghetti and Motor on the Clingman's Spiral

The rewarding part of today's hike is the 7 mile down climb into Newfound Gap as the weather becomes increasingly beautiful. I have been on the edge about going into Gatlinburg. I have enough food to get me to my next mail drop, but the trail is about experiences and towns are certainly an experience. Gatlinburg is a shiny, neon example of that theory. Gatlinburg is refereed to as the Atlantic City of the trail, a far cry from the expectation I had formulated by listening to that Johnny Cash song.

When we reached Newfound Gap, trail angels Godspeed and Mountain Mama hailed us over to the parking lot where they spoiled us with soda, fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and ham and cheese sandwiches. The sun was out, we shared stories and thank yous, and watched the conventional tourists mill about the parking lot (I say conventional because we are tourists of a sort, we just walked here). Godspeed and Mountain Mama offered us all a ride into town. Happy Feller, Spaghetti, Motor, Blink, Haiku, Wrong Leg, Dorothy, Live, and I pile into their appropriately sized pickup.

Gatlinburg is a wonderful, distusting, entertaining, and otherwise useless tourist trap and the only real grocery store is a mile and a half out of town, luckily there is a bus system. Six of us get a room at the Holiday Inn, which if any of you are wondering smelled pretty bad after we left. We meet up with Handsome Dan and Happy Feller at Five Guys for dinner. Desert at Wendy's. We wandered through the tourists for a while but were all tapped out at about 7. Can't get too crazy, the trail angels were nice enough to offer me a ride out of this hell hole at 9 in the morning.

AT Journal Day 16

March 20th - Day 16 - Russell Field to Double Spring
"Hiked 16.4 miles to Double Spring Gap. It was full so we had to camp out in the field. Freezing cold night."

By far my shortest entry thus far. I must not have been very excited to write this night. As a result I can only draw on my pictures as to what I did today.

I came around a corner and saw Sunbear standing a few yard off trail in the fog smoking a cigarette with his hockey stick and leather hat. This lends to the mystery and legend of the character.

We also meet a ranger on trail and proudly display our papers. I guess it was a good thing we bought those permits as unconstitutional as they may be. 

I remember getting to Silers Bald Shelter and being exhausted but there is only 1.7 miles to the next shelter which is right before Clingmans Dome. So I decide to push forward. The shelter was full with reserved guests; a college group and some old folks. So the thrus pitched up out in the field and quietly jested at these people. Even though it is freezing cold I remember sitting at the bench cooking and eating with Live, Haiku, Wrong Leg, Blink, and Dorothy just laughing my ass off, these are good people. The leader of the college group is a Gossamer Gear trail ambassador and he sees me setting up my tarp and he comes over and talks to me about ultralight gear. It is clear he is an ultralight nerd. Nothing wrong with this except his look of disgust when I tell him that; yes, I have an 18 ounce shelter but my pack weight is still 30 pounds loaded. He gives me his card and says I should check out ultralight backpacking forum, I am think to myself, yes ,yes I will do that with all the free time I spend on the internet out here....

AT Journal Day 15

March 19th - Day 15 - Fontana Hiton to Russell Field Shelter
Fresh Grounds cooks bacon early, and only a fixed amount. I make it for a slice or too. Live, Wrong Leg, Midnight Sparkle, and I get a shuttle into the village to print out our Smokies permits. Handsome Dan is here and he shuttles back out to the shelter with us.

The Great Smoky Mountains have an aura about them. The only things I've heard has been words of warning. This time of year the Smokies are cold and unpredictable. After a week below zero in Montana I feel confident that I can handle whatever weather is thrown at me.

Its all uphill 13.8 miles to Russel Field where we stay the night. Same crowd as last night with the addition of Happy Feller, Pooh Bear, a kilt-clad father son team of sectioners from Florida, soon to be married repeat thru-hikers Tree Frog and Squirrel, and Motor and Spaghetti show up late.

The water source is a little dodgy here. Dorothy lets me borrow his Katadyn filter to pump out of the puddle since I have the Sawyer and no scoop. (Tip: scoops may sometimes be necessary, think about it.)

A view from Shuckstack firetower