Date: 2016-04-26
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Silbers Bald Shelter 
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: scattered clouds

4/26 - Day Twenty"Tennessee, Tennessee, there ain't no place I'd rather be". Man, I have waited a long time to toss the quote out, but here I am, in TN! We'll sort of... The AT skirts the NC and TN border here in the Smokies so it was back and forth all day!I guess because the AT runs the border the people who built the trail decided to run it straight up and down along the border. To hell with switchbacks.This lack of switchbacks creates very bad erosion in many places and exposes rocks and roots. In many parts the AT today resembled a dry creek bed. It's ugly and it made the walking extreme. Where yesterday I felt I beat the mountain, today the mountain won. My feet and legs are hurting. To make it worse, we stopped at 11 miles and did not press on to 13.5. This pretty much sealed our fate. We have to go into Gatlinburg to resupply. Rain is expected tomorrow. We are going to try to get to the gap and figure out a ride.Not everyone felt today was a crap-out, but the shelter is very quiet. Two new characters have made their way into my journey. I will tell you about them now. The AT is like that. When one character moves ahead, another one comes up from behind. Mozy. Now here is a cat I admire and respect. I met him two days ago at Birch Creek Gap Campsite. To say this character is unassuming would be an under-statement. His name is perfect as he just mozys along like the Smokies is his personal neighborhood park. He is the poster child for the phrase "hike your own hike" and does it with a crooked stick he picked up at the entrance to the park.... who needs trekking poles anyways? The thing is the guy makes miles and does it in a style that leaves him clean looking and slightly less disheveled than a guy who decides not to shave this weekend. On the other hand, I feel like I look (and smell) like the "1 for $3, 2 for $5 veggie burrito salesman standing in the parking lot of any jamband show. To look at Mozy one would think, damn how did you get here, but as I said, he hikes my ass off. And speaking of hiking your own hike, Justin caught up with me today. Justin is a hiker who I met in Houston a few weeks before I started. He had previously hiked from Springer to the NOC after he got back from Iraq with the Marines. When he said he would like to do more hiking on the AT I said come on. Well.. Justin is here. But here is where it gets good...Whereas most people are out here with the goal of Maine in mind, Justin is out for a walk in the woods, regardless if the means carrying a few extra props. I have been asking hikers if the saw him (Mayfly and I where a day ahead of him). I asked Chicken Little at lunch today if he saw him and his response was something like this... You mean that crazy fucker with roller skates? About then here comes my boy Justin and what appeared to be a 70 pound backpack version of Carrot Top's box of shit.... Including a pair of roller blades or as Justin described them as, "his 6 pound experiment" (hey man, he skated across Fontana Dam in them!) 6 pound experiment??? Shit, I thought I was getting edgy carrying an extra Tshirt and a tiny flask of bourbon... This guy is carrying roller skates (they were a great deal at Target, or so he said).Other objects of, well, utter uselessness included a sling-shot, SOG hatchet and for whatever reason a can of WD40??? The backpack shakedown people at Neels Gap would have had a field day and Sir Packs A lot at the TOG Hostel would have busted a blood vessel. But it doesn't matter to Justin, he is here for the experience and I am glad he made it.So back to the hike. It was brutal. It sucked for Mayfly, it sucked for Special K and it sucked for me. At one point we lost Special K. When Mayfly and I sat on a log to access the bright idea of attempting to hike the Smokies she came up and reported seeing a turkey.. A gobbler at that!!! In fact everyone has seen turkey except me!!! So far I have seen one Chipmunk and 2 deer! I am having fun despite a tough day hiking. Of relevance to report, at some point today I completed mile 185 which puts this journey under 2,000 miles to go. I fought for every mile today.