Date: 2019-04-11
From: Max Patch Road

To: Davenport Gap shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

I slept really well last night and I'm happy about that! I set my alarm for 6 but woke up just before and turned it off. I got dressed and packed up and ready to go before walking down the street to the Smokey Mountain Diner for breakfast. The biscuit was amazing and I slathered it in real butter. It came with an omelette. That's sarcasm. I boogied back to laughing heart hostel to meet my shuttle driver for 8 and had almost a half hour to spare. I spent it in my room talking to God and thinking about what the next 6 days may bring. John arrived about 15 minutes late and had me at the trailhead at 9am. I had 17 miles to hike and my goal is to get to Davenport Gap shelter. The climb up to snowbird mountain felt intense. Half way up I stopped at a log for lunch and 3 other sobo hikers passed me and stopped ahead for their lunch. I took 20 minutes and after I passed them I never saw them again. I counted hikers today but lost track after 50. When I arrived at the top of snowbird I was disappointed by the lack of view and a funky space age looking communication building. Totally weird! After that summit it was down hill for a long time and it hurt my feet. My right foot is being a bugger and I'm trying to cope with it for the rest of my hike. I finally stopped at a road crossing by a creek (where Standing Bear Hostel is) and took a half hour with my shoes and socks off. Many hikers passed by me and then one girl stopped and told me about trail magic a mile away. I put my shoes and socks back on and boogied down the trail. When I came down the stone steps into the parking lot I wet my bandana in a little stream and threw it around my neck to cool off. It was 75° and sunny today and the canopy isn't leafed out yet and I did slather on 50spf sunblock this morning. But man I'm sweating! It's dang hot! I met Flicker and Gandalf in the parking lot, 2017 hikers with hot dogs, cold soda, Gatorade and little snack bags to go with goodies. Since I'd just eaten a protein cookie at my log perch a mile away I only had room for 1 hot dog and a Coke. Plus I still had a 2.5 mile climb to the shelter. I passed up the goodie bag because I didn't want the extra weight. I crossed Davenport Gap and put my Backcountry permit in the self service box as I entered the Smokey's. WOW! That sounds so cool! I lumbered up the last mile and arrived at an almost full shelter but fortunately there was 1 space left on the main level. I grabbed it and soon realized one of my buddies is a really too chatty older man. I ate a couple of snacks, washed up and hung my pack and food bag in the shelter. This shelter is enclosed by a chain link fence across the front to keep bears out. It's the last one of it's kind in the Smokey's. It also doesn't have a privy, so when you feel the urge you have to walk up the hill to the"field of dreams" and pick out your spot. A cat hole is leave no trace practice, however some hikers are unfortunately uneducated or just don't care. It's really disgusting. I hope I can hold my business for the first 7 miles tomorrow or find a private and less used space before then!