Date: 2016-03-08
From: Newfound Gap

To: Tri-Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: few clouds

The paid shuttle out of Gatlinburg cost $70 but it was being split by 7 of us so it was a pretty good deal to know that our 6:30 departure would have us hiking by 7:00. In the van were Papa Wolf, Halmi, Blues Brother, me, and 3 hikers that will hike so fast and far that we'll never see them again (Nugget, Booty, and Jason - a 2011 successful thru-hiker). Yes, that's correct - Subman and Suds were not hiking today having decided to take a zero to enjoy Gatlinburg. This was a big decision for me - to hike without them. Subman, Suds, and I began our AT thru-hike quest separately on February 16th but we'd hiked together almost immediately thereafter. The two were so much fun to hike with, had easily and comfortably provided so much info to a newbie hiker like me, and we had spent our zero days together with Trail Chef. My trail family was separating today and it was on my mind throughout the day. The phrase "hike your own hike" is often repeated on the trail because unless you're a hiking team connected by blood or long-standing relationship, hikers have to make sacrifices to hike with each other. There's a lot to it and more than just each day's pace and mileage to be hiked. If you've read this journal from the start then you know this is a big deal for me. I began wondering if I'd find hiking family like Gangsta had with Wags, Chin Music had with B-Rocket, Lucky had with the Hiking Vikings, Red Panda had with Chris, or Not Yet had with Axon & Shrugs. These rich hiking relationships are an important part of the allure of my AT hike. Not easy to cast off and consciously hike my own hike - even if it was with Papa Wolf, Halmi, and Blues Brother. When I saw that Subman and Suds has signed my trailjournal (on the left), then I knew that they were thinking this was a split too. So, for now, we'll hike separately. As access is available and as it seems to make sense, I'll send scouting reports to them of upcoming trail conditions that they might encounter. Admittedly, I'll do this more for me than for them because they are more than capable of fending for themselves. Will we hike together again? We'll see. My reading of others' trailjournals accounts has me knowing that resupply locations often bring hikers together - even those who haven't seen each other for hundreds of miles. A lot on my mind today as this hike barely began.The hike began with a torturous start. Thick ice blanketed the trail for the first 45 minutes. A group of 3 college-age girls were found giggling about how their lack of traction had led to one of them landing on her butt and unable to stand - except that she was perilously close to finding herself slide off the trail and down the steep ledge beside her. I learned later in the day that these 3 safely returned to the Newfound Gap parking lot. I was straining but moved ahead. The first of many views today seemed to exist off a side trail so I went there and was rewarded with a phenomenal view. There are many pictures today. I complained later in the day that there was no time to hike today because I was constantly powering up my phone, taking pictures, and then powering it down to save my battery. Okay, we ultimately were hiking in the 70's today and the extreme cold was no longer sucking battery out of the phone so the smart thing to do was save time to hike by leaving the phone in "airplane" mode. Thanks Blues Brother for that info and laugh - I have so much to learn about so many things out here.After a picture or two, I messaged Subman and Suds to say that after a difficult start the trail became manageable. About 20 minutes later I found myself on my butt as my feet gave out from under me on a flat patch of what I saw as simple, but icy, trail. No injuries as my backpack absorbed the blow. I hiked to the first shelter alone and was happily stunned to find Blues Brother there. He must have passed me as I was on the side trail taking photos. I learned that Papa Wolf and Halmi weren't too far behind, had fallen, but were okay. So Blues and I hiked together talking and taking pictures. If you intend to hike this section, do what you can to try to be here on clear day because the views are incredible and are many.Charles Bunion Knob provides spectacular viewing opportunities and a bit of danger too. The sign - the first such sign I've seen - warned to "Control Children Closely". The ledges are not forgiving. My fear of ledges was surprisingly held in check as I shimmied out on to the knob to take more pictures and have Papa Wolf snap one of me sitting atop it. Blues Brother, Papa Wolf, and Halmi were long gone by the time my picture-taking was over. I hiked solo, stopping repeatedly for more pictures, and didn't catch up with them until the next shelter, a place we had discussed as being our stopping location for the day depending on how we felt about hiking more miles today. Along the way came 3 college-age young men hiking in shorts and t-shirts. One wasn't wearing a shirt, revealing that we was ripped. Ah, to be young again. Scratch that, I was (and am) scrawny and never looked like that - end of daydream. The others had decided to hike on to the next shelter, making this a 15 mile day which is no small feat in the Smokies. Now that this decision was made, I knew that the next shelter had a reliable water source and so I asked Blues Brother to take out of my pack a 2-liter Platypus water bag and dump it. When getting in the van earlier this morning I had asked if everyone was aware that there were no reliable water sources for 15 miles. I was carrying enough water for the day and night. One liter of water weighs 2.2 pounds so smart hikers only carry what they need or a little extra to comfortably reach the next reliable source. Blues took the opportunity to take some of the water I lugged up today's mountains. And then he stopped after taking what I viewed as next to nothing. I made a remark about the volume and weight of the water I had carried. We had a good laugh on me as he dumped out and discarded 3 pounds. Then I asked him to go to the other side of my backpack for an additional water bag so that he could dump more weight. The laughter at my foolishness was full. It would be repeated later in the day as Blues enjoyed moments at my expense with other hikers in tonight's shelter. After dumping the load, I remarked as to how much easier if was to hike with my lighter pack. We then commiserated over how my photos had to be taken today and how they broke up my hike because of my powering up and down the phone. More laughter at my expense and the lesson about airplane mode when hiking in warm weather. So we hiked together again until I stopped for another photo. The extra 6-8 pounds of water I had carried for most of the day caught up with me and I consciously slowed my pace so that I was hiking solo again. Tonight's shelter finally arrived. What a difference to set down in a comfortable temperature for the night. We settled in with new people too - a group of Virginia Tech guys here for spring break and a few section hikers we'd not met before. Trail stories ensued as we became familiar with each other. This was a hard, but good, day. A moment ago, a mosquito was attracted to my phone's light (I'm writing this at 2:00 a.m.). Great - bugs - a new problem to confront while we enjoy the nice temperature.