Date: 2017-03-22
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter, NC
Miles today: 17.6

3/22/17 Groundhog Creek ShelterMiles hiked: 247.2, Miles to go: 1942.6Today was an interesting day in which I ran the gamut of emotions. During the night we had a real gully washer of a storm pass through. High winds, thunder and lighting, and rain pounding on the tin roof of the shelter. The shelter has an upper and a lower deck and sleeps 12. I was on the upper deck,   so the roof was about 18 inches above my head. Needless to say, the rain was loud. Along with all the shuffling, snoring, coughing, etc, of 11 other people, it was another restless night. A couple people got up at 6 AM, so pretty soon the whole shelter started getting up. I think we were all ready to get the day started so we could finish the Smokies and get to Standing Bear Hostel for resupply. I actually started hiking with my headlamp before sunrise. Of course, when the sun came up, I was hiking in a cloud. Again. At least it wasn't raining. If you will remember, we hiked along the ridge bisecting the park at elevations exceeding 6000 ft. When we entered the park, we climbed up to the ridge. Today we descended. For miles. Going downhill sounds easy. It's not. Think about going down uneven log stairs with 12-15 inch drops. For five miles. On top of that, last night's thunderstorm had turned most of the trail into a waterfall. My knees and wet feet weren't happy. On the way down, I passed Mt Cammerer trail. The AWOL guidebook says the 0.6 mile hike to the overlook is definitely worth it since it is the best view in the park. I could see about 20 ft ahead of me with the mist. I kept on hiking. As I descended, the forest slowly transformed from the Forest Primeval, to the Rhododendron Forest, back to the eastern hardwood forest we had been hiking in before the Smokies. As the mist slowly dissipated, so did the feeling of the mystical forest. Finally, after miles of dropping in elevation, I reached the end of the Smokies. To be quite honest, it was a bit of a letdown. As I had said, I break the trip up into bite sized chunks and the Smokies had been a benchmark since the beginning of the trip. Now they were done. I was in a bit of a melancholy mood and the sound of traffic whizzing along I-40 as I exited the Smokies just added to the feeling. The AT actually passes under I-40 before climbing steeply back up the hill on the other side. The first fifty feet are a steep set of uneven steps. I looked at those steps. Then I looked at the highway sign pointing toward Knoxville. For the briefest flash of a second I thought all I had to do was stick my thumb out and inside 90 minutes I could be in Knoxville, where I could grab my Jeep and be home by nightfall. I looked back at the steps, cinched down my shoulder straps and started climbing. Because I'm a thru hiker, and that's what thru hikers do. After 0.7 miles of climbing, I reached the gravel road leading to Standing Bear Farm Hostel. As I approached the hostel, I could hear music playing and people laughing. When I arrived, I saw several people I hadn't seen since before the Smokies, such as Tiptoe, Buddy Al, and Jam. And I saw many of the people I had traversed the Smokies with, such as Lumberjill, Strider, Big O, Winter, Boots, and J. And I saw a bunch of friends I hadn't met yet. We all bought enough food to get us into Hot Springs on Friday and bought frozen pizza and sodas to eat while we recharged our phones. It was a delightful time. The sun was shining and it was warm as we all recounted our adventures traversing the icy, snowy, misty Smokies. The highlight of the day was the box I received in the mail. There's a bit of a backstory, so bear with me. My mother has a friend in her quilting group named Charli Fulton who will be starting her thru hike in April. While Marguerite and I were visiting my mom before I started my hike, we had lunch with Charli so we could talk about our upcoming hikes. Charli brought along some homemade biscotti that her friend had made for her to take on the trail. As the conversation evolved, I discovered that her friend, Tony Abatjoglou, is a former co-worker that I have known since 1993. When Tony found out that I was hiking the AT, he baked a batch of biscotti for me and Charli arranged to have them sent to Standing Bear Farm for me to pick up. I was polite and shared a couple with some people; however, I am coveting the rest to have with my evening tea for the next several nights. Thanks Tony and a Charli!.After completing our business at the hostel, Lumberjill, Strider, and I started the 5.7 mile climb to the summit of 4263 for Snowbird Mt, where we planned to camp in the field near the FAA tower. Fueled by pizza, friendship, and sunshine, we made quick work of the climb. In fact, we made the climb so quickly, we decided to continue to the shelter, which was two miles further on. We arrived at the shelter to find about 20 other people here. Since we are no longer in the Smokies, I can return the I my cozy and quiet tent. Yay. I know this has run long; but, I will relate one more humorous thing that happened today. Just after I left the Smokies, I came upon a couple of dayhikers hiking with their teenaged son. They were engrossed in conversation and did not hear me approaching. I discreetly made noises such as shuffling my feet and clacking my walking sticks to let them know I was there. Finally, I said "it's a nice day, huh?". Well, the woman screamed and jumped a foot in the air. She then started laughing and said they had been talking about bears. I, of course, had to give her my best bear impersonation, which made us all laugh. Just another encounter on the AT.