Date: 2006-03-27
From: Double Spring Shelter

To: Newfound Gap (Gatlinburg)
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: clear sky

Double Spring Shelter to Newfound Gap. 10.8 Miles. Trash still camouflaged. Woke up 6:10am. "Silent Lucidity" in my head. Best night of sleep ever! Or at least on the trail. Didn¢t even hear my first alarm. Lots of cursing going on. Redneck wasn¢t able to squeeze his feet inside his trail-runners. He¢d mistakenly left the shoelaces tied and the double-knot was frozen solid¢as were my boots. I couldn¢t believe it. After all of my effort with the fire to dry them up, and they were still petrified. ¢My mind says ¢get up,¢ my body says ¢stay in the bag,¢¢ Two Shoes mumbled drowsily in his South Carolinian accent. When I¢d met him, his hair had been short with a complete lack of sideburns. Soon he would have a full beard. ¢Urrrgh¢son of a¢¢ Redneck muttered, his face beet-red. Restless, Buree, and Sun Dancer were already gone by the time he managed to get his shoes on. ¢Got it finally¢considering I had to suck on the laces and use my teeth,¢ he added through gritted teeth. Two Shoes and I were next, having a parallel struggle, not only with our frozen shoes¢but with the frozen air as well. So far I was managing well enough by only blowing on my hands. Two Shoes was wearing his gloves, cursing as well. I¢d barely gotten my heels inside the boots when Two Shoes pleaded: ¢Sanford¢you¢ve got free fingers¢can you tie my laces for me?¢ His voice was frustrated, but comical as well. ¢What?¢ I could only laugh.Eventually, we both got our shoes on and tied and left Calumet (still sleeping soundly) behind in the shelter. My frozen boots dug harshly into heels and toes for close to a mile, becoming more and more tolerable with every step. The observation tower from Clingman¢s Dome was rumored to be closed for renovation, but seeing how it was the highest point on the AT, I decided to at least check it out. A path of snow prints were leading that way and I not only found the tower accessible, but Sun Dancer standing atop it. Ate a snack with Two Shoes at the top of the tower, then said goodbye to my recently found friend. While Redneck, Buree and I would be heading into Gatlinburg, Two Shoes and Restless would be heading on down the trail. I was still planning to try and catch them later, but towns have been know to suck hikers off the trail for a few days¢especially when there¢s that much snow.I thought it would be mostly downhill after Clingman¢s but the trail still had some uphill for me to confront. The day progressively got warmer, reaching into the 50s and unleashing the snow from branches. I started off wearing my rain jacket, but before long I had stripped down to my capilene T-shirt and just tried to ignore the drips of water raining down off of branches.Fell down at least three times, hitting wet patches of slush. Came down on top of my hiking pole during one fall, which bent the shaft pretty good. Buree would be going into Gatlinburg with her folks, who had come down to see how she was progressing, so it would be just Redneck and I heading into town together. I found him waiting for me at Newfound Gap in a dizzying sight among a crowd of tourists. Since it is illegal to hitchhike out of or to the Smokies, the two of us were unsure of how to proceed into Gatlinburg (15 miles away). We had our eyes peeled for Buree and her parents, thinking maybe they¢d take us, when a bearded man suddenly appeared in front of me holding two ice-cold cans of Coke. ¢Thank you,¢ I said.¢No problem,¢ he answered. ¢You gotta buddy with you, right?¢ ¢Yeah¢he just went to get some water.¢¢Where¢d you guys come from?¢ ¢Well, we started at Springer, but we hiked in from Double Spring Shelter today.¢He nodded.¢You¢re not also offering a ride into Gatlinburg, are ya?¢ ¢I¢m headed that way, sure.¢A few minutes later, Redneck and I found ourselves riding in the back of his van, leaning against a bunch of camping gear. His name was Rob Bruce and his daughter was Sammie, a senior in high school, if my memory serves me well. She was on spring break and the two of them had been doing a little backpacking in the Smokies. Thanks for the ride, Rob!In Gatlinburg, Redneck and I stopped into the Happy Hiker outfitter to have our picture taken and buy some fuel. The Happy Hiker has a ton of pictures of thru-hikers all over there walls, going back for years. This was the third picture Redneck had up on the wall. I also scored a free rain-cover that had been lying in one of the hiker boxes, as well some trail mix and a single pack of coffee.We ended up staying at the Grand Prix Motel for two nights, sharing a room with Night Rider who had arrived early that morning. Gatlinburg is a trip anyway, but even more so when you come off the trail. Tourists, Trolleys and Ripley Museums, oh my!And I must say, the Negro Modelo was delicious, and washed down the Mexican food quite well.   ***Random Register Entry: ¢Sandman, you hard old bean, I knew you¢d eventually read this! Miserable! This whole trip stinks. Can¢t wait til I get to Katahdin & have it all over with. Game." Able Jack