Date: 2013-04-16
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: broken clouds

When I got up this morning, I had cereal for the first time on the trail. I prepared powdered milk and put cereal into it and it was the greatest breakfast I've had so far. Funny how something so simple can be so enlightening. It really means a lot on the trail so these small victories are very special. All the hikers get up the each morning preparing for the next night, which for some of us is longer than others. My day was to be in excess of 12 miles which was supposed to be fairly easy. However once I got into the hike today, I realize that there's nothing easy in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There were still a lot of uphill hiking but maybe it was worse because of my feet. I'm still having a lot of problems with the blisters and my feet are absolutely killing me. I really need to get some new shoes once I get to Gatlinburg. I hiked primarily with G-man, Noodles, Strider, Indie and Icarus. I'm glad I had my camera with me because the scenery is becoming beautiful. Toward the end of the hike, we encountered Fir and Spruce trees and a lot of logs covered with moss. The smell of spruce dominates the air, along with something that smells like pot, though I know it's not or it would be full of hippy squatters. The Smoky mountains are absolutely beautiful, however the hiking is not so easy. I've been to the Smoky mountains several times before, but I've never seen this side of them. I'm seeing the real interior of the Smokies now, where all I've seen before are roads leading to campsites with a lot of other shade tree campers with all the conveniences of home. I can't be critical because I've done my share of "convenience" camping myself. I like my current method of camping in the Smokies much better now, thank you. When I finally arrived at Double Springs shelter there were a lot of people I hadn't seen before. We ran into a guy from Atlanta called fifth gear who was a very strong hiker and had just finished medical school. We also ran into several people of whom I did not get trail names. One hiker was working on his Triple Crown. He had already walked the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide trail and only had to finish the Appalachian Trail to complete his Triple Crown. This is quite an accomplishment. It's something to be able to say that you walked one of these trails because they are all over 2000 miles with the Appalachian Trail being the shortest. He told us about the Continental Divide trail which was very interesting. Some of the trail is not even documented. You have to depend on a map to see where you are and where you're going and where the water sources are. This must be very difficult as it is almost 3000 miles long and you really have to depend on yourself to get through it without any maps or directions telling you where to go, where to get off, and where to find water. Earlier tonight, there were three what looked like young deer grazing very near to our shelter. They seem to have no fear although one was a bit skittish. Once the deer came out so did the cameras and everyone immediately became quiet which probably scared the deer, but they didn't run away. I got some really good pictures of the deer from close up. During the night I heard an animal come up to the door, so I believe the deer came even closer while everyone was asleep. This was a nice shelter because it had two springs very nearby and a privy. Most shelters in the Smokies don't have privies they just have an area where hikers are supposed to go, which is pretty gross. I took a hike into the woods to take care of my business because I was not going to go into a common ground where others have gone before me.   Who knows what one would dig up while digging your hole...yuk. The Smoky National Park has a lot of rules which makes it not a friendly place to hike. There are no dogs allowed, you have to stay in shelters if they're available, there are no fires unless there's a fire ring, etc. etc. We are all just trying to get through the Smokies as fast as possible so we can get away from the rules. I didn't even mention the $20 fee to thru hike through the Smokies. All hikers are required to pay $20 for a pass to hike through the Smokies. Although I paid $80 for a Golden Eagle Pass, which allows me to enter into any national Park, it's no good here. I still have to pay $20 to thru hike through the Smokies. And if that wasn't bad enough, if a thru hiker has a spot in the shelter but a visitor has a reservation, the thru hiker gets kicked out. If some Ranger comes up to me and says you have to get out into the storm because this family of four has a reservation at the shelter, I'm probably not going to be real happy about it, especially when I was required to use the shelter in the first place when I would prefer my tent anyway. I won't say what I would do because I'm not there, but I can't say I would not be happy. Most of the Rangers have been pretty cool though. However, there is this one Ranger they call Graybeard who has given some hikers a hard time. I believe we have passed his area so I'm glad I did not have a run in with him. In most law enforcement situations, there always seems to be one guy who abuses power.   This sometimes makes people believe others are the same, which is a shame because there are mostly good rangers who do this because they love the outdoors and want to see people enjoy themselves. Hats off to the good guys. When the light faded, and "hikers midnight" approached at 9:00, we all went to bed in our warm sleeping bags to rest up for what could be another tough day hiking to Clingman's Domb, the highest peak in the Eastern US. at 6,643 feet high.