Date: 2022-04-20
From: Icewater Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: clear sky

It¢s been a long day. I slept in and didn¢t get up until 8:30. Which was great but it just made me feel like I was behind so many people. In reality I wasn¢t that far behind the few who had pushed on ahead of me. I think everyone was moving slow since it got below freezing again last night. It was so cold. I should know because the pizza I had yesterday decided to come back up. I felt it coming and was able to get out of my sleeping bag and away from the shelter toward the privy before it started dining up. After throwing up though I felt great and slept really well.I spent some of the morning and lunch walking with Kara. She is really fun to talk to. She has had an interesting life with traveling all over the world to provide aid. She just got a new job where she can pick and choose her assignments so she is using her savings to be able to do her thru-hike of the AT. Other than that we swapped the typical stories of how and why we each got to hiking the AT. I ended up pushing on ahead and got to the Tricorner shelter before her. I stopped long enough to eat a little something and refill my water bottle. She was just arriving when I was pushing out to keep going. It was only 3pm and I wanted to make the 7.7 miles down the trail to the next shelter. It was mostly downhill with a few climbs. It was a really cool section and I¢m glad I did push on. I have now completed my first 20 mile day. 20.3 miles to be exact. I¢m so happy to make it. Other than my ankles hurting I feel really good after making the trek. There was one other guy who pushed on with me. He took it slower than I did. It was nice to know that someone else was not far behind me.On the last push to the shelter I had some signal so I called my dad to let him know. While I was talking to him four military jets came screaming right over me. They started low in the valley on the Tennessee side and I had a clear view of them pulling up just right on top of the mountain. It¢s was so cool to watch them and talk to my dad at the same time. It was a small way of sharing the trail.There is a ridgerunner here named Ricky ¢Capt. Caveman¢. He is a little younger than I am I would guess. He means well but he doesn¢t know how to be personable with the leadership and guidance his position has. So he comes across a little arrogant and unsure of himself. He told me that I had to hang my bear canister. I couldn¢t stop myself from looking at him like he was the biggest idiot. He continued with some line about bears just taking canisters or damaging them. That¢s the chance you take with having the bear canister though. It wasn¢t worth the argument with him. I had a big enough dry bag in my pack to slide the bear canister in so I hung it up.I am only 8 miles away from the end of the Smokies and this is the end of my 4th day. I didn¢t make it the Smokies challenge but I am so close. If I hadn¢t gone into Gatlinburg or didn¢t sleep in this morning I might have been able to make it. I¢m okay with not having made it. I gave it a good try while still having fun. I walked through the rain and the frozen early morning hours. The weather today was just amazing it was warm but not to hot. I have seen all the weather the Smokies have to offer. I have loved my time in them.