Date: 2003-04-29
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Double Spring Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

(Craig says.) Heard Coyotes howling last night.....Made coffee while Erin caught some extra ZZZZ's (was that enough Z's?), while another buck with just the beginnings of antlers pranced around the Shelter picking at grass patches and wild flowers. I snapped a few photos. It didn't seem to mind. I met an older guy who went by the name 'Model T'. He'd thru-hiked three times before and had just published his first book titled "Walking on the Happy Side of Misery" (Sure enough, three days later while typing in the Gatlinburg library I found that they already had a copy and the librarian brought it out for me. Very thick) Anyway, he gave me some sage advice while I nibbled on pop-tarts. Simple, rather cliche things that from anyone else you'd have let slide through your ears like, 'Listen to your body' or 'it's the journey and not the destination', and 'Khatadin will always be there.' You know what I mean...but I guess there is inherent truth in that.After breaking down camp and finishing our Pop-tarts we headed off stiff-legged over more balds still wet with morning dew. One of the balds we crawled over, 'Rocky Top' was the inspiration for the U of Tennessee fighting song. We straddled the state lines all day, (the AT splits TN and NC) topping out on Thunderhead Mountain at 5,527. IT was tough climbing. Very hot. I was wiping the sweat off my head all day with a blue super absorbant pack towel tied to my pack. It get's pretty nasty. My entire shirt turns a darker blue and the onion smell begins to waft about. Birds fly off. Chipmunks dart into their holes. Stopped at Dericks Knob (yes, that's its real name) for a three hour lunch in the shade of the shelter to get away from the hot, hot, sun. The bugs were atrocious. Ridiculous. Driving me batty...We left in cooler temps and better spirits at around 5:00PM and watched Thunderheads form in the distance as we hiked. Earlier in the day I had been listening to 'Prom Makeovers' on The View on Erin's headphones, (hey! it was the only thing that came in!) and heard a small blip about possible severe thunderstorms before I lost reception. Soon enough we could here the thunder. It got dark. The ridge began to open up a little, exposing us. I looked at the data book to find out how far the shelter was from here and it mentioned that two people were struck by lightning at the shelter in 1980. Joy! I'm petrified of lighting when I'm hiking high up. So my feet went faster and faster and erin's image behind me got smaller and smaller until I was all alone, sprinting through patches of shaded pine trees, nervously glancing up at the dark clouds and judging in what direction the thunder was coming. Eventually I made it to the shelter just beneath clingman's dome and erin made it about fifteen minutes later apparently not impressed that I'd run off. I honestly didn't consciously mean to. I just sort of spooked myself to the shelter. I honestly don't know what I could have done to help her anyway, share the lighting blast? (Dad, do you remember me doing the same thing to you on top of Mt. Lafayette?) I'm terrible! Anyhow, everything turned out allright.Weaver and Ken were there. (Weaver was there on our first day on Springer.) Ken told me that a few years ago a woman had been mauled by a bear just outside the shelter. Probably right where we were going to pitch our tent. I had a bad feeling. Another buck came into the site and ate trilliums until it was too dark to see. Erin and I sat and watched the lighting steak in the distance for a while before retiring to the ol' tent.