Date: 2003-04-05
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: moderate rain

We haven¢t written a journal in a while so we have some catching up to do. On the second of April we woke up and Lydia Chicken Feet made me ¢test¢ our shoes, and for the first time since it started snowing, our shoes weren¢t frozen stiff (very cold and painful to put on!) Mtn. Collins Shelter was 0.5 miles off the trail, which is a lot for a thru-hiker because the side miles don¢t count. We got all the way back to the AT when I realized I¢d forgotten my food-hanging line, another extra mile (without my pack)!! We got to Newfound Gap around mid-morning. The parking lot was full of tourists viewing the Smokies. We got lots of crazy questions like ¢did you both hike here?¢ Poor Lydia was using the bathroom when a little girl came in and said ¢Mommy, it smells like¢¦ waah,¢ and she burst into tears. Lydia now must face the fact that she really stinks. The hike was great though. We passed Charlie¢s Bunion, which was a great rock outcrop. The evergreen trees reminded me of cotton candy. We hiked up on ridges for at least five miles straight. The views were the best we¢d had so far in the Smokies. We also passed many more people out enjoying the Smokies. We made it to Pecks Corner Shelter, another shelter 0.5 miles off. We had another big day, but we¢re not feeling too bad.                                        FlandersAlso, as we were leaving Newfound Gap a young man offered us candy bars!!! We eagerly accepted and walked with him back to his car there he loaded us up on yummies and we found out that he is Joel of thru-hiker. 10M. Thanks so much Joel! We really needed that candy (and cookies and soda). Candy is indispensable trail food.         On the third of April we had our biggest day yet. A total of 16.3 miles up to an observation ¢tower¢ on top of Mt. Cammerer. There is no camping allowed up there- it is not an official AT shelter- but we had heard from Rebel that it was an awesome place to stealth camp and catch amazing sunset and sunrise. We got there at 6:45, just in time for the sunset (and too late for the Rangers to catch us, we hoped). Our friends, Fremont and Medicine Man, were already there, but to our surprise we didn¢t have to fight over camping space- the observation tower was a big circular shelter- PERFECT for out sleeping bags. We made chocolate pudding and watched the sunset (we already eaten dinner at the last shelter). After the sun went down, the mountainside was alive with city lights. It was very strange because we had had no idea up until then how big the nearby towns were and how many people lived on the sides of mountains! In the morning we got up at 5:30 to see the sunrise and again, escape detection by the Rangers.        And now we come to the 4th day of April. After our lovely (though quite cloudy) sunrise, we headed for the Standing Bear Farm, a hostel just outside the Smokies. On the way, I started rubbing a blister and after a couple attempts with the duct tape treatment, I decided to change my sock, a very effective solution. Unfortunately, the sock I removed was very stinky and wet, and I pinned it to the outside of my pack to dry and air out. Once I have done this, Ned found it utterly impossible to walk behind me. He moved in front of me and began hatching a plan for a niche for my sock. ¢Instead of restraining orders, people could just get one of your socks,¢ said he, and we had a good time plotting the specifics of our new company, as well as the advertisement campaigns we could use.        Anyway, we left the Smokies, and I was immediately sad because the ups and downs became immediately steeper- no more beautiful rolling ridgelines. Then, as we descended into a green and blooming valley with big creeks rushing through it, I realized we had seen absolutely no valleys for the past week, so I was happy again.                                                        Chicken Feet