Date: 2003-05-10
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Today, we left GSMNP. I woke up, tired and very restless. The shelter was packed, and the hiker beside me snored like a bear, so I got almost no sleep. To add to that, I was having trouble breathing, I guess due to my sore throat and stuffiness. It isn't surprising that I'm coming down with something, after walking through all the cold, wet weather of the Smokies, but I do hope it doesn't linger. I could hardly eat or drink anything all day, without my throat hurting. If felt as if I had a huge lump in it, that I just could not get rid of. A few people had some strong ibuprophen, which helped a little, but also made me tired and worn out. This is the 3rd day of this, and I hope it is on the outs, because it's completely zapping all energy I have.Anyway, we came into Mountain Mama's, as some of us had mail-drops, and Nova had to call to have her dog, Bosco, dropped off. Dogs are not allowed in GSMNP, so everyone that walks with a dog has to kennel them, or find an alternate way around the park. Nova used a kennel. When we arrived at Mountain Mama's, we were greeted with a woman with a lot of attitude, and little patience for hikers. We also found that the "telephone," as listed in the book, was out of order, and she refused to let hikers use the phone. So, Nova took a walk to the Ranger's Station to call the kennel and let them know where she was, and we treated ourselves to the hamburgers that were supposed to be delicious. The hamburger was a painful experience. I could hardly open my mouth enough to fit the burger in my mouth, as it would hurt my throat to open it further. I didn't think this was right, but still hoped for the best. After Nova joined us, the kennel called up at Mountain Mama's to talk to Nova about getting her dog dropped off. Mountain Mama refused to let Nova talk to the woman, though, and just took a message, stating simply that she couldn't make it over to Mountain Mama's for a while, and that it would be a few hours before she could. Well, we weren't going to stay there for a few hours, so Nova walked back to the ranger's station and made different arrangements. We then decided to get some showers in. I don't recommend the shower at Mountain Mama's, as the water smells of sulfur. I didn't feel clean at all after that experience, but oh well. As we were packing up, and I was trying to find the hiker box to dump all my extra food in (as I couldn't mail it forward), a nice man pulled up and offered us a ride back to the trail. He also offered to mail off my box when he got back to work, and refused to take money for it. So we hopped in his truck, and took off. I love meeting trail angels like this!We ended up hiking a few miles further, to Green Corner Road. This is where the kennel agreed to drop off Nova's dog. Well, we got there around 4, and waited...and waited....and waited further for this woman to drop the dog off. This kennel is ridiculous. First of all, they advertise that they will drop off the pet within half an hour of your call. We called this morning around 11. Second, the lady then promised to have the dog over at this road within 2-3 hours. That was around 1. We got here at 4. No sign of her. She finally arrived around 6, and we ended up deciding to walk up the road to Standing Bear Farm. After this unfortunate turn of events, we were definitely glad that we made this decision. Standing Bear Farm was awesome. Very peaceful, serene, filled with goodies and snacks, plenty of music and good times! The owner, Curtis, allowed us to borrow his van to go into town. I decided not to go, as I was feeling worse, but Tito, Nova, and Moss took off. Magic Rat stayed behind to keep me company. They came back with beer, pizza, and ice cream, and a great story! You see, hikers aren't used to traveling fast in a car, and they were driving along at what seemed like a fast pace to them. Tito had announced, man, we're flying, as they entered the interstate. Suddenly, cars started zooming around them at what seemed like ridiculous levels....until they looked down at the speedometer, and saw that they were going 40 miles an hour. Walking at an average pace of 2 miles an hour will really distort things!So, we ate, drank, and were merry for the night...and I got to sleep in a teepee!