Date: 2003-12-16
To: There's a first time for everything
Miles today: 0.0

Introduction:Crunching on a bag of pizza flavored combos, chugging Mountain Dew, and listening to some rage, (all part of the mojo) I set out on my first solo hiking trip during Spring Break of 2002. After a 10 hour drive through the night, I arrived at the promised land ¢ Smoky Mountain National Park. Not accounting for Murphy¢s Law, considering I was still new to winter hiking and I was solo, I didn¢t factor in that dang near everything imaginable could go wrong.Day One:After picking up my backcountry permit, I parked my car at the Alum Cave trailhead and headed out for the summit of Mt. LeConte. With the sun glistening through the trees at the early hour of 0900, I kneeled down at a stream and filtered some brisk mountain water. Yuck! I forgot to pump water through the filter first and had that retched charcoal taste in my water. Undeterred I continued on and ran into an older couple out for a day hike. After a brief conversation, it turned out they lived about 10 miles away from my house in Michigan! We departed ways and I continued on the trail. About a half mile later I ran into a gentleman walking his dog. After talking with him it turned out that he graduated from Grand Valley State University in the early 1970's (where I go to school) and lived in the same apartment complex I was living in. I kid you not, on a cold Thursday in February, not two miles on to a remote trail I ran into three people with Michigan roots close to my hometown.I continued along and made my way to the top of Mt. LeConte where I would stay for my first night. It was a balmy 20*. As I began getting dinner ready, I discovered that I could not get my fuel canister to pressurize. Oops. After a period of disbelief, and thoughts of cold meals I was able to disassemble the pump mechanism and get it working again. Hot Spam never tasted so good. Later that evening a whooping storm would blow over the mountain.Life¢s Lessons Learned ¢ It¢s a small world after all.Mistake #1 ¢ Forgot to ¢warm-up¢ the water filter after a period of not using it.Mistake #2 ¢ Did not pre-check gear at home to see that it was functioning properly.Day Two:Temperatures had steadily risen throughout the night, turning the snow into rain, blown along by steady 60 mph winds. After talking with Max Collins, staying at the shelter, he advised me that areas of the Boulevard Trail, which I would follow to Icewater Springs Shelter, were covered in glare ice and to hike it without crampons would not be possible (portions of the trail are exposed to shear dropoffs of several hundred feet). Not having crampons I figured I would have to reroute my trip. However, Max insisted I borrow his pair of crampons and mail them to him when I got home! I strapped on the crampons and set off into the torrent of rain.Covered in my gore-tex, and wanting to get out of the rain as quickly as possible, I slammed out the 7 miles to Icewater in under 2.5 hours. However, I was over dressed for the warm weather. The gore-tex kept me dry, but sweat soaked all my layers of clothing. I pulled in to Icewater Springs shelter looking like a drowned rat. I promptly changed into dry clothes (fleece pants, socks, shirt). With the temperatures hovering around 35*, and all the firewood wet, it seemed highly unlikely that my stuff would dry. However, a miracle occurred when a group of four hikers rolled in around 10pm from the gap. With them they brought four instant start hearth logs! I nearly cried. They started up a fire in the fire place, and I stayed up until 4am and was able to dry all my clothes for the next day.Life¢s Lessons Learned ¢ You don¢t have to be a member of Publisher¢s Clearing House for miracles to happen. As I would come to find out, the acts of Max Collins and the four hikers were wonderful acts of ¢Trail Magic.¢Mistake #3 ¢ Who would think there could be ice in the Smokies in February? (joke) Hmmm¢¦carry appropriate gear Andy.Mistake #4 - When it rains walk slow to allow gore-tex to work. Do not overdress, you will always warm up once walking.Mistake #5 - Carry one pair extra clothing. I only had one pair of pants. Hiking in fleece underwear just isn¢t cool, even though I have a nice butt.Day Three:With dry clothes and an upbeat spirit I headed out for Kephart Shelter. The gracious hikers gave me their last hearth log, God Bless them! (they had only burned three the night before). Again I was ever thankful for the crampons lent to me, as the narrow and exposed ridgeline trail was covered in sheets of ice. I arrived at Kephart Shelter in great spirits as it did not rain the entire day. With time to spare I cooked an enormous meal, readied my gear for the next day, and stoked a hearty fire. Alone at the shelter I spread out my socks on the bunk to dry out and crashed for the night. Blasted mice! They chewed holes through every pair of my smartwools that night, and they were placed only inches from my sleeping bag. Mistake #5 ¢ Mice go for more than just food. Although you might have hung your pack, hang your socks too. Bring mouse traps. It should be noted that I avenged my loss by bringing 8 mouse traps on my next trip to the smokies. I killed an average of two mice per night.Day Four:I set off on my final day from the base of Mt. Kephart back to the summit of Mt. LeConte. I arrived at LeConte in the early afternoon and it was already only 15*, it would drop to -5* that night. On the hike to LeConte, my water filter froze, the water source at the top of LeConte was frozen, and my two nalgenes full of water had froze during my hike to LeConte! Cold, tired, and thirsty I reverted to melting snow for dinner. Yummy, macaroni & cheese and odd pieces of particulate matter from the snow. Another blessing occurred came in the form of the caretaker for LeConte Lodges. He was already letting a group of hikers stay at the empty cabins. I hung out at the lodge with the group, ate a great dinner of jambalaya, and shot the breeze until the wee hours of the morning around a cracklin' camp fire. I also was able to thaw out my Nalgenes.Mistake #6 - Duh! When it is cold, water freezes. Either drink the stuff, or keep the water bottles empty.Day Five:The final day of the expedition kicked off with a hike back to my car at Alum cave parking lot. However, I veered off the wrong way at the fork in the trail and traveled 2 miles down the wrong trail. Not to be deterred, I turned around and found the right trail. I continued down the trail, and stuffed my windstopper gloves into my pocket. They proceeded to fall out and get lost. However, I made it back to my car unscathed.Mistake #7 ¢ Earth to Andy. Read the trail signs, they are there for a reason.Mistake #8 ¢ Keep your stuff attached to something at all times.Conclusion:I would like to thank all the teachers at the school of hard knocks. Seriously, it is nearly two years since that trip. None since have been so funny in retrospect, complimented with so many benign mistakes, or filled with such blessings. First, it is so improbable to encounter three people in the middle of the woods with such close ties to home. Second, the kindness of Max Collins (if you're reading this please drop a note in the guestbook) to trust that I would return his crampons is a true testament to the spirit of the trail. The folks that brought the hearth logs and Rocky the caretaker, who let me warm up and thaw out my water bottles. These people were true trail angels. It was their kindness and assistance that remains the highlight of the trip. There have been very few times before or since that I can recall such profound acts of kindness from total strangers. THANK YOU SO MUCH! It was this spirit of fellowship that has inspired me to continue hiking and pursue an adventure along the Appalachian Trail. It should be noted that I have not repeated any of the errors since that trip! Andy