Date: 2004-03-19
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Standing Bear Farms Hostel
Miles today: 170.7
Weather: overcast clouds

3/7/04Last night I stayed at the Blueberry Patch Hostel, run by Gary and Lennie Poteat. Gary hiked the Trail, and then decided to help out hikers by opening a hostel. In town, while I was checking my email, I ran into Ox (hiked the Trail in 1997), who shuttled me to the grocery store, and then back to the hostel. While we were waiting for Katherine's parents, who were going to take us all to a restaurant in town, Corsican ('99) showed up at the hostel to see who was around and to talk with us. After an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) dinner, it was back to the hostel for a wonderful night's sleep (though bunking above a snorer is an adventure in itself).It was a gorgeous day for hiking - cool and sunny. I hiked all day with Sugar Daddy, Heald, and Heald's dog Annie. We stopped for a snack at Plumorchard Gap Shelter, a three-story post and beam shelter, considered one of the three best shelters on the Trail. We stopped for lunch at the Old Gnarled Oak, the most-photographed tree on the Trail, just past the GA/NC border - one state down, thirteen to go.The wind started picking up, and just after we got to Muskrat Creek Shelter for the night it began to sprinkle rain. Then the temperature dropped and the rain turned to snow. I'm lying in my sleeping bag now with my tarp pitched low, hoping it's not as windy as it was the other night at Tray Mountain. We'll have to see how much snow accummulates overnight.3/8/04I woke to a little bit of ice on my tarp, and solid frozen ground, but no snow (it stopped shortly after I finished writing last night). The wind was still strong, so Wildcat, Katherine, and I hiked out quickly and ate breakfast after an hour, when we could find a sunny spot sheltered from the wind. It was still cold all day, but it was such a gentle hike that it's my favourite day so far. We finished early and gathered wood for a fire that was welcome because it was so cold out. Tonight I remembered to clear the drinking tube of my water bottle - this morning it was frozen so I couludn't drink as I walked.3/9/04Cold again this morning, and another early start. Today I walked with Wildcat and Captain Hook, with Katherine, Sugar Daddy, and Deja Vu meeting and separating throughout the day. It was another gentle day, and sunny, and halfway through it began to snow with the sun still shining. We finished the day at Rainbow Springs Campground, in a huge 30' yurt lined with bunks. Pizza for dinner, and a sauna (that's right, a sauna - we thru-hikers know how to live). Yay!3/10/04We didn't have the 6-12" of snow predicted for the morning, but there was about 3" of snow for a beautiful sunny day. Dharma joined our group, as did Heald for a while (until he took a nap on a road that we crossed). Katherine found her trail name Moon Pie, and excitedly introduced herself as that to everyone we came across. Because of the distances between shelters we decided to camp at the side of the Trail, so we found a spot with some snow-free patches and settled down. Soon, seven other hikers had joined us at our little hobo camp, and we built a fire to huddle around for warmth. It was probably the coldest night yet, but soon we settled in for the night.3/11/04What a sluggish morning! Cold temperatures had us sleeping late, but when the sun hit camp we were soon singing Brady Bunch songs and dawdling about getting ready to go. It was another gorgeous sunny day, with snow on the north sides of the mountains, and none on the south sides.At the top of Wayah Bald we sat on the fire tower, ate, and took pictures. Wildcat, Captain Hook, and Dharma were heading into the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), where Wildcat's wife was going to pick them up, while MoonPie and I only went another mile to the next shelter, so we could have an easy walk into the NOC tomorrow. Also at the shelter were Sugar Daddy, Deja Vu, and Han Solo. Heald hung around for dinner, and then headed out to night hike. Here I sit at the raging campfire, singeing my shins in the heat.3/12/04A short hike into the NOC from the shelter this morning. Because MoonPie was meeting friends at noon, we took it easy on the walk into the river valley. Nantahala means "Land of the Noonday Sun." It's called this because the valley walls are so steep that the sun doesn't reach thge river until midway through the day. What does this mean for a thru-hiker? It means a 3,000' climb down into the valley, and then another 3,000' climb back up the other side. Very steep!The Nantahala River is popular with whitewater kayakers, and the subcultures (hikers and paddlers) meet in front of the outfitter at the NOC. Hikers receiving mail drops spread their new food and gear across the sidewalk and try to get it all to git into their packs (leaving any extras in the "hiker box" in the store, available for anyone else to root through. Kayakers drive up with brightly-coloured boats on their roof racks (or, in one case, bicycle up with a kayak slub over his shoulder).MoonPie met her first group of friends, and got a huge box brimming with food (and fresh scones, Devon cream, and lemon curd to be shared by all). Dharma had rented a room in a cabin, so we all went over there for showers, laundry, and scones, and exploded all our gear across the floor of the common room. After a few hours of relaxing, MoonPie's second group of friends showed up and took us out for Mexican food. Afterwards we camped up the river, away from the Trail.3/13/04A midmorning start for a long (16-mile) day, I headed up the steep valley climb alone. As I got higher the sun shone down through the bare branches of the forest, and eventually I was rewarded for my exertion with a perfect vista of the river far below. It's always nice to be able to see where you've come from, proof that you are indeed making progress. A few days ago we were able to stand at the pinnacle of one mountain and see the mountain where we had stood the day before, far off in the distance and muted with haze, and we could follow the ridge line which the Trail follows across the Appalachians.Our group has split up. Wildcat is staying in town for another day with his wife. Captain Hook left the NOC yesterday morning, so is a full day ahead. Sugar Daddy and Deja Vu hiked out yesterday afternoon, and Dharma hadn't left yet when I hiked out this morning. MoonPie should be catching up with me by this afternoon. It's odd when you hike with a group of independent hikers, each with his or her own agenda. Together for three or four days, creating strong bonds, then split apart. I'm sure we'll all run into each other again before this trip is through.I took a long nap and lunch break at Sassafrass Gap Shelter, then hiked on and took another break on Cheoah Bald to admire the view of mountains stretching away into the blue distance. Balds are unique to the south - although they're beginning to disappear. Originally they were wide grassy expanses atop the mountains, and no one's sure why they stayed that way. Now, the balds are beginning to be overgrown with brush and trees.The shelter tonight only had Pa Kettle, MoonPie, and myself staying there. We built a lovely fire and slept well, interrupted only once by a mouse chewing the floor of the shelter.3/14/04An early start and a nice day. Cool and sunny, I was lost in my thoughts as I hiked, and the miles slipped away. I stopped at the next shelter for a nap in the sun, and lunch, and then hiked to Fontana EDam, where I planned on resupplying and staying in the shelter.The nearest town is Fontana Village, which is aresort town two miles away from where the Trail crosses the road. There was no traffic on the road, and the shuttle from town wasn't running yet this season, so I hiked in the two miles, only to discover that the general store doesn't open until the first of April. I bought what food I could at the Texaco - meagre pickings indeed - and walked back the two miles, only to finally get a hitch for the last quarter mile. I then raced the last mile to the shelter because I was upset at the wasted time.This shelter is called the Fontana Hilton because it has heated bathrooms and showers (still open sides and wooden sleeping platforms in the shelter though). Here tonight are again only MoonPie and Pa Kettle. Tomorrow we enter the Smokies, so we had to get permits before we left here.3/15/04Ah, the Smokies, home to bears and wild boar. Neither have appeared yet, but I'm hoping. I saw boar fur in some scat on the Trail today.The day started off foggy, and I took a shower before heading off. Just as I was about to start hiking, Captain Hook showed up at the trailhead. We took some pictures of ourselves walking across the dam, and entering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The first half of the day went quickly, but there were no views from Shuckstack Mountain (the top of the fire tower was obscured by fog). We stopped to talk with a Ridgerunner (a person who helps maintain the trail and keep up the shelters along a certain section of the Trail) for a while, then hiked on.The rain came with the fog, not too heavy, but enough to don raingear. The fog became so dense I couldn't see further than fifty feet ahead of me, but the colours along the Trail became vibrant - moss, rhodedendron leaves, lichen, even the fallen rotting logs on the side of the Trail and the dead leaves carpeting the forest floor.We got to Mollies Ridge Shelter - empty for the time being. It's hard to gauge shelter space in the Mokies, because thru-hikers get three spaces, but other hikers have permits, and extra thru-hikers have to give space to permit hikers. Eventually, Stiffarm, Mellow, Sugar Daddy, and Deja Vu showed up, so it's just thru-hikers tonight. With the rain and an early finish, we turned to telling jokes and singing songs to entertain ourselves. We all envied MoonPie's down parka in the chill air. I hope all the shelters in the Smokies are like this, but it's spring break week so there'll be lots of section hikers.3/16/04Ah spring break in the Smokies - perfect for Yogi-ing. This is the art of getting food from people without asking for it (like Yogi Bear does). Example: lunchtime in front of a shelter....Haiku: "Man, I hope the food I bought from the gas station lasts me through the Smokies."Spring Break Hiker 1: "I have some extra granola bars and an apple and an orange you can have."Stiffarm: "Yeah, Haiku, I wish I'd thought to get cheese at that gas station."Spring Break Hiker 2: "I have an extra brick of cheese I'm carrying."Score!Today was all up and down the ridges. The rain from last night worked up to a crescendo just before we got up, pounding on the roof and crashing with thudner. Then it stopped just as we began hiking, as if it knew our plans and decided to be nice (for once, the weather was nice to us). The first half of the day was thick with fog, but after lunch the sun began to make an appearance. The Trail was soggy and muddy, so every step slid around, and we had to watch our footing.The shelter tonight is again just thru-hikers, with two spring break hikers tenting outside (which is actually illegal, because the shelters are to keep bears away from the hikers).3/17/04Cead mile failte! Happy St. Patrick's Day!This was a GREAT day! When we woke up in the mornin all the trees and bushes were coated in rime ice, so everything was an ethereal white, made even more surreal by the white fog all around. It was a four mile, 1,000' ascent to Clingmand's Dome, the highest point (6,643') on the Trail. I must have found my trail legs, because I didn't even notice the climb, and I just powered up. The views were non-existant at the top because of the fog, except for one moment when a spotlight of sun illuminated a lone white-frosted pine tree. I pulled out my camera, but by the time I turned it on the view was gone, obscured once more by the fog.The way down the north side of the mountain was treacherous, thick ice covering the Trail. I had several dramatic near-falls, but managed to keep my footing. I few down the mountain, and took a break at Newfound Gap, a popular tourist spot: Yogi central. I got so much free food from people just offering it (rule of Yogi-ing - you can't ask for it) I practically needed a second food bag marked "Swag" to hold it. I even turned down turkey and ham sandwiches. After two and a half hours I'd accumulated enough food, and I powered up the three miles to the next shelter in an hour - another 900' climb.At the shelter we all shared a pint of Guinness I'd carried up for St. Patrick's Day, and shared my loot. The view from the shelter is amazing (the fog finally cleared), and we should be trated to a sunrise just by rolling over. An attempt to build a fire in the shelter's fireplace failed, since all the good wood in the area has been used up by spring breakers, but once again there are just thru-hikers here tonight: Pa Kettle, Captain Hook, MoonPie, Fireball, Jim, and me. Tomorrow should be a nice gentle short day, and I hope it stays clear so we have some views.Slainte!3/18/04Views? What views?Awoke to snow. It was beautiful...until the snow turned to sleet and freezing rain, soaking us as we hiked and turning the Trail into a river of icy water. Hypothermia was on all of our minds, but even though it was cold and miserable outside I was still in good spirits. I kept thinking how many of you (my faithful readers, friends and family) wouldn't understand how I could be trudging through slush and wading through ice water, sleet pouring down around me and dripping off the end of my nose, fingers numb in my wet fleece mittens, and still be whistling as I go down the Trail. I don't understand it either, but there I was.When I got to the shelter the first thing I did was get out of all my wet clothes and into my sleeping bag. Then from my bag I cooked up some hot lunch and ate it, then rolled over and napped for a while. Nature called and I had to get up, then cooked dinner, and had just gotten back into my sleeping bag for an early night's rest when a group of twelve Boy Scouts appeared at the shelter. We thru-hikers (Pa Kettle, Captain Hook, MoonPie, Jim, Fireball, Stiffarm, and myself) quickly consolidated all our gear and squeezed into one corner of the shelter so they could have the rest and no one would have to sleep outside. The Scouts built a fire in the fireplace, and overall raised the temperature in the shelter by five degrees or so, so we were all happy.3/19/04It was going to be a long (18.1 miles) day today, so we all woke at the crack of dawn (well, the thru-hikers did; the Boy Scouts watched us from their sleeping bags, like a row of mice peeking out from warm little holes). We put on all our wet and cold gear and trudged out into the snow.While it was cold and wet in the morning, by mid-morning we'd lost enough altitude that the trail was merely muddy; then by noon it was outright warm and sunny. MoonPie and I had lunch at Cammerer Mountain, a side-trail off the AT with wonderful 360-degree views of the Smokies and the Tennessee and North Carolina valleys on either side.The downhill stretched on, and on. You might think that going downhill is the easiest, but it's hard on the toes and knees, and soon I had a blister on my toe (my shoes must not have been laced tightly enough). Finally we reached Davenport Gap, the northern boundary of the Smoky Mountains National Park, and after another two miles reached Standing Bear Farm, a beautiful hostel right off the Trail.After doing laundry and showers (the usual hostel routine) and sitting around a campfire, Curtis, one of the hostel owners, let us borrow his van to drive into town and visit the Mexican restaurant that his partner Maria owns. The portions at the restaurant were huge, and there was a live bluegrass band playing. How surreal, to be hiking the Trail, and listening to live bluegrass and watching people dance! Everyone in the restaurant - staff and patrons alike - were extremely friendly, interested in us and the Trail. It was a wonderful experience, one I never could have imagined I'd have before I came out here.Now it's two more days until I get to Hot Springs, NC, where I'll be able to have Internet access again. Look for more Haiku adventures!