Date: 2012-03-26
From: Silers Bald Shelter (194.3)

To: Icewater Spring Shelter (209.8)
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

After a really cold night...we wore everything we had, including fleece gloves...we awoke to a beautiful, but cold and misty morning. The mist had mostly burned off by the time we left the shelter at 8:30. The first 5 miles was mostly uphill, but not too steep, to Clingmans Dome the highest point on the entire Appalachian Trail, at 6,643 feet. It was a bit of a shock to see the handicapped accessible observation tower in the middle of the Smokies, but it is nice that at least part of the Appalachian Trail is accessible to those with physical disabilities. We walked to the top of the tower, but after taking a few pictures we came back down, since it was quite windy. I took a picture on my phone, but I could make any calls. We met a few people who asked us about our thru hike. It was fun being treated like a celebrity, even though we'd only hiked 200 miles so far. One man even asked about our blog, so we gave him the information, then continued on the trail. We left just after Nak and just as Bookworm and Yenz were arriving. Almost immediately after starting to hike again, I took my first BAD fall. Somehow I tripped on my trekking pole, and then landed on the shaft with my right arm. Little did I know at the time but that arm would be sore for the next two and a half to three months, but fortunately it didn't hurt to hike, or even to use the pole! (Random note: Everyone we knew took at least ONE bad fall on the trail over the course of their thru hike. Gary and I each took two bad falls, resulting in soreness for anywhere from a week to three months. Fortunately, none of the falls impacted our hike. We all feared that the next bad fall could end our thru hike. In some cases, the person's fall actually DID end his or her hike.) We soon discovered we were both about out of water, but after 4 miles we found a beautiful spring coming out of the rocks. The water was cold, clear, and refreshing, even after the 20 minutes required to treat it. When you're hiking the AT, it's the little things that you appreciate.(Random note: we treated ALL our water. Getting sick from drinking contaminated water seemed unwise, if not downright stupid. Some hikers chose to treat water only some of the time or not at all, and we never heard of anyone getting sick from the untreated water, but we just didn't want to take the chance when it was easy to treat it.) The trail to Newfound Gap was mostly downhill, but the roots and logs were still slippery from the recent rains, so it was slow going. We also noted that the flowers were fewer as we ascended in altitude. Once in Newfound Gap, I made a phone call and photographed the North Carolina/Tennessee border sign. We continued on the trail, and soon encountered a sign telling us it was only 1972 miles to Katahdin, the northern terminus of the AT. Wow! We'd made it 1/10th of the way! The hike up to Icewater Spring Shelter was uphill the whole way, but gentle. Along the way we met Coffee Pot, who was hiking quickly, in order to be able to pick up Scout, his canine hiking partner, as soon as possible. (Random note: dogs are not allowed in the Great Smokies National Park. There are people who, for a fee, will pick up your dog before you enter the park, kennel it while you're hiking through the park, and return it to you once you leave the park. In this case, Coffee Pot's parents were taking care of Scout, and deliver him back to Coffee Pot.) He was hiking so fast we didn't think we'd see him again. As we neared the shelter, we thought about our trip to Mount LeConte two years ago, with friends. While staying at the lodge there, we had hiked to the Appalachian Trail, and had stopped at Icewater Springs Shelter for lunch. We'd even met a couple of thru hikers! When we arrived at Icewater Spring Shelter THIS year, we were greeted by familiar faces, including Spice and Jonas, and Lefty and Philly Ben. We had thought that they were all WAY ahead, but they had gone to Gatlinburg, and we had not. Others already there were Runoff and Dickle.(Random note: We had gone to Gatlinburg two years ago and saw no need to see it again. It's a very hiker friendly town, but quite busy, and we didn't need to resupply, and, besides, it's a hitch in, and back to the trail again, so we didn't go.) The shelter was full, so we were glad we'd made it in time to get some spots in it. After dinner we enjoyed the fire in the shelter fireplace...cheer and a nice way to end a beautiful day. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail when you can have a bad fall, but it doesn't impact your hike, and when you catch up with friends you thought were way ahead.