Date: 2017-04-24
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Clingman's Dome
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: clear sky

Day 27 on the Appalachian Trail April 24Miles Today: 10.1Total Miles: 199.1It was an early morning this morning, mostly due to a group of rude thru's who made as much noise as they wanted at 4:30am when they got up to start the day. I woke up several times to their loud voices, and bright headlamps shining in to my tent. On any other day I would've been thoroughly annoyed but I wanted to be up early any way so I could get started towards Clingmans Dome and then in to  Gatlinburg so I could get out of my wet clothes and dry things out.I ended up actually getting started with my day at 5:30. It was wet and cold outside of my tent which slowed my morning ritual. Eventually I said screw it and got going knowing that the sooner I got started, the sooner I could get to town. I got out of my warm, dry tent and faced the morning's brisk air. After I took everything down I was faced with what would be the hardest task of the day, putting on my soaking wet boots. With some hesitation I slid my feet in to each one and within minutes my socks and feet were drenched. I walked over to the shelter and chatted with Joe (who I will now be referring to as Bon Appetite) and my dad (from now on Kinsman) who had both gotten out of bed and began getting ready for the day. Kinsman headed out shortly after and I ended up waiting around until 8 talking with Bon Appetite before I left. The trail was a muddy mess right from the get go. Every step required more effort than usual and ground was lost with every slip of a boot. It made for tough hiking but with thoughts of town in my head I pressed on to the next shelter within 2 hours. Kinsman was there waiting when I arrived. I sat down to eat and then some other hikers rolled in. Their names were Parakeet, Obi-Wan-Potato, and Pepperoni. Great group of hikers and Parakeet would end up sharing a room with Bon Appetite, Kinsman, and myself in Gatlinburg. We noticed the fireplace in the shelter was smoking a bit so I took the opportunity to blow on it a bit and within a few seconds I had a nice, toasty fire going to warm us up and dry us out. We sat around for nearly an hour in front of the fire and then Bon Appetite strolled in all hopped up on 4-C energy drinks. Everyone's spirits had risen drastically from yesterday and this morning. After a bit more conversation about the day, I headed off for Clingmans. It was only another 4 miles away and I was excited to get to the top and then get in to town. After a bit of climbing, I reached Clingmans right around 2pm. It didn't take long for the others to arrive after me. We all spent some time at the observation tower although we couldn't see any of the views due to the fog surrounding us. With nothing to be seen we didn't spend much time at the top and we headed down to the parking lot to try and hitch a ride in to Gatlinburg. Bon Appetite started chatting up a guy on the way down and we had a ride before we knew it. Parakeet, Bon Appetite, Kinsman, and myself climbed in the gentleman's van and headed down to town. After a 40 minute ride or so, he dropped us off at our hotel. We thanked him greatly and headed our own ways. We quickly got in to our room and began the usual gear-splosion. There was hiking gear everywhere.. we soon after headed out to the general store right next to the hotel and we all got some hot sandwiches cooked up for us which we devoured within minutes. After purchasing some beer we went back to the room and relaxed for the rest of the day. Tomorrow will be a zero day filled with chores such as laundry, grocery shopping, drying gear, and planning the next several days of hiking.