Date: 2013-04-11
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a pleasant night, and Thursday, April 11 2013, (my one-month anniversary on the trail!) I was back on the AT at 7:55 AM. It took only half an hour to reach the thru-hiker Permit Box at the northern border of the Smokies; Chicago and his companion Private Snowball were there too, and we took each others' photos ¢ I was out of the Great Smoky Mountain National Forest!        At 9:25 I self-photo'd my crossing of the Pigeon River bridge, then snapped one of the I-40 sign to Asheville or Knoxville... ¢back to civilization,¢ I thought! The day¢s long climb began with a rise to Green Corner Road, attained at 10:14 AM. I followed Chicago and Private Snowball up the road to Standing Bear Farm. There was quite a crowd there ¢ someone later referred to it as ¢a zoo¢ ¢ but I retrieved my drop box, left some trash, and headed back down the road at 10:50 AM. Several hikers there called me by name (the pleasant young man named Dyno DNA, for one) and asked if I was staying. It was nice to be recognized and known. Many of the young people were staying, that night, in the crowded bunkhouse.        Down the road I was able to get an AT&T connection, but Hot Springs¢ Alpine Court Motel¢s phone number was bad or disconnected. In desperation I called my wife at her work; she got me in at Iron Horse Station for the 14th and 15th . Tracy McG soon passed me; she¢d skipped the Farm and had just spoken by cell phone with her husband.        What a long afternoon¢s climb! From Pigeon River (1400¢ elevation) we climbed, in hot sun, to the summit of Snowbird Mountain (4,263¢, if I recall correctly). Tracy took several breaks, and I chugged past ¢ her strategy, despite her stated admiration for my perseverance, was smarter! I occasionally even doubted if I would make it that afternoon, with hints of cramps in my left hamstring, the heat, and running low on water. I could camp, and resume tomorrow... but a Tracy-inspired 10-minute rest at 2:00 PM rejuvenated me, and I vowed to take another break at 3:00.        At 3:00, however, I could virtually see the fire tower, so I plugged on and arrived at the Snowbird summit at 3:10 PM. Just as I was emerging from the woods onto the clear summit, Tracy (a few hundred yards ahead) was returning to the trail from her visit to the tower, and we waved cordially. The FAA tower, looking futuristic like a space ship, was not user-friendly: No Trespassing signs, no place to sit down... I took a few photos, ate a snack, walked off a worrysome cramp in an abdomen muscle, and hit the trail at 3:23 PM. Aristotle, a white-bearded man who was hard of hearing, had arrived shortly after me and left shortly before. I have a photo of him heading north, from the tower, on the AT. The bald summit¢s 360° views were nice, and I soon photographed a young man sitting down to enjoy one of them.        It was nice to be descending, after that horrendous ascent, and the trail was pleasant. I rolled into the Groundhog Creek Shelter area at 4:50 PM, greeted warmly by DynoDNA (¢Werdigo! You made it!¢). The 6-person shelter was, as usual, overflowing, but I¢d come to prefer my tarp anyway so I found a level spot near perhaps ten or fifteen other tents, and set up. Tracy McG, who I¢d passed as she rested along the trail, arrived half an hour later ¢ she began to look for a tent site, and that¢s the last time I saw her.        Storms were forecast that night, so I quickly obtained water from a nearby small stream and crawled into my bag. (I had heard a young woman, standing beside that stream, inquire ¢Where¢s the water source?¢ There was a designated one, quite a walk away, but I was bemused. After all, we¢re treating it all anyway! People can get mighty fussy about the source of their water.) A young man came over and asked, ¢Is this all you have? There are going to be big storms tonight!¢ I assured him that I¢d be fine, but he invited me over to his spacious Kelty tent, nearby, if things got dicey! He said he¢d started on the trail March 2, one of the few hikers I¢ve met who started before me, but spent 10 days waiting out the Georgia snowstorms.        The night did feature spectacular lightning, with one flash actually red, and thunder and rain. I was splashed lightly on the forehead ¢ I think it was splash from the ground. I scootched down farther into my tarp and pulled my rain-jacket hood over my head, and had no further problems. A morning photo, snapped after I¢d packed up, shows the dry area protected by the tarp. It had been an exciting, exhilarating night!