Date: 2008-04-17
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mollie's Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: broken clouds

Thursday, April 17, 2008Derrick Knob Shelter to Mollie¢s Ridge Shelter, 11.7 milesThere are bear cables at Derrick Knob but no privy. Just the ¢toilet wasteland¢, a nasty place. I guess the intent is to force hikers to do their business away from the shelter area.Start 7:30, after breakfast.Mornings, spring beauty blossoms are all curled up tight.Meet NOBO Neon hiking with Section-hiker Trout. They stayed last night at Spence Field. Trout will hike until May 31, probably Waynesboro.I'm ahead, I start climbing Thunderhead. No bears spotted yet. Not for want of looking. I¢ve been diligent about scanning both sides of the trail.Memere says,   ¢I¢m dumping out EVERYTHING before our next hike. This pack is too heavy¢.Temp is in the 60¢s, bringing out a southern variety of black flies that are not as fierce as their northern cousins, maybe they're not black flies at all, maybe they¢re gnats.Hello to NOBO Word, stayed at Russell Field last night. He tells us S.H.O.E. (Slowest Hiker on Earth) and Slow Barbara were there last night. Quite a few ancient rotting white oaks in this section. I don¢t see young ones to take their places.I hang out at the top of Thunderhead for a while, waiting for M and GF. Then decide to move on, slowly, to let them catch up.NOBO¢s Buck and Rebel. Hikers have already taken tons of pictures of the tattoo ¢REBEL¢ on the inside of his lower lip. I had it done after I had a little too much to drink, he says. Did you walk across Fontana Dam? No, I¢m not THAT much of a rebel.When you meet Memere and Grey Feather, please tell them I¢ll meet them at Spence Field.Hummingbird moth. I like these.Glimpse of Fontana Lake ahead and to the left. Beautiful green fields to the right.Cheerful bluets, my mother's favorite flower.Blue bottlefly, iridescent oily blue abdomen. I read somewhere these flies can smell meat or scat from 4 miles away. The only creature I know with olfactory cells more sensitive than the bottlefly is Stumpknocker. Stumpknocker's schnozz is so sensitive it can pinpoint burgers being grilled anywhere within a 30-mile radius.Still no bears. : -(((At just about the halfway point of today¢s hike, I meet NOBO Slow Barbara. She says S.H.O.E. is headed out to Cades Cove.Grey Feather and Memere catch up.Hello to NOBO BillAt trail to Spence Field Shelter, hello to Rookie, in the process of deciding whether to go to the shelter.Meet 3 day-hikers from Cherokee, will be hiking out to Cades Cove.Spence Field at 2:30. Memere and Grey Feather are really exhausted today. Except for that April 14-15 snow that set us back a day, today's hike would have been spread over 2 days.Meet NOBO Sweat Hog, University of Arkansas Razorback.Easy section here, we make up a little time. We spy an enormous fallen tree, its hollow center large enough for a bear¢s den.Horse manure and hoof prints. Grazing horses here should keep the grass cut, says Memere.NOBO NickySouLive (Greg Smith, AT¢06) from the Hikers Co-op, a site where people can set up resupply, etc. www.hikingresupply.comNOBO¢s Pickle and GarlicNOBO Bone Lady2005 thru-hiker who is just hiking until Trail Days.NOBO EricaNOBO Yorky, from Yorkshire England, started April 3Solo hiker arriving at Russell Field Shelter whose name we don¢t get NOBO Equinox, hiking in sandals because her feet hurt5:15PM Great big happy reunion with Bogey and Bacall!!! We hiked northern VT together in 2003. They finished their end-to-end hike in 2006. They always said they were going to try a thruhike after Bogie retired. Well he retired at the end of March 2008 and on April 1st, Bacall¢s birthday, they started their NOBO thru-hike. Since we last saw each other they¢ve had 2 grandchildren, a 2 year old and a 5 year old. As we¢re talking, NOBO Bulldog goes by.Section-hiker Packs-a-lot, who is hiking with NOBO Buckeye.NOBO¢s Doxie usually hikes with a daschund named Lola whose legs are too short for an AT thru-hike, and Adam (I forgot your trail name, Adam, sorry).NOBO¢s Slayer, because she knocked down a tent (Tentslayer) and Ularu, given the name, an aboriginal name, by Daisy. They are headed to Russell Field Shelter tonight to celebrate Bulldog¢s birthday. Packs-a-lot is going to be baking an actual cake! Because she packs a lot (including flour), she and Buckeye eat great! Slayer and Ularu tell us there¢s a very knowledgeable ridgerunner at Mollies Ridge who can answer any and all questions.NOBO OatmealAt Mollie¢s Ridge, NOBO¢s Caboose, Frodo (hairy-footed like a hobbit), Gouda, Daisy from Australia, named after the Daisy Duck spoon he carries (or carried), Barfight from VT, Lizzie AKA D.U. (Down Under).Carl Goodman, Graybeard (AT ¢99), is the ridgerunner at Mollies Ridge. Graybeard is leaving soon for a 2-month hike on the PCT, starting at Campo, hiking in part to raise funds for Home of the Innocents in Louisville KY. www.homeoftheinnocents.orgThe thruhikers here are really nice. They consume Memere and Grey Feather¢s date cookies, and they finish off Memere¢s cooked rice. They gather round the fire toasting marshmallows and offer some to us.