Date: 2008-10-28
From: painters branch campsite

To: kosby knob shelter (smokys)
Miles today: 13.0

no matter where you are or what circumstances one can choose to be happy make most of things or always wish you were somewehre else, granted some situations present more of a challenge to be happy in but it seems that life is what you make of it . i fing myself at times thinking i cant wait to be doen to be able to come out ot ohike for a day and go home at night but i hear thruhikers form this year who finished wishing they could be back out here. i try to keep this in mind as things seem to be getting harder out here cold is hard for me i complained about "cold" in san diego when it was 50 degrees outside and it is beginging to get below freezin at night its gotta be a choice to be strong and appreciate time i have out here. at first part of the day we descended down quite a ways to see what little bit of snow we got melted away or to see that it didnt snow down below just rained. we went to standing bear farm to get a few food items to resupply before heading into the smoky mts. we felt how cold it was and that is was snowing off and on again down here and wondered what it was doing up in the smokys that were about 3000 or more ft higher. so i wasnt really all that excited about getting into the smokys b/c didn tknow what we would find or if the weather was going to continue to bring snow. but off we hiked in for a big climb as we started at 1700ft and went up to 5000ft. at first part of day snow on sideof trail but as day war on and we climbed higher into smokys snow was on trail and getting deeper (few inches) at one pt i was so in awe of the big rocks around me covered by snow and beauty i wasnt looking for blazes for awhile so all i saw was human foot prints disappear and only bear prints in snow on trail i followed these bear tracks in snow and what seemed to be the trail for awhile till i saw a white blaze and i was so thankful to see that blaze meaning i was still on trail the bear tracks eventually disappeared and then when the at joined another trail there were once again a jillion footprints to follow. lookouts were on the side of the mt in the middle of the climbyou could see the mts below in sun looking so warm and bright with no snow cover in the sunlight then i looked around me and saw cold snow, with no sun to be shining. such a difference to see snow covered pine trees around me. at one pt i came around a bend in the trail to see a huge stack of boulders on the left and a rock wall on the right and a great view of down below on left by boulders i had climbed up quite a ways. such a sight our first snow to look ahead of me and see close mt to me with pines dusted with snow wondering if i would be climbing up that mt next as the smokys to me at this pt were such a grand wonder to be explored as many have talked about how much they love them so much wonder there is to come these next days as we traverse the smokys. nice shelters here with fireplaces in them see why now b.c how cold it gets. as soon as i got to the shelter i took off my cold wet socks and shoes to put on some dry warmer clothes before my body cooled down too much from hiking. as i hike i get warmer so when i stop in cold weather i put on my coat or something right away before i get a chill. helps out alot and i dont get quite as cold that way. water here was great so close to shelter and flowing well! great group of hikers with us at the shelter...two younger guys and a group of 3 older guys out together for a few days. such nice people we had great convos and company this night made a cold night more comfortable with company and a fire. i really enjoy meeting people who are out on the trail for a few days, new faces and people who just love being outdoors! i wasnt expecting to really see anyone else out in this weather, so it really was nice for the company. such a day full of many changes started out packing up tent in snow went down to where no snow was just flurries and then back up to snow. defintly a day that i wont forget!!