Date: 2011-04-17
From: Tri-Corners Knob Shelter

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter
Miles today: 25.3
Weather: clear sky

(In which I say farewell to the Smokies and meet another ultralighter)Gun-Runner is in the shelter and I tell him that Catchup, whose knife he is carrying, is actually behind us. Not long after I say this, Catchup himself, true to his name, shows up, having hiked 15 miles since 2 PM at a near jogging speed to catch up with his knife. After he catches his breath, he admits that on the way he accidentally left his sunglasses behind.The weather grows nastier outside, a mixture of rain and sleet, and though the temperature inside the shelter drops to 40 degrees, We are all glad for the comparative warmth.In the morning I lie in my bed listening to the water, and dread a day of walking in the freezing rain. I am relieved when I wake up enough to realize that the sound I'm hearing is only the stream outside the shelter.By the time most of the shelter has woken up, we sit and stand eating breakfast huddled around the sign warning "Do not eat in the shelter; food odors attract bears". Catchup, waking up late after his long afternoon the day before, sees us eating and cries out in sudden agonized realization, "Oh man, my food is sooooo far away!" In reality, his food bag is on the bear cables twenty-five feet away from the shelter, but the rest of us, having gotten our feet wet and cold retrieving our own bags, sympathize with his plight. Gun-Runner tides him over with a Jelly Belly Energy Bean. "It tastes like a jelly bean but without being all happy inside" Catchup declares.I start out hiking in the in the wrong direction, and Leapfrog, who manages to keep from laughing as she watches the shelter, politely points out that I am walking toward the privy, not the trail.The air is bitterly cold and I am forced to tuck my trekking poles under my arm to warm up my hands as I hike. I step through a layer of ice and soak my right foot, hampering my efforts to get warm. I walk through a forest of trees glazed in ice and shimmering in the morning light, but I am too cold to stop and retrieve my camera for a picture. When my hands eventually warm up and I catch up to Gun-Runner near a view into the much warmer valleys down thousands of feet below, I finally stop and take a picture of Gun-Runner by the icy trees.As I hike throughout the day I descend from winter, through spring and into summer. Going from the frigid cold into the hot, lower climate is at first wonderfully refreshing, but soon I remember how tiring walking in the heat can be.Before I know it I have left the Smokies. I realize I have left them only when I meet Rebel-with-a Cause, who points behind me at the boundary I have just unknowingly crossed. Rebel thru-hiked in '02 and '07, and happens to be near the trail today with an auto club. He asks me about my gear, and it quickly becomes apparent that, of all of the people I've met so far, he is the first other ultralighter. He carried a 17.5 lb pack on his last thru-hike, and asks detailed questions about my kit. After we geek out about gear for a while I ask to take his picture, in part, I confess, to show off my camera. His eyes grow suitably wide and he says, "I'll bet you send that home by Harper's Ferry." I laugh. "I'll take that bet!" Rebel and his wife give me bottled water and crackers and I gulp them down before continuing on my hike.Rebel strongly advises staying at Standing Bear Hostel, but having finally reached warm hiking weather, I am loathe to stop, and must hike my own hike. Rebel does give me a very practical piece of advice: in order to stay at Elmer's in Hot Springs, every hiker's desired destination, I should spend the previous night at the shelter immediately before town, and leave early in the morning to check in by 8am.A mile or so before the hostel I catch up with Leapfrog and Catchup, who have stumbled upon two coolers full of snacks and sodas with a sign advertising: "Trail Magig!" [sic]. However anyone spells it, we are very grateful for the surprise.Just down the road we meet Gun-Runner. He has a resigned look on his face and we learn that his father's North Carolinian house has been destroyed by one of the recent tornadoes, and he has to leave the trail to help deal with the situation. We sympathize and hope that he can get back on the trail this year, though he doubts it. Gun-Runner is one of the few people who started with me who is still nearby, and I am especially sad to see him go.But then he starts emptying his food bag, and our emotions quickly shift. Gun-Runner may be gone from the trail but his legacy will live on in our next several granola bars and Pop-Tarts.Leapfrog and Catchup head to the hostel and I push on. The trail past the hostel is a long uphill, and it's a novel sensation after the Smokies to be hot and sweating on the trail. I keep up a good pace, trying to make the next shelter before sunset. I hike through the heat until I reach the spectacular bald summit of Snowbird Mountain. Pipe Maker is sitting watching the late afternoon light, and I drop my pack to join him. Of all of the pleasures that the AT offers, reaching a grand summit near the end of a long day is surely one of the best. We sit watching the mountains until finally it is time to walk down the hill to the shelter. Having hiked a long day, gotten trail magic three separate times and reached an awe inspiring view, today has been a good day on the trail.