Date: 2018-03-29
To: Double Spring Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Like most days I woke up between 7 and 730 to the chatter and noise of everyone else and the sun rising. Today I started out slower than normal and didn't start my hike until 8 or a bit after. The winds were blowing hard and we were high up in the mountains today. I would hover around 5000' for the majority of the day summiting a few mountains.I hiked three miles or so until stopping at the shelter ahead of us to use the privy. I'm not against digging a cat hole and have certainly done it so far but the condition of the "toilet area" didn't make me feel good about it so I opted for comfort. After chatting with a few hikers I continued on fighting the wind on my climbs. I passed more day hikers than most places prior to the smokies and did my best to push myself as I was having a physically hard day of hiking.I passed two shelters on my hike and they were both empty. I stopped for lunch about two miles before my shelter and had my wonderful lunch creation of a blueberry bagel with peanut butter, pepperoni and cheddar cheese. Mmmm calories! As I sat there I contemplated what I was eating. A blueberry bagel in the heart of black bear country. Definitely not my best move but that seemed to be all they had in Fontana Village. Its almost as if they wanted me to be bear bait. My head was on a swivel throughout my lunch break. Seemed like most hikers were headed for double springs shelter which was 3 miles from the summit of Clingman's Dome which is the highest peak on the entire AT. This shelter would put me in a good position to summit tomorrow then descend the other side. I pushed on and arrived by 3pm. There were already 5 or so hikers here and one of them had started a fire in the fireplace the was inside the shelter. I rested for a few minutes then claimed my spot. Again I was early enough to hopefully not be kicked out later.At roughly 5500 feet I had great signal and called home to catch up. I milled about, waiting to eat as I did chores and settled in. This is always the hardest part. Waiting for the sun to go down without eating too early so as to be hungry before bed. It's an art to get the timing right. The wind was subdued at the location we were at. This was extremely beneficial as my ear drum already hurt from the harsh winds all day. The only spot the wind hit was the water source. As you crested the hill blocking the wind on your way to water, you were all of a sudden hit with a wall of wind. It was hilarious watching hikers go get water because they would get blasted each time.Soothe Sayer, Green Grass, Shiver, Samesies and Honey Bun all arrived and each got a spot in the shelter too. Around 6pm, 4 backpackers came and claimed their spots only displacing one thru hiker who had just arrived. We all went into bed as rain began to hit the roof. Not long after a group of 4 backpackers arrived. We all held our breath. The shelter was beyond capacity with a few hikers sleeping on the dirt ground next to the tarp of the shelter. Green Grass, the nice British hiker we knew was still up and took it upon himself to talk to them. We all pretended to be sleeping in hopes of not having to leave. He sweet talked them as best he could and they agreed to tent instead of using their power to kick out thru-hikers. Thank God!We slept through the night as the fire in the fireplace simmered out and warmed the shelter.