Date: 2009-03-29
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Cell noneOG notes We were pleasantly disappointed by not seeing thundershowers yesterday and last night. We stopped very early partially due to the weather forecast. We did have a little excitement at 1 and 3 am this morning when the wind gusted and shook the shelter. The wind woke everyone up and then there was a mad scramble to secure the equipment.C6 and I got an early start today because we wanted to do some big miles I think this is our biggest day yet. We expected the others to pass us early but it never happened. We're surprising ourselves with the speed and progress we are making as we hike. The only time we were passed was when we stopped for lunch and again when we took a break. We passed the Stecoah Gap site where Snowho, DieHard and I camped in 2006. I'm glad C6 and I didn't try to get that far yesterday.The climbs were hard a couple of times today. We slowed down and took our time getting up them. I'm satisfed with our progress and abilities so far, I'm sure we'll improve as we continue down the trail.We're at a small shelter that is close to the next place where hikers make a stop. We'll be going into Fontana Dam, NC tomorrow. By getting here we're only 6.6 miles from our destination. That ought to give us an opportunity to stop early. Fontana Dam is an important stop on the AT. When we leave there we'll walk across the Dam and enter the GSMNP. The Smokys are remote and rugged. We need to carry 7 days of food and supplies when we enter the park. We'll pick up a large box of supplies during our stop to ensure we are prepared.We had a nice campfire tonight, Braid played his harmonica for us and everyone had a great time. The temperature is very cold but the fire helped us be able to socialize. I think I mentioned this is a small shelter and there are a lot of us here. The camping area near the shelter is a little tent city. We're comfortable right now in our tent and sleeping bags right, it's hiker midnight and time to say goodnight. C6 notesWhat a night last night! At 1am the wind started blowing real hard. It almost sounded like a train, and since someone had heard possible tornado warnings, all of us worried. When the wind started, a bunch of people got up to secure their things. People had hung wet things over the rafters of the shelter (socks, shirt, backpack covers, etc) and those things were being blown away. The wind lasted quite a while, the finally calmed down. Cold temperatures followed! It was 35 degrees when we all got up this morning, and stayed real cold all day. As long as you're hiking, one can stay warm with minimal clothing. Can't stay still for very long though. We had 17 people in a shelter that was built to sleep 14 last night. Unfortunately, the guy next to OG was in OG's space all night, so OG barely slept. He said that in all the nights he slept in crowded shelters in 2006, no one ever encroached on another person's space like this guy did. You end up touching the person next to you from time to time, but people generally stay within the space of their own sleeping pad.We had decided to sleep in our tent tonight before we left the last shelter this morning, and were even more content with that decision when that person passed by us hiking today (and he's in the shelter tonight).Someone made a lovely campfire this evening. Braid serenaded us with his harmonica again. It's a very nice crowd here this evening, so we had a wonderful time by the campfire.By the way, as of today we've had 2 cloudy days (our first day and today), 8 days of rain, and 8 sunny days. Old Goat & Check Six