Date: 2003-04-06
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I thought I'd write a letter to update my website. Alot has happened since I last updated it in Fontana Dam.March 30Danielle met up with me lastnight at the Fontana Inn and after packing our bags and planning our itinerary, we enjoyed an all- you- can- eat salad bar. We crashed early and got up very early this morning (5 am) in order to get a ride to the trailhead by 6:30.The sunrse was awesome as we crossed over Fontana Dam (which, by the way, is the biggest dam east of the Mississippi). We were glad to have a jump start on the day because it started raining midway through our hike. Eventually, it was pouring and our view was obstructed by dense fog and clouds. We hiked in to Spence Field Shelter, an 18- mile hike for the day. So nice to see an old friend and it was great to chat. March 31We spent lastnight at the shelter with Honkey Dorey, Hoover, F8, and Coyote. A nice night but rainy and windy. We woke in the morning to find 4+ inches of snow. It was beautiful but hard to get moving! Some of the snow drifts were up to our thighs and for the mostpart, we hiked through ankle-high snow. Needless to say, we were VERY cold and wet and thankful to hit a shelter after 6.5 miles of hiking. It's quite a workout to hike in the snow! Danielle and I were very happy to hike with F8, who took the lead and scouted through the snow all day! Nice company and we felt that we were in good hands.Immediately after geting to the shelter we climbed into our bags and prepared for a cold afternoon and night. The shelter had a fireplace, which did add some warmth and heat by which to dry our socks. Perhaps this was the coldest I have ever been in my life!April 1According to Honkey Dorey's thermometer, it got down to 8* around 3 a.m. this morning. We were all freezing and I couldn't help thinking that I would have been in serious trouble were it not for my 0* sleeping bag. It was really hard to get out of our sleeping bags and Danielle and I waited until almost 10 before emerging. We found that we could do pretty much everything from within our bags(cooking, eating,talking)and thus we exemplified the lazy camper! Our socks, boots, platypus, and gloves were completely frozen solid and it was quite painful to put these items on.Nothing worse than wearing a completely frozen sock when it's only 20* outside! We hiked another 7.5 miles before surrendering to another shelter and our warm sleeping bags again!April 2Today's hike was awesome and it made the snow worthwhile! We had an amazing view all day as the trail followed the ridgeline and we could see the mountains on both sides of us. We climbed Clingman's Dome early and although it was still very cold and windy, the view was amazing. I felt kind of proud to have made it to the AT's highest point, especially given the weather.Danielle and I opted to hike off the mountains and take a night in Gatlinburg. We hit some trail magic brought to us by Goldberry's mom. The timing was amazing and two hikers have never been so happy for real food, good conversation, and a ride into town. Thank you for trail magic... you have no idea how much it was needed and appreciated!Gatlinburg was as tacky and crowded as promised but we found warm rooms, hot showers, and dryers at the Grand Prix Motel. A nice reprieve from the weather.April 6Danielle left the following day from Gatlinburg and I hiked 16 miles to a small shelter called Tricorner Knob Shelter. The hike was beautiful and I took lots of photos. It was a lonely day though as I hiked alone all day and even found myself alone in the shelter. The snowy weather must have kept everyone out of the Smokies!The following day I hiked my first 20- miler and found myself camping with Fubar and Desmond. I hadn't seen Fubar for weeks and was happy for some company. That particular day was a very long one and much of it was straight uphill. The Smokies were beautiful but I really wanted to hike out of them before more bad weather rolled in.So, here I am at Elmer's Sunnybank Inn in Hot Springs, NC. I hiked in with Fubar and have found many other hikers here too. The hostel is really nice and I even have my own room with a double bed. Can't beat that! A few of us plan to hike out of town today and make progress toward Erwin, TN.Having fun and seeing some awesome things. I miss everyone but as always, I am very appreciative of the support!