Date: 2013-04-15
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Icewater Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 25 I started up in a good mood. Amazed at the scenery. It was all green with moss and just gorgeous. i didn't take any pictures because it was to wet and muddy to take my pack off and I had the rain cover on it so it's tough to get into. The trees were glistening with rain drops the sun was trying to burn through the fog creating rays of light onto the trail. All the downed logs and most of the rocks were covered in moss. The whole atmosphere just looked surreal. I normally stop going up hill to catch my breath but this time I stopped just to stare. A hiker came up behind me startling me out of my wonderment. I watched him walk away into the misty sunlight poles thudding softly into the moss. I hiked on still in awe at the scene around me. A wet rain drop landed right on my neck, Woo that was cold. I better get on up the mountain soon. Cinderella and Nightingale caught up to me and we all stayed the same pace to the top. We passed patches of snow and we passed patches of snow and stepped onto this sneak peak outlet. A couple passed us and they gve us 8oz bottlers of Coke and Cheetos!! It lightened there load and certainly made our day. We continued on up the mountain hitting the paved trail that led to Clingmans Dome tower. It looked awesome I was so excited to walk up it. We dropped our packs and the bottom fished out our cameras and half run up the track toting our coke and chips, we were walking above the clouds. It was like being in a slow airplane. I enjoyed my coke and Cheetos at the top, pretty amazed that I'm sitting on the highest point of the AT. We all take several pictures and headed down. I saw the door to tunnel underneath the tower. Cinderella and I check it out , it's just empty but good for if theirs a storm. Amazon shows up and says he hiked the wrong way half a mile to the visitor center, the ranger tells us that there's chocolate bars trail bars to jars of candy at the visitors center, one mile walk to chocolate,,, sure! So Cinderella, Nightingale and I walk with out our packs to the center. There is only chocolate bars and they are 2 for $6. Hmmmmm of course, I still want choc!!. We head back up salivating about our chocolate bars. I devour one of mine once I get to my pack. Saving the other one for later. Hot sauce, Catfish and leapfrog arrive just as I'm leaving. I walk on through the muddy slush, sliding through rocks and roots. The day gets hot as I'm pushing up the mountain. I stop at the entrance to Mt. Collins Shelter as it 's .5 miles away. I meet catfish, Charlie and Laura, Cinderella, Nightingale and Amazon show up. We all discuss going on and slopping thru the mud. It's mostly downhill now so I fly to a gap. I see around the corner and think I'm at Newfound gap but no it's Indian Gap, 1.5 mile from Newfound. I stop and lay in the sun and the others join me. We get goin after 30mins. over the piggy fences that block the wild hogs from eating certain trees. We hit Newfound gap and chill some more. My book said there is water but there is not. I leave to go 3 more miles as Cinderella and Nightingale decide to hitch a ride to Gatlingburg. I trudge up the hill, up millions of stairs it seems like and day hikers look at me funny. It's the best map lie yet as my map said it was 3 miles all uphill and hers said it was .5 straight up right before the shelter and it was neither! It was up but it was alright with some downs. I get to the shelter around 6:30 and set up my bed. Several people are here that I don't know yet. I cooked up some pasta and chicken and I had lost my dobie somewhere in the past day so it was tough cleaning my pot. The shelter was on a cliff overlooking other mountains and valleys. Some of us agreed to get up early and see the sunrise but it was super foggy. I was woken up by other hikers at 6:30 by other hikers complaining about how loud the shelter was last night. Ummm disrespectful. I got up with a migraine and quickly made oatmeal and hot chocolate, filtered a days worth of water as there wasn't going to be springs to cross that day.