Date: 2008-04-13
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Birch Spring Gap Campsite
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We had lots of erands to take care of this morning. Packages waiting, clothes to wash, a REAL shower with hot water, fuel to buy, etc. So we didn't get started until 2pm or so.I slept very soundly. Last night the crew in residence were a warm friendly bunch. A young couple, Ref, Mosey, Blue Water, Hiker Dave, FG & I and a couple of others who's names I missed. The young couple offered us some of their treasured cookies and a coke! I'd learned my lesson from earlier in the day & declined their generous offer, but it was very sweet of them.Edna (a true Appalachian character) shuttled us to Fontana Village to do all our errands. What a character! Her speech and use of language suggested she'd grown up in these mountains and had lived here all her life. She said,"I wish all youins good luck on yur hike!" Her laugh was a kind of maniacal cackle. We all got a kick out of her.Once on the trail, the thermometer began dropping quickly. We'd heard there was snow on the way and in the Smokies you can only camp at designated sites, so when we reached the campsite with snow flurries already starting in the late afternoon, we decided to hunker down for the night. Little did I know that the very next day after I raved about how much I treasured my bathing ritual the temperature would make it impossible! Blue Water was camped there as well, and Grey Beard (Carl) a ridge runner also came to greet us and give us the weather forecast. He said the temperature was forecast to be in the teens for the night, with 3-5 inches of snow in the higher elevations. He speculated that here we wouldn't get as cold or as much snow though. Note: a "ridge runner" is someone who's official job is to hike up and down a section of trail to keep an eye on things, look out for hikers in trouble, educate hikers on "leave no trace" ethics and techniques, etc. They're able to contact authorities by radio, etc. Carl is the first one I've met out here. It's no surprise that they are stationed out here in the mountains where there is a large population of bears and the weather can make things turn dangerous in a hurry.We camped on a level spot in the lee of a bump of land that was further sheltered by the 2' thick trunk of a fallen tree in the generally sloping terrain. My tarp is flush with the ground on the windward side, and I piled up dry leaves under my ground cloth to make a cozy nest for the night quite similar to those constructed by the squirrels up in Michigan where I come from. I think we'll be comfortable. The wind seems to be dropping off some, though the snow is already accumulating on my tarp!I'm warm in my sleeping bag and the food bags and even our packs are hanging from the bear cables. Grey Beard warned that they had had a bear in camp once already this year! I hope they stay in their dens tonight...It's not supposed to warm up much, maybe into the 30's. More than once, I've had thoughts of how nice it would be to be home in my warm bed snuggled up to my husband tonight. The light is fading and the snow is really coming down...tiny hail-like pellets. Should be beautiful with snow cover along the trail tomorrow, if not calm!PSBlue Water came to get us earlier to show us a family of wild hogs he'd caught sight of down in a ravine close by. There were two adults and three little piggies, all black. Once they realized we were watching them, they bolted off into the forest. This is my first day in the Great Smokie Mountain National Park. We had a grumpy start today, but I'm very excited to be here!