Date: 2005-04-02
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: moderate rain

Miles hiked today : 18.1I'm not exactly sure what time I woke I woke up this morning, but I was on the trail by 7:15 a.m. It was literally freezing this morning. My thermometer read 26.9 degrees F. Last night's rain turned into snow and I spent 7 hours and 14 miles hiking through it. I suppose the Smokies wanted me to see everything they had to offer.While walking through snow drifts today, there was the occasional surprising squish, which meant I'd discovered a snow covered mud pit the hard way. Having lost one of my fleece gloves near the NOC, I wore wool socks on my hands to keep them warm. Fortunately I still had a clean pair left.Other than slipping around in the snow and mud, the only major difficulty today was my pack. I'd cut off my excess straps before leaving the West Coast and didn't have time to sew the ends down. As a result of the snow and moisture in the air, the right shoulder strap slid loose from the base two times and the shoulder load lifter straps kept slipping loose. This was a major inconvenience, as it meant that I had to stop hiking to take off my pack and pull the socks off my hands to make adjustments. Not doing so meant that I was uncomfortably bearing the weight of my pack directly on my shoulders. First chance I get, I am sewing those straps.I quickly covered the 7.7 miles to Cosby Knob Shelter, arriving at 10:45 a.m. There were some day hikers there and they had a fire going, so I stopped to eat a bit of food. I didn't stay long, as I started to get cold and the best way to get warm again was to get moving.Shortly after leaving Cosby Knob Shelter, I crested a hill and stepped on some fresh powder. Phloop! Fall #4. The Smokies got me again. I might not have fallen if I'd been taking my time, but I really wanted to get out of the cold.There was a large descent from Cosby Knob Shelter to Camel Gap, then a huge climb out, which was difficult in the powdery snow. The rest of the day was a gradual descent down to I-40 over a 5.2 mile stretch.I reached the Davenport Gap shelter at 2:30 p.m. and found Cotton Joe and Yardsale waiting for me. This morning we'd discussed hiking a little more than 18 miles to a hostel, but they were now considering staying at the shelter rather than hike another 3.3 miles.Playing Devil's advocate, I told them that the thought of a hot shower and clean laundry was enough to get me to hike a few more miles. Those words were enough to sell Yardsale. Joe asked me to call the hostel to see if they could shuttle us to an ATM. I called and they said that they could, so I set out at top speed.Yardsale caught up to me after a couple miles at the point where the AT was steeply descending down toward I-40. We had to cross a rapid stream four times, with each crossing a little trickier than the last. Once we got to the bottom of the hill, we crossed Pigeon River on a two-lane auto bridge, jogged across the interstate and began the 0.5 hike up a steep hill to the hostel. I was out of breath for much of the climb because I was hiking as fast as I could. I've noticed that I often run out of breath when I rapidly climb uphill, but my recovery time is minimal once the trail levels out. It's been a couple weeks since I've had to rest at the top of a hill.The AT had one more water crossing in store today. This one was through a two foot deep, rapid current stream about four feet wide. It's times like this that I'm thankful for my trekking poles. I took my first step in and could feel the surging current. Due to the depth of the water, my boots and rain pants weren't able to keep the water out and my socks were soaked and my ankles were suddenly very cold.Right across the stream, we saw a sign spray painted on a rock, "Standing Bear, 600 feet left." I hurried up the gravel road, which seemed much longer than 600 feet, and finally arrived at Standing Bear Farm Hostel.There were many buildings there, so I wasn't quite sure where to go. After a moment, a female hiker, Odyssa, whom I'd met yesterday, called out of the bunkhouse for us to come inside. Once inside, I was introduced to Snapper, the farm hand. Later, I was introduced to Curtis Owen, the owner of the hostel and the spitting image of Ted Nugent. Interestingly, Curtis is from Detroit, hmm...Odyssa didn't stay long, as she lives in the area and her father came to pick her up for a night at home. Before leaving, they said that they'd bring Cotton Joe, Yardsale, and myself breakfast in the morning. Nice! Shortly after Odyssa's departure, Cotton Joe showed up.Curtis told me about his farm, on which he mostly grows hot peppers. He also told us that his wife Maria, owns a Mexican restaurant in Cosby, TN and said that we could go there for dinner if we wanted. There is somewhat of a litle general store at Standing Bear, which is run on the honor system. I grabbed a root beer and a package of Oreos to hold me over until dinner.After my snack, I did laundry and took a long hot shower, which was very nice after a long day in the cold. Around 8:00 p.m., we piled into the van and drove to "The Front Porch" for dinner. There is a "moonshiner clause" on the property, which forbids them from manufacturing or selling alcohol on the premises. It is permissible, however, to b.y.o.b., so there are many half racks openly displayed on the tables. Only in Tennessee.For dinner, I had an excellent chicken burrito with a hot fudge sundae for dessert. There is also a live Bluegrass band here tonight, which is very pleasant to listen to. It's also fun to watch the locals dancing.We have to wait for Maria to take us back to the hostel, so we'll probably be up until at least midnight. She's currently driving a Hummer H2 on loan from a section hiker, so we'll be riding home in it. I've never been in one before, so it'll be a treat. I'm very tired right now, but the food tonight was so worth it.Bedtime at 1:00 a.m.