Date: 2018-04-24
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Clingmans Dome Parking area
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I had a much needed great night of sleep, and I woke up at 5:58am feeling refreshed and ready to go. I did wake up once through the night though. It was because of the noise from the wind and rain. I thought of G-sharp and prayed he was fairing well through it all.  By 7:00am the winds became gentle breezes, and the rains were much lighter. I had peanut butter on a tortilla for breakfast. Then I quickly packed up and was on the trail to Clingmans Dome by 7:30. I knew Papa Big Swig would be waiting there for me at the parking area. I love that man!  I wore my sleeping clothes to hike in today. Everything else was soaked. By the end of the day they were soaked too, but at least I started out dry. Well, mostly dry. My boots were soaked. It didn¢t matter anyway, I hiked through a lot of areas today where the path had become a stream. Dry feet just wasn¢t going to happen these past few days.  It rained or misted all day, but the temp was good so I wasn¢t cold.  I decided to enjoy this day. Things are getting greener and it¢s refreshing. I could actually smell the new foliage coming up all around me. It was almost lunch time when G-Sharp and Luna caught up to me. We were about 0.5 miles from the last shelter before Clingmans Dome.  We decided to stop there for lunch. I was out of water anyway so I had already planned to stop.  Luna was noticeably younger than G-Sharp. I didn¢t want to assume, so I asked if this was a father daughter hike...yes it was! I was so happy for them, but for some reason it brought me to tears. Right there I lost it. I had made it all the way through that mess yesterday completely dry eyed.  I explained they were happy tears, and that I was hiking in honor/memory of my dad. I reminded Luna to cherish this time. That particular moment felt like a good time for me to go find the water source. I got my crying over-with out there, filled my liter bag and went back for lunch.  Zip Code told me I would cry on the trail. Today was my day I guess. I had mango-chipotle Salmon by Starkist for lunch. Mmmm delicious! I¢ll buy that again!  There were 4.5 miles left to go when I started back out on the trail. Suddenly I found myself in an evergreen forest with bright green lichen on the fallen logs. It was beautiful and felt like a whole new forest.  My phone was nearly dead so I didn¢t take pictures. I keep my phone for Guthook only when the battery gets low. Just in case I make a wrong turn...again! So the beautiful green forest is just another picture filed in the photo album of my mind. It was mostly evergreen forest for the rest of the way to Clingmans Dome. This is the highest elevation of the entire Appalachian Trail at 6603ft. Surprisingly it was not a torturous up. I quite enjoyed the slow steady climb. The coolest thing about being up that high is literally walking in the clouds. There was a moment when I looked down and no bottom could be seen, just tree tops. It felt like if I were to jump, I would just fall forever like in a movie or something. Of course I¢m not THAT dumb. No jumping for me! The trek down from the top took longer than it should have. All of this rain had turned the trail into flowing creeks. At least these particular creeks had rocky bottoms so the water wasn¢t muddy. I took that opportunity to somewhat clean my boots. Even still the rocks were slippery and I didn¢t want to fall again, so ¢slothier¢ was my choice of speed. The path to the parking area was 0.6 miles of more up. I¢ve decided the smokies are almost all up except immediately descending Clingmans Dome. I know that can¢t be exactly right but it sure feels that way.  All of the ups didn¢t matter when I saw Papa Big Swig waiting for me in the SUV with our fur babies. He also had Freaky Bee with him. She¢s a hiker friend from Orlando¢s original crew. We drove straight into Gatlinburg.  We took Freaky Bee to her hotel. Then Papa Big Swig made a quick run into 5 guys Burgers and Fries! Two Dr.Peppers and a burger later and I¢m human again! Currently we¢re in a warm hotel room with a lot of smelly gear! Tomorrow will be laundry day. It doesn¢t get any better than this!  I haven¢t completely said goodbye to North Carolina yet because the trail kind of bends and turns it¢s away across the Tennessee-North Carolina boarder for maybe even a hundred more miles. But with that being said, I would like to announce that I have now reached the 200 mile mark!!!  Taking a zero tomorrow Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)