Date: 2012-04-22
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Newfound Gap; US 441
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

4/22We all woke up freezing cold with the mist and rain and brisk wind. I was the first of the thrus to break camp. I stopped at Double Spring Gap Shelter to change out of my thermal underwear as I had started to warm up.  Dry Ice/Lazy Susan was still there and was wondering how much longer Jam Session would be. I told him it'd be awhile so he set off. A minute later I was off and he was returning to the shelter. Our interactions were very awkward again, as he seemed to be lacking in the social skills dept (not that I can be a little awkward sometimes).The weather remained much the same as yesterday only with heavier misting/sprinkling, thicker fog, and stronger winds. The hike up to Clingmans Dome was fairly gradual and along a knife edge ridge. In the dense fog, the world felt only partially created, as if God had only had enough time to make this strip of land and line it with trees. It reminded me of Inception and one of the Hitchhiker's books. (Douglas Adams would not be happy with me as I didn't pack a towel.)At the top of Clingmans, park rangers were checking permits. It's a $125 fine for not having one ($75 for picking flowers). When they found out I had seen DI/LS, they started asking me all kinds of questions. They did confirm that he was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct, and that they were interested in having a conversation with him. At the top of Clingmans is a fire tower. It's not directly on the AT, and in the fog I never found it. Another amazing view the weather robbed from me. Clingmans Dome is the highest point on the AT, at 6643'. That means it's all downhill from there, right?After Clingmans, the forest became a dense evergreen forest as opposed to the bushy balds and hardwood forests before.  The trees were Fraser Firs and Red Spruce, and everything was covered in moss. It was very picturesque. The forest felt ancient but homely or inviting. However, the trees are dying en masse. They have shallow root systems, as the fallen ones' roots didn't pull up much soil. However there were some LARGE rocks embedded in the roots of these fallen trees. Very impressive.A little further down the trail is Mt. Love, which marks the 200th mile completed! Somewhere around there, either the temp really started to drop, or I ran out of calories to maintain body heat, or both. I started getting colder and adding layers wasn't helping the situation. It was about 1:40 when I pulled off to Mt. Collins Shelter. I changed into my thermals (dry thankfully) and climbed into my sleeping bag for an hour. After that and a hot lunch I was feeling better, but word was that snow was on its way that night. I knew it would probably be unsafe to try and push on another 8 miles to the next shelter. It'd be cheap to stay the night at that shelter but it might be too cold to sleep well. I decided to hike five miles to Newfound Gap to try and hitch into either Gatlinburg, TN or Cherokee, NC depending on which way the person was heading when they picked me up. This gap has the only road that traverses the Smokies. I wound up hiking three of those miles in the sleet and strong gusty winds. Along the way, the trail passes through a beech forest exclosure. It's a fenced in area with a very unique flora for the southern Appalachians. The fence is to keep wild hogs out, which are destructive and have been declared an invasive species (shoot on sight). The trail had a unique walkway to get over the fence, though it seemed easy enough for a hog to walk it too.At Newfound Gap, you could see along the valley for a few minutes.  The mountains in the distance had clear skies and were bathed in sunlight. Stupid mountain weather. A lovely couple gave me a ride into Gatlinburg. With the strong winds and sleet and fog, someone was bound to have pity on a hiker and pick me up. They wound up treating me to a very nice dinner and putting me up in their mountain cabin/ch¢let. Laundry and hot shower! It was true trail magic after a bitter cold day.