Date: 2019-03-03
From: Pecks Corner Shelter 

To: Standing Bear Hostel 
Miles today: 23.3

AT day 15  Standing Bear Hostel  23.3 milesToday marks the 2 week anniversary of my AT adventure. I said goodbye to my wife on 17 February from Springer Mountain and hiked north into the unknown.I have 23 miles to hike today so I can get to Standing Bear Hostel and avoid the frigid cold front coming our way. The forecast for the high elevations is calling for a high of 24, low of 8 with wind-chill of -10. I¢m concerned about the hikers stuck in shelters. I know that they have tarps across the openings but the Double Spring Shelter didn¢t have tarps covering the upper deck opening and it¢s in an area exposed to the wind.I already discovered that my sleep system has a 20 degree limit. I kept waking up cold while tenting at Wine Spring camping area during a 23 degree night with howling winds blowing into my tent. So I don¢t want to have anything to do with single digit temperatures with negative wind-chill. I got up early because someone was making noises for some unknown reason. I hated to disturb the other hikers but I needed to get going. It¢s not easy for me to get packed up in the daylight so packing up in a dark shelter was a nightmare. It started off bad when I hit my head on the ceiling beam. You don¢t have much headroom in a shelter. Then any light sleeper had to endure the sleeping bag unzipping, the swoosh of air escaping my air mattress, followed by a series of noises associated with stuffing gear into sacks. I took everything outside to pack up. I left as soon as it was light enough to see the trail. The morning weather was perfect for hiking. I got to enjoy some more of those fantastic views The trail was pretty much like any day in the Smokies. You climb a mountain that is just steep enough to slow you down, get your heart rate up and warm you up. The uphills are followed by a ridge walk which is windy and cold but this is where you pause to take in nature¢s beauty. Then the treacherous downhill starts. It¢s steep enough that you need to use trekking poles to slow your pace as you negotiate ankle twisting roots and rocks. I swear that some rocks and roots jump up out of nowhere to trip me. Sometimes broken sticks fly up and jab me in my foot or calf. I¢m not complaining, it¢s all part of my adventure. If it was easy they¢d call it football instead of hiking. As I was rushing out of the Smokies to escape the weather, I encountered several college students on spring break heading up. I told one young couple that they were true Bad Asses. I thought that I was a badass for hiking in freezing rain, these kids were taking it to a new level. I stopped at Cosby Knob Shelter to get water around 11:30. Most of the shelters have pipes in a spring that channels the water to make it easier for hikers to collect water. It started to rain and the rain would continue all day. I had an odd experience that happened while I was squatting down by the pipe collecting water in my bag. I felt like I was observing myself and how wonderful it must be to be that hiker, alone in his rain gear, collecting water from such a wonderful place. Maybe it was the endorphins my brain was putting out, like a long distance runner gets runner¢s high during a marathon or long distance workout. I also had an ethical dilemma. I had stopped for a quick break to send out an Inreach message to let my family know where I was and that I was still alive. I had to take my wet hiking glove off and placed it on the ground. I took a Cliff bar out of my hip belt pocket and continued cautiously downhill while I ate the bar. I finished the bar and stuffed the wrapper in my pocket and then noticed that I was missing my right glove. So, should I leave the glove which was falling apart and would probably be useless in a few days anyway, or climb back up that steep mountain and get it. Leave No Trace is a hiker ethic that essentially means leave the trail as if you were never there. I decided to go back up for my glove partly because I didn¢t want to disrespect the trail but also because I figured it couldn¢t have taken me very long to eat my Cliff bar. I found it exactly where I left it. I have lost numerous gloves this way and have a small collection of left handed gloves. I simply turn a left hand glove inside out and I have a right glove. The one that I went back for was an inside out glove. For some reason GPS on Guthook wasn¢t working very well. I stopped to check where the next water source was and Guthook was showing me down slope and well off the AT. I passed several branch side trails but I always check for a white blaze to confirm that I¢m going in the correct direction. I continued on, scanning every tree for a white blaze. I had been going downhill for a long time and really would have been bummed out to have to turn around in the cold rain to find the trail. I stopped and checked Guthook again. This time it showed me upslope from the trail. I figured something was wrong with the GPS but I still had a nagging feeling that maybe I wasn¢t on the AT. After what seemed to be an eternity without seeing a single white blaze I finally came to a trail junction sign and a white blaze. I literally wrapped my arms around the sign and gave it a hug. Once you get over Mt Cammerer, the next 7 miles to I-40 is essentially downhill. This could be a good place to makeup time if the trail was dry and you watched your step. However I had to slow my pace as the trail became waterlogged and slippery.I finally arrived at Davenport Gap, the northern boundary of the national park and the place that you deposit your permit in a box. Goodbye Smokies and thank you for the adventure. The trail leads you through a section of forest with cascading water that spills out on the path. I didn¢t even bother rock hopping (wet rocks are slick rocks) I just waded across the stream Sierra Nevada style and got the mud washed off my shoes. You cross a bridge over the Pigeon River and follow the white blazes that are painted on the road¢s guardrails to an on-ramp for I-40. I made a slight error here that I blame on mental exhaustion from getting up so early and physical exhaustion from pounding out the miles. The interstate also has posts with white reflective tape. I blindly followed these interstate markers up the on-ramp. I finally thought how odd that they allow hikers on interstates. So I stopped and looked back and saw a white blaze on the road going under the freeway. Soon I found myself climbing some steep steps up from the road back into the forest. Once I got up the steps I saw trail magic. A long haul trucker named Doghouse left baggies full of food hikers love  Doghouse tied the baggies to a rope and tied the rope off to a tree. This trail magic sure did lift my spirits and help make the remaining distance I had to go more enjoyable. I got to the Standing Bear Hostel at 4 o¢clock. I had been hiking since 6:45. 23 miles, at least half of it in the rain and all I wanted was a warm shower and good food. The place is very interesting. The two men that were manning the place were very helpful and extremely patient with me in my exhausted state. After they showed me around I decided that I wanted a little more comfort and amenities to wait out the freezing temperatures headed this way. They understood and I paid them to shuttle me to Newport Tennessee.I¢m staying at the Quality Inn. It has great rates, an indoor pool with hot tub and is conveniently located near a Walmart and Cracker Barrel restaurant. There are plenty of fast food restaurants nearby. I¢m staying here until the frigid temperatures pass. I will be heading back to the AT either Wednesday or Thursday morning. I¢m actually a day ahead of where I thought I¢d be. I¢d rather be a little behind and bored than shivering all night in a shelter or my tent. I¢m sorry that I didn¢t take any pictures today. I had miles to hike and my phone doesn¢t like to get wet.