Date: 2018-10-06
From: Double Springs Gap shelter

To: Mollies Ridge shelter
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: few clouds

Today started with a really brisk morning. The weather has been great for us in The Smokies, but the nights get hella cold. Like in the mid 40s. Disco and I didn¢t sleep too great last night. The people at the shelter were super loud and created all sorts of commotion in the middle of the night. Considering the lack of sleep and my previous marathon day, I was literally dragging myself down the trail. I was exhausted, but somehow still managed to crunch out a near 20 mile day. I miss all the Virginia switchbacks. You don¢t see a whole lot of them these days. When the elevation chart shows you¢re going up, now it means STRAIGHT up. There were some nasty climbs today. Short, but unbelievably steep. Gradients that reminded me a lot of Vermont. I¢m super surprised to see Disco at this shelter tonight. He was dying earlier and talking about staying at a shelter 3 miles back. I think I¢m pushing him hard because I know I¢ve definitely been pushing myself. I keep telling him to HYOH, but he keeps racing to keep up with me apparently. Lol I¢m sure tomorrow he¢ll start complaining that I¢m killing him. Tomorrow, we hike out of The Smokies and down to Fontana Dam. Completing The Smokies in 3.5 days is quite a feat. We¢ve been killing it. I can¢t imagine being a NoBo though and having to hike this terrain on like week two of the journey. This would be a tough place to start. All day I pass these people out here hiking for a week and they don¢t have their trail legs, so they¢re essentially crawling. It looks like a grueling vacation honestly. Lol I was definitely struggling today, especially with the poor sleep from these crowded shelters and my super big day yesterday. I¢m glad I pushed through though. Tonight, Disco and I are breaking park rules and sleeping in our tents near the shelter. We really need one good night of rest and this is the only way it¢ll happen. Lots of people at the shelter tonight, but they¢re all really cool, nice dudes. One guy went through the effort to get a campfire going, which isn¢t something I¢ve had the luxury of experiencing since Maine. There¢s another guy here named Mango who spent the evening basically turning my world upside down. Lol He jumped on the AT in Roan Mt, TN headed south just a couple weeks ago. He plans to hike to Springer Mt and then keep going south all the way through Alabama on a different trail. It involves hiking on the Benton Mackaye Trail for about 80 miles and then connects to the Pinhoti Trail, which is like another 330 miles. I already knew that these trails existed, but to meet someone who actually plans to hike them is interesting. It kinda gives me an itch, you know. To just like keep going! I cornered this dude and asked him hundreds of questions about what guides he¢s using, his timeframe and mileage plans, Alabama weather, etc. I feel like my head is gonna explode. I was supposed to purchase my plane ticket tomorrow while in town, but now here¢s this guy giving me all the information I need (and encouragement) to just keep on hiking and living the wayward trail life for as long as I can. It¢s insane, but absolutely doable. I don¢t know how I¢m gonna sleep tonight. I have way too much to think about now.