Date: 2006-03-29
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Painter Branch
Miles today: 20.4

3-29-06Tri-Corner Knob Shelter to Painter Branch20.4 milesOperation "Smoke the Smokies"Day 4I SMOKED THE SMOKIES!Speaking of smoke, there is some kind of plant or tree that grows in the Smokies that smells a hell of a lot like marijuana. You are just walking along the trail, and every so often you get a good whiff. I have no idea where it comes from, but it is definitely an interesting phenomena.I didn't sleep well at all last night, I was very uncomfortable and there were a few people snoring. Most of the people staying in the shelter were early risers and were on the trail either before or shortly after I got up. Apparently Restless is famous for leaving before everybody else, hence how he got his trail name. Breakfast was oatmeal, which was bland and reminded me of baby food. I've got to get some honey or maple syrup or something to fix this serious problem.I was the last one to leave the shelter at 8:30AM. There were a few smaller mountains to climb at first, and then I started the long descent into Davenport Gap. Cosby Knob, the second to last mountain on the way down wasn't that bad, and then there was the Never-ending Mountain, whose name is a mystery to me. You would go up and up, turn a corner and think you were done, and then go up and up even more. This happened four or five times, but finally I reached the anticlimactic top. I was surrounded by rhododendrons, and had finally climbed the last mountain in the Smokies!After that, it was all downhill until Davenport Gap Shelter. I took a break there to eat and pump more water (I have been drinking water like a thirsty elephant the past few days). Bugs caught up to me while I was there and we chatted about where I was camping that night- Painter Branch, another five miles from Davenport Gap. She decided to join me, and left earlier than I, to get a head start.It was quite a change in atmosphere coming down from the Smokies. Up top it was much cooler, with snow covering the ground, like a mild winter day, but as you got closer to the bottom it was hot and the trail was clear, with birds chirping and insects flying around, just like a summer's day. Two different worlds in a matter of miles.Coming out of Davenport Gap I hiked along a roaring stream for a mile before getting to Interstate 40. The crossing of that major highway was an underpass, where Bugs was waiting for me at the other side. We then climbed the grueling 2.9 miles up a steep hillside until we got to the Painter Branch campsite. She went to go set up her tent and I followed a little later, but was having a hard time finding a way across the stream to the tent site. But I spotted a log that had fallen across the two steep sides of the stream and decided to cross using that. It was about eight feet up above the stream, and as I crossed I thought about how this could most likely end my AT trip. But I made it safely across and over to where Bugs was at.We set up our tents and were eventually joined by Eric and Bugs, two kids from South Florida, Da Bear, and Tortoise. The kids from Florida were obnoxious and rude (I later dubbed them Dumb and Dumber), but Da Bear and Tortoise were cool. I made TVP stew (which is tasteless, I got to find a way to spice it up) and talked and went to bed. As I was writing in my journal I could here Eric and Bags lighting up a bowl and talking loudly. I hope they aren't staying at the next shelter with me. It's getting colder and I'm starting to shiver, sitting outside of my sleeping bag. Time for bed.