Date: 2016-03-23
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel
Miles today: 18.4

Day 31 - Tri-Corner Knob Shelter to Standing Bear Farm Hostel 3/23/16 18.4 milesToday was a crazy day that started out completely normal. Relatively warm night in the shelter. Everything re-froze overnight though so the slush turned back to ice. Jake and Tiffany, from Minnesota have been around us lately and they are hilarious. He is very talkative and I've never met someone who "hates" hiking the trail so much but make it sound so positive. He obviously loves being out here. We really enjoy their company. Cheetah and I started around 8:30am. My boots were cold but my fingers and toes warm up very fast once I get moving. Cheetah and I laugh about the drastic differences between her body temperature and my body temperature. She will be in her Patagonia mid-layer, both gloves and over-mits, plus two pairs of leggings and nothing else. I warm up so quickly and immediately get hot if I have too many layers on.Anyway, we begin a relatively easy uphill made extremely slow by slippery ice. Cheetah and I described it as walking like a drunk grandma. We have two "canes" and are slowly hobbling up the hill with no balance. One step forward, slide 2 inches backward. Beautiful vistas all day. Turned out to be a really warm day. Before an uphill to Cosby Knob Shelter we ran into a past AT thru-hiker named ChampagneJam. He had to get off the trail in Pennsylvania bc of his knees. He talked to us for a while and explained that he is day-hiking. He very kindly gave Cheetah and I each an orange. Fresh fruit is a luxury out here so we happily gobbled them down. We went on our way to Cosby Knob Shelter which was our planned lunch location. It felt good to hike for 7,7 miles with no serious breaks. Beautiful shelter. Corncob and Rhodo were there as well! Pushed on to Mt. Cammerer where I decided to change into my shorts and t-shirt while Corncob, Rhodo and Cheetah headed to the Lookout. I waited for about 45 minutes and then went on bc it was almost 4pm and we had 6 miles left. On my way down I ran into a local named Gary who was day hiking. He pointed out Max Patch to me in the distance. The others caught up to me while I was talking to Gary. From there we made for the Davenport Gap Shelter and didn't stop til we got there. Corncob and Rhodo got to the shelter first and there was a kid that was hiking for Spring Break who had the Norovirus and was actively vomiting. They said he threw up 9 times in the water source and immediately beside the shelter. We walked up and Rhodo yelled at us to turn around so we immediately turned around and flew down the extra mile downhill to the Davenport Gap Road. We were feeling dejected and realizing that we were going to have to walk 2 more miles to a hostel. We had officially left the Smokys. All of a sudden a pickup truck drove by and I stuck out my thumb jokingly. He actually stopped and gave us a ride down to I-40. Thank you Charlie! He wouldn't let us give him any money. After getting out we still had a mile to walk. We looked down and there were 2 people waving us down to trail magic they were putting on. Karma on our side. Sweet Magnolia and Short Bus (2015 AT thru hiker) made chili, grilled cheese, brownies, pancakes. Mulligan was there too. They were sweet hearts and told us they were staying at Standing Bear Farm Hostel. We started walking the final mile and a woman in a pickup truck stopped us and told us to hop in if we were going to the hostel. Yes! She dropped us off and Lumpy (guy with a beard, pipe and sun glasses) greeted us..."Arounnnnd hereee they call me Lumpyyy." We decided to tent camp for $15 pp. Cheetah and I shared a tent so it was cheaper. This place was like a 1960's oasis. Outhouse, wash room with wash board, etc. All very quaint and cute. We all sat around the fire. Corncob found a guitar and sang. Went to bed around 11 or 12. Best sleep of the whole trail in Cheetah's tent. Crazy day. Loved it.