Date: 2018-07-16
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 7.4

Nine years ago I was here, at Icewater Spring Shelter, with my best friend Maili. I did not anticipate that I'd be sleeping here at that time, but I'm glad I am. The Smokies fills me with the spirit of Maili here and there. We get the "walking in a cloud" effect often, but it isn't quite as magical without her enthusiasm. Even so, our hike has been going relatively well so far.It rained on us again today starting around noon. It lasted about 15 minutes or so - maybe loner. There have been no views so far due to the cloud cover. A guy we saw said tomorrow's weather should be better - I really hope so because that will be Charlie's Bunion, the Sawteeth, and Bradley's View.We arrived here around 2:00. There was thunder, but it passed us by. It is sprinkling here now, and the air has turned slightly colder. Sitting in my wet clothes probably doesn't help. There are four other people here right now, a group of girls who we will also be with tomorrow night. They seem nice. Two of them are currently sleeping and the other two are sitting in little chairs reading. Count is reading as well, sitting next to me.This shelter is not quite as nice as Mt. Collins, but it still has the clear-ish roof and a "table" and bench to eat at. There is also a double layer sleeping area. We are on top - we were last night, too. It is now fully raining with a breeze. Brrrr I was too cold to sleep well last night. I needed socks and long pants. Also, I'm not used to the hard shelter floor and my back pinched. I just had to put my fleece on. I had goose bumps from the cold breeze and the dampness. Anyway, it wasn't the most restful night. Tonight I'll be putting on my socks. We are at 5,935 feet, so I assume it will be a similar temperature as last night. I'm so glad I have a hat here!We heard odd noises this morning around 6:30, but I have no clue what it was. I went back to sleep until 7:30. We took our time with the morning and set out around 9:20. It was a fairly uneventful hike until it started raining at Newfound Gap. And it was pretty much all uphill from there to here. I guess that is my tale for today. Maybe we will read more of our ridiculous book...*         *         *            *         *            *One thing I forgot about today! A red squirrel "yelled" at us and I looked up and said, "Hello, angry squirrel." It promptly fell out of the tree and landed right next to us with a very loud "thunk" of impact, and quickly scrambled back up the tree. It scared me!I am SO COLD!! I've put on all dry clothes now, but I didn't change undergarments and feel better, moved farther into the shelter to the sleeping area. I don't know how people do this in colder weather. Kudos to them, and they can keep it! it's great for hiking, but not for stopping.*           *         *        *        *(much later - 7:30 PM)We are a bit warmer now. The weather seems much nicer. A guy from Ohio came in who is hiking southbound through the Smokies. Then these two guys from Florida showed up. They are both carrying about 80 lbs. each! Soon after they got here, a deer, who someone named Carla, came through, eating her way through the mini-meadow in front of our shelter. Sweet!Not sweet: there was a super gross bug in the privy walking under the toilet seat. I think it is some kind of cockroach. Yuck!