Date: 2008-04-05
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Gatlinburg, TN - "Nero" Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Hey everybody! Made it into Gatlinburg today [n.b. I think T said he stayed at the Grand Prix motel - T's g.f.]. I swore I would never come back here, but I needed to dry out. Climbed the highest spot on the trail, Clingman's Dome, yesterday in the rain and fog. I have officially renamed the trail "The Appalachian Creek." Much of the trail in the Smokies is just a channel for the water to run down. I now have pictures of the trail that look like waterfalls. I have now hiked over 200 miles and have entered the state of Tennessee, my third state. When I left Fontana Dam, the dam was closed and we had to make a 2-mile detour to a bridge. This included a 500-foot fall & rise in elevation. That was a beautiful day. Beautiful vistas everywhere. The next day was another hike in the clouds and or fog -- I have a hard time telling the difference. The following day, the day I described in the rain was interesting. I slipped onto my butt a few times, and took a wrong turn for about a half-mile. Clingmans Dome has a tower on top of it, and I have a nice picture of it in the fog. Injury-wise, I am doing pretty well. Still no blisters, but I did have a toe bleed from wearing my Crocs (soft, plastic lightweight shoes). I had a toenail that I cut too short, and the area under it become raw. Fortunately, Papa Doc, a doctor of urology, was hiking with me and had some medical-grade super glue that he put on it and the pain went away. Makes it a lot easier going downhill. The shelters in the Smokies are much better than I thought they would be. I was told they are mouse-infested (they are), and some have chain-link fences to keep out the bears. Park regulations force us to sleep in them unless they are full, then you can tent. I have spent three nights in the shelters and have been very grateful for them. It rained the last two nights. Very grateful! I have heard stories about mice crawling into sleeping bags with people. A guy picked up his pack and a dozen mice jumped from it. The worst story I heard was a guy waking up to a mouse peeing on his eye. Fortunately that has not happened to me, but I am only half way through the Smokies. I am really looking forward to moving on. I am meeting many interesting people. I hike with some a while and we leapfrog each other. Moss jumped ahead of me with some others that I was hiking with. The spirit is willing, but too many Krispy Kreme donuts keep me from doing the 18-mile days. Those days are coming, just not yet. In preparing for this hike, I read that I would be climbing over 464,000 feet rise in elevation over the length of the trail. At home that was just a number. Now I am in the middle of it and "Holy Cow," the mountains just keep coming. Lots of ups and downs [n.b. T says these are called PUDs - pointless ups & downs - T's g.f.]. It seems as soon as I climb one mountain, then I have to go down it and then I have to do it over again. And again. And again, etc. My weight loss plan is working, I just had no idea that it would be so hard. And so much fun. I wish I had time to write to everyone individually, but I have somebody waiting for the computer now. Gotta go. - Troutbum - Troutbum's g.f.