Date: 2007-04-13
From: Collins Gap

To: Icewater Spring Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: broken clouds

April 13, Back in the SmokiesWoke up warm and cozy at the EconoLodge in Cherokee this morning. I wasn't necessarily looking forward to going back in the Smokies. Today's forecast was for a beautiful, sunny day in the 60s. The next three days call for cold and rainy. Today was not in the 60s. It was barely sunny and it even rained on and off a few times. It could have been worse but it was definitely not the amazing day I thought we'd have.The hiking was mostly easy though.We all piled into Eric's Focus around 9:30 a.m. We looked like a clown car. Gadget and his long legs were in the front seat with Scribe's pack on his lap. Certain, Scribe and I were wedged in the back seat with Gadget's pack strewn across our laps. There was very little breathing room.Eric dropped us off on the side of Clingmans Dome Road where we left off two days ago. Certain had taken a video of the parking area so we could be sure we were in the right place. It was hard to say goodbye again. It was especially hard because the wind was whipping at us and it was very cold. The first hour was hard on me. I was cold and uncomfortable and all I could think about was that Eric was driving away in a warm car to another warm place. Why did I want to be here again? Then it started to rain. I was not a happy camper.Anyway, we just kept hiking and, as I warmed up, my outlook did as well. We met Ed and Daniel, trail maintainers who were just happy as clams to be out here. It was nice to meet them.Shortly after that was another morale boost - we reached our 200th mile! I pulled out the snack I had brought specifically for the celebration - Hersheys with almonds! I began the toast this time around...we toasted to hand and toe warmers, hot water bottles, lobster claw mitt gloves that fall apart (my left mitt fell apart), ibuprofen, the trail being a sea of ice, terrible views on Clingmans Dome, and on and on. It was a good toast. We had lunch in the sun at Indian Gap which also helped my mood. After that, we were headed to Newfound Gap. The time passed quickly and I was pretty warm. It was pretty neat at Newfound Gap as that is where FDR dedicated the park and it's also the NC/TN state line (one of them). We spent a few minutes there taking photos and whatnot.Then we hiked on...we had only three more miles to the shelter. From that point on, the trail was teeming with day hikers. We met a lot of people who were interested in what we were doing. Families, couples, older men and women, you name it. I commented to Certain how underprepared all of these people looked to be hiking on such a cold and possibly rainy day. No one had water. No one had rain gear. Most had jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. One little girl even had sandals on. I miss taking heat for granted. Now I have to work for every degree!We made it to the shelter around 5 p.m. and I started setting up camp right away. It also started raining right away. I think I did a decent job of keeping my tent dry in the rain as I set it up though and as soon as it was time to actually set up the rainfly, the rain stopped. Scribe and Gadget pulled in just as we were making dinner and it's been a short night after that...hung my bear bag and now I'm in my bag keeping warm. It's 7:45 p.m. and 44 degrees. I hope to stay warm all night and wake up to dry, sunny, 70 degree weather. I'll let you know how that works out though.It was a tough mental day out here. We tossed around the idea of hitching to Gatlinburg when we were in Newfound Gap since the weather forecast is so grim but we decided we just wanted to try and get the heck out of the Smokies! I can't wait for the warm weather to come back.- Sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Post Trail Thoughts:I ate dinner that night atop a large and damp downed tree. It was a nice night on the trail - the first we'd spent with Scribe and Gadget for a while. Scribe had brought the latest copy of Backpacker Magazine and we read that as dinner was cooking. It was a neat spot to camp.