Date: 2018-04-17
From: Silers Bald Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

In the morning the fire was still blazing. One lone hiker was huddled over it. I thought I would take the opportunity to dry my hiking Sox. Both pairs were now wet, one from hiking in and one from Cole using them as mitts. I crawled out of my bedding, slipped on my crocs and ventured close to the fire, stretching my sox out in front of me to get them over the flame. The woman there was wide eyed and worried. ¢The road is still closed to Clingman¢s Dome¢, she said in a desperate voice, ¢and we are all out of firewood! I¢ve been awake all night tending the fire and we need more wood!¢ I slowly retracted my sox and returned to my bed. I would hike in my sleeping sox. I roused Cole. We would not be hanging around the shelter all day to thaw. We were headed for Clingman¢s Dome!Cole had slept with our water filter to keep it from freezing and I had slept with our bag of electronics. Our water bottles had been right beside me but not under the covers. All of our water was frozen solid. We each had a second empty water bottle so we filled those for the day. Other hikers began to stir. News of the continued road closure had everyone in a buzz trying to figure out what to do. Some were staying put, some were continuing on to Newfound Gap to hitchhike into town. Our plan was to try for the noon shuttle at Clingmans Dome hoping that the road would be open by then.Although it was very cold and windy when we set out, the skys were clear and the sun was shining brightly. The first half of the stretch to Clingmans Dome was relatively easy terrain. Then we began to climb. And Climb. Cole was trying unsuccessfully to rush me along, but I can only do the speed that I can safely do. The higher we got, the more spectacular the views. We reached the fork that would either take us up to Clingmans Dome, the highest spot on the AT, or it would take us down to the parking lot where there might be a shuttle bus. We chose the left fork, hustled up to the dome, snapped some gorgeous pictures, then raced down to the big old empty parking lot. The road was still closed ! A National Parks¢ worker pulled into the lot in a snow plow. We asked him about the road, hoping beyond hope that he would offer us a ride, but knowing that he probably wasn¢t allowed to. He said that the road was still icy and he didn¢t know when it would open. As we milled around planning our next move, strong gusts of wind pushed us about like they wanted us to hurry up, make a decision and get a move on. Would we stay and wait for the road to open, continue on to Newfound Gap, or head to the next shelter? Our food was low, our feet felt good, although mine were wet. In fact, every pair of sox I had was now wet. I wanted to get dry. I needed to get dry. Suddenly a huge gust of wind tore my rain cover off of my back pack. I chased it for a short distance before the wind sent it flying over the edge of the mountain! That solidified the plan. Somehow get to town. We retraced our steps back to where the AT had divided and continued trekking north. By now the temperature had begun a rapid climb. You might think that this would result in a warm and pleasant afternoon hike. Nope. The trees were heavily laden with a coat of snow and with the increased warmth they quickly cast off that extra layer like a thoughtless child excited to bask in the sun. Down onto our heads the trees rained, often dropping pellets or chunks of ice and snow. Without my rain cover, my pack quickly became soaked. The trail turned into a river of slush and once again my feet were drenched. After a long wet trudge through the uncaring trees, we arrived at the Newfound Gap parking area. There were lots of cars and people coming and going. Cole, who has arrived before me, was already chatting with a gentleman who was waiting on another hiker. He said that he might have room for us in his car, but he wasn¢t sure how many hikers he was picking up, so couldn¢t guarantee it. He gave Cole a pastry and me a fruit juice, both were greatly appreciated.I knew that I stunk, and that my hair was a disheveled mess. My clothes were dirty and wet. Despite all that, one kind couple from Texas agreed to drive us into Gatlinburg. We paid for a one night stay, but we quickly realized that we were not going to be able to get done everything we needed to do before the shuttle back to the trail left the next morning so we decided to spend a second night and take a zero. A took a long hot bath and everything was as right as rain once more!