Date: 2005-03-12
From: Double Spring Gap Shelter

To: Gatlinburg, TN
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: broken clouds

I woke uo that morning to the sound of Magellan cooking something. Upon realizing how frigid the temperature outside my sleeping bag was, I decided he must be crazy and went back to sleep. About an hour later I again awoke. Whazoo had said the day before how he wanted to get an early start and get to Gatlinburg, but after judging the benefits of getting up versus staying in the sleeping bag I decided not to wake him. About 15 minutes later, however, Whazoo woke up. He made some comment about how clear of a day it was. Since it was an overcast day his comment suggested he was not yet fully awake. Magellan, who was probably delirious from cold, began talking about how he would pretend the shelter was a motel and he had just asked room service to deliver him "my favorite, oatmeal with bits of tortilla". At about 7:00 everyone in the shelter, which was Whazoo, Magellan, Jill, Bill, and I, was awake. We decided the night before that we would hike out together and take turns breaking through the snow. At 7:00 that morning we also made a unanimous decision that we would leave at 9:00. The ninth hour arrived quickly and we headed out, Magellan taking the lead. He busted through snow drifts for about an hour. Then Jim led, then I, and at the foot of Clingman's Dome Jill took over. He broke through the snow all the way up Cllingman's. At the top there is an observation tower with a long spiral ramp leading up to it. We all decided to climb it. As I got above the trees the wind really started whipping. We guessed afterward that it must have been 60-70 mph. I gripped the handrail and pulled myself up to the top. The view was terrific. They say you can see seven states from up there. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to linger long. The whole observation deck was coated with a thin layer of ice. The wind was blowing so hard that it pushed Jill and I along the ice. When we made it back down and continued down the trail, we were greeted with snow drifts that were over waist deep. As the day wore on it warmed up and the snow began to melt. It just so happened that while that was happening we were walking through an area with many overhanging trees. The snow would melt and drip off the trees. It was just like it was raining. At 4:00 Jim and I reached Newfound Gap soaking wet. We were the first to arrive. Usually when you reach a gap with a road crossing along the trail there is a small deserted parking lot and a road that sees about 1 car every couple minutes. Not so at Newfound Gap. This is the heart of the Smokies with direct raod access to Gatlinburg, a big-time tourist town. One moment you're in the woods, the next moment there are cars and people everywhere. A few minutes later Jill arrived. A few minutes after that a family in a small bed pickup truck stopped and asked us how far we'd hiked. Whazoo casually answered that we had gone over 200 miles. The astonished family asked where we were going and he told them Gatlinburg. A few minutes later the three of us were cruising down the road, crammed into the back of the truck, freezing to death but grateful we were headed for town. Just as we pulled away Jill spotted Gel, unfortunately too late. Our ride dropped us off at our motel, the Grand Prix. They wanted pictures with us and we warned them not to get too close because of our stench. They didn't belive us until they got a whiff, but they held their breath and got the pictures. After a much-needed shower Whazoo and I headed to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. As I looked at the menu I couldn't decide what I wanted, until I looked at the prices. I decided that I would look for the cheapest thing on the menu and get that. I scanned the menu and ended up with Roadkill - $7.99. It was actually pretty tasty.