Date: 2005-09-17
From: Newfound Gap

To: Tricorner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: scattered clouds

I had mixed feelings about hiking again today. Sometimes the loneliness makes me overemotional, and the only thing that keeps me going is that I have no Plan B.   I didn't arrange for a shuttle to the trail until this morning, and squandered away my sleeping hours watching "Cojo," a bad movie about a rabid dog attacking two people stuck in a broken-down car.   I initially booked a taxi, then cancelled on them when I learned a highly recommended tour company, "A Walk in the Woods," could take me. I got picked up at 11 and wasn't on the trail until 11:30. My driver was a breath of fresh air. The waxed on about the amazing biodiversity of the area, told me about how the wooded valleys in GSMNP used to be farmlands, named local tree species, and described ecozones.   (The boreal forest begins just 4 miles south of Clingman's Dome.) He even told me how yellow birch twigs give off a wintergreen flavor that makes them pleasant to chew.   All of this education was especially poignant to me because it made me realize how much I miss having that kind of information. He referred me to two starter books, "Eastern Forests" by Audubon, and the Newcombe's Guide to wildflowers.   I'll look them up in the next town. If I return to this area, I'd like to go on a nature walk with this guy.The first element of my hike today was, of course, the search for yellow birch. I found some right away and chewed it with satisfaction.   The trail was well-maintained and easy, and I ran into about a dozen Saturday day hikers on the way to Charlie's Bunion. The sun was shining after the morning's rain, and the weather was the clearest it had been in weeks.   (No rain in the forecast either.) The trail had several early views, but Charlie's Bunion put them all to shame.   The clouds were just rolling in when I got there. I waited for a band of teenagers to take their group picture and depart, then took my own photos and watched the clouds whirl around.   As I left, the panoramic view was suddenly wiped out under a blanket of white.After Charlie's Bunion, the trail stayed easy, on the ridgeline, and the views that I would have killed for in Georgia became a dime a dozen.   I took pictures this way and that way, of the mountains, the clouds, the lighting changes, the trail, the changing flora, even of myself. I thanked myself for not having quit my hike just yet. The only down side today is my sleeping situation.   In the middle of nowhere, I heard a man yell, "God damn it!"   I hesitated before approaching, and he had apparently recovered by the time I talked to him.   He was middle-aged and pot-bellied, and with a hunting dog (cum antenna). Dogs are explicitly forbidden in GSMNP, so I was annoyed. When we talked, he mentioned that he was going to the same shelter as me, but I was hiking faster, so I went ahead.A while later, I met some hikers going the other way who felt the need to mention 3 times how mouse-infested the shelters here are. Later yet, the dog with antenna started to follow me. After that, I met a hiker who had decided to turn back just short of the Tricorner Knob shelter, where I'm staying.   He too had an antenna-clad dog in tow, and when he left, the dog followed me instead. Both dogs followed me all the way to the shelter. The shelter itself turned out to be nice (with a privy-what luxury!) despite being the most remote shelter in the park.   The problem is that it's bedtime, and it's just me and 2 strange hunting dogs. I hope the pot-bellied man doesn't creep up on me in the middle of the night.   I wish I hadn't lost my pepper spray, but at least I have earplugs now to shut out all the (hopefully not rabid) dog noises.