Date: 2015-04-16
From: Silers Bald Shelter, NC/TN

To: Icewater Spring Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 15.5

After a decent night's sleep (I only had to nudge Moosehead awake 2 times throughout the night due to snoring) I awoke to a rough morning after the sloppy day that was yesterday. The air was cold, all hopes of a fire had long been forgotten, and rain was still falling outside. All the hikers began waking a the same time which led to slow going. Once my bag was packed, the last thing to do was throw on my soaking wet clothes and boots and hope quick hiking would warm me up. I made things a little more bearable by just going commando under my rain pants instead of throwing on my rain-drenched shorts.Fortunately the trail ran uphill soon after leaving the shelter, making my blood circulate and the cold air irrelevant. All the promising views throughout the day were, once again, compromised by low-hanging clouds so it was another day of lowered shoulders, teeth gritting, and pushing forward. We climbed Silers Bald, passed Double Spring Gap Shelter, up and over Mt. Buckley at 6,585ft, and eventually made our way up the final few hundred feet to the top of Clingman's Dome topping out at 6,655ft. Out of the blowing mist, the tower sitting atop the summit finally came into view. Even though there were no views to be enjoyed, we stopped, threw off our packs, shoveled snacks into our mouths, and climbed the tower to stare at fog in every direction. It was still worth enjoying the moment at the highest point along the AT, as well as the 200-mile mark. I've officially completed 10% of the trail.It was a strange experience seeing tourists stroll up the path from the parking lot a quarter mile from the top, taking in the same fog-covered view, and quickly heading down to their vehicles and whisking back down into Gatlinburg or other nearby towns. We, on the other hand, still had ~11 miles to our destination. We jumped back on the trail and was joined by Hobble, a former section-turned-thru-hiker who gave us advice of what to check out post-Smokies. Let's just say it got us looking forwards to Hot Springs, NC.The 8-mile trek between Clingman's Dome and Newfound Gap was bittersweet. Three years ago, I made the day hike to and from Clingman's with my twin brother, Ryan, and my friend Emily. It was the first time the idea of attempting a thru-hike became more than just a far-off idea. I met my first thru-hikers that day and have been hooked ever since. Life has played out as it tends to do since that day, some curve balls included in the process, but walking this length of trail today as a NoBo thru-hiker over Mt. Love, Collins Gap, Mt. Collins, and Mingus Ridge really brought things full circle. I remembered the spots where photos were taken, where my brother and friend smiled as we conquered that day, and I smiled.I strolled into Newfound Gap on a rush of memories and was greeted with 2 trail angels offering trail magic to cold, soaked hikers. I've been awfully spoiled so far with trail magic, but this might have been the most enjoyed given the circumstances. I downed 2 cokes, a banana, a couple Snickers, a honeybun, a chocolate egg, a pack of crackers, and an applesauce. I also loaded my pack with an additional 2 Coke's, an applesauce, 2 packs of crackers, and a few Snickers that would make a solid dinner under 2 hours later.It was just enough magic to make the remaining 3 miles go by quickly, concluding a 15.5 mile day in the process. We strolled into Icewater Spring Shelter, the highest shelter in the Smokies, at 5,939ft. The rain has been off-and-on this evening, but the day in general has been much better than yesterday. Conversation flowed freely again as less attention was needed for focusing on every step. Tomorrow morning will still consist of putting on wet clothes and boots, trudging off onto a sloppy trail, and racking up more miles in the process.Tomorrow's shelters sit at miles sit at the 12 and 20-mile marks from our current location so it'll either be a shorter or longer day depending on weather and bodies.The shelter tonight has 20 hikers stuffed shoulder-to-shoulder again. I'm lying by Red Panda, Miles, and Moosehead on the lower platform and Burnsides is up top along with Hands and Mouth. We're journaling and enjoying one another's company. Tomorrow will bring another round of unique challenges, but this evening is good and deserves to be enjoyed.