Date: 2008-01-23
From: Derrick Knob Shelter, GSMNP

To: Double Spring Gap Shelter, GSMNP
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up at 6am after a really good night's sleep.The rain stopped sometime around 11pm last night. I still can't believe it was a rain event when it stayed 30 degrees out. I would have much preferred snow....it's not as cold. :-)I forgot to mention in yesterday's journal that when I got to the shelter and stripped down to put dry clothes on, that my skin was reddish and it looked like it was smokin'.......and there was also that George Costanza effect too. ;-)I decided to cut back on my Starbucks a little this morning, so I only made 22.07 ounces of that and had 1 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast. :-)The next piece of winter gear I'll talk about now is my down socks.I started looking online for some before I left for this walk, but all I could find was down booties and I didn't want those because there's no insulation on the bottom.I wanted my feet wrapped in down on those chilly nights.I asked Mrs Gorp if she knew where I might find some. She found some made in Australia, but they where out of my "petite" size. :-)After about a day of looking, Mrs Gorp said that for a hefty fee, she would make me a pair. Ha!!....what a sweet thing that was.....or so I thought before I got her bill! :-)Thank you Mrs Gorp!! I wear those to bed almost every night and my feet stay toasty!I am talking about those now because my feet were a little chilly yesterday after walking in that 30 degree rain and all the slush that was on the Trail....but my feet warmed up quickly when I slipped those down socks on.It only got down to 28 degrees overnight, but that was just cold enough to make my wet clothes freeze. It's great to start your day off trying to get into flat frozen pants! :-)I started walking at 8:10am. The sun popped through the fog about 10 minutes later.It was a gorgeous day for a walk in the woods!There was about half an inch of rime ice formed on the trees overnight from the fog that blew through, and then froze on the limbs.I followed coyote tracks for about 3 or 4 miles. He must have walked through the area in the slush yesterday.I came up to either a bear trap or a hog trap that was off to one side of the Trail about 15 yards. I walked over and took a picture of that before walking on.I passed by Sam's Gap, then after another climb and descent, I got to Buckeye Gap.I sat down on a log at 10am for a break and took a break. You forget just how quiet it is out here when you stop walking. The crunchy snow is what I had been listening to all morning.I had some beef sausages that my ol' buddy Chief sent along. I also had some Fritos and diced peaches in light syrup.It warmed up just above freezing and I was constantly sinking in 4 inches and there were lots of places that I was postholing 8 inches deep with each footstep. My poles where going down over 12 inches deep on the side of the Trail.That slowed me down to just 1 mph.I just walked slow and enjoyed the scenery as I was sloooowly making my way north. :-)I saw the second set of bear prints in the snow that I've seen since I got into the Smokies, just before I got to Siler's Bald Shelter.It was a good medium sized bear.I got to Siler's Bald Shelter and sat down to eat lunch. It took me all morning to go just over 5 miles.I checked my phone and I did have cell coverage there, so I sent in yesterday's journal.I knew I would have sketchy cell service here in the Smokies.I ate my lunch and rested up some. I had Fritos, mandarin oranges and tuna, nuts, dried pineapple and a stick of gum for dessert.I started postholing 12 to 14 inches deep almost immediately after I left the shelter.That lasted till I was up and over Siler's Bald, but I ran into spots like that the rest of the afternoon.It's not too bad going downhill like that, but it's kinda tough climbing in those conditions because you have to step up 18 to 20 inches with each step and then put enough weight on it to break through....very tiring, but I wasn't in a hurry. :-)I saw the third set of bear prints in the Smokies about half way between Siler's Bald and Double Spring Gap Shelter. They were another nice sized bear and I got better pictures of that one.I got to Double Spring Gap Shelter at 2pm. It took me all the way from 8am just to make it this far and the next shelter was almost 7 miles away, so I decided to stay and get an earlier start tomorrow.The battery in my cell phone died quicker this time, so I couldn't even write my journal. :-(Hopefully I can get another battery in Gatlinburg.I spread my clothes out in the sun and let them dry the rest of the way.I ate an early dinner....I had dirty rice and pork, the rest of those beef sausages that Chief sent, two little sample bottles of Bailey's Irish Cr me that Superstar sent with me, a liter of lemonade, some nuts and some Fritos.I got in my sleeping bag about 4pm and read all the chapters I was carrying of that book I've been reading.I read until about 6:30 and now I don't have the rest of the book with me.....and it's getting REAL interesting!! :-)The rest of the book is in Roanoke, VA in my bounce box at Hokey Pokey's house.Another great day on the Appalachian Trail! :-)