Date: 2013-04-08
To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 270.0

Just arrived in Hot Springs, NC. Past week or so has been a test for sure, yet despite the weather, wet clothes and cold temps I never contemplated quitting yet. I've experienced high winds, snow, slush, fog, ice, rain, freezing rain, flying iced tree limbs and a little sun. But I'd still do it all again despite the weather. Met some new people and am now hiking with a bigger group with a size of about a dozen. I hike alone most days in meet up with the group at night. Day 11: Hiked only 4 miles out of Franklin. My feet feel like they have been reborn. I hiked with no bandages for the first time since the 2nd day with no pain the new shoes I bought are my new favourite piece of gear! Huge mental boost! Day 13: Feet still feel great, blisters are slowly disappearing! Hiked 12 miles to the NOC, we hiked below, in, and above clouds all day. When we arrived we say a Note pinned to a tree with TEAM TUESDAY (the name our group had been dubbed) it had a poem beneath explaining to buy beer and food and meet at our reserved cabin. Some people are getting sick with a virus going around. Lots of midnight runs to the toilet. Ate a huge meal at the restraint and some beers. Day 14: Took my first 0 day! Hung out and ate lots of food. The NOC is beautiful! Winter weather advisory for tomorrow though...Day 15: Woke up to 2 inches of snow on the ground and a mini blizzard outside. Hiked up 3000 feet 7 miles and it was a full fledged blizzard. Snow drifts reached my thighs at some points. I loved every minute of it. I listened to music the whole way up and rocked out. It looked like a winter wonderland. We squeezed 22 people in a 16 person shelter that night. Food is becoming a prominent conversation topic and the group spent about an hour debating the best type of candy bar tonight. Day 16: Arrived in Fontana village today. Did a quick resupply and grabbed lunch at the bar. Stayed at the shelter known as the fontana hilton, beautiful spot right on the lake. Day 18: Hiked across Fontana Dam and into the smokies! I had to climb 3000 feet so despite the good weather at the bottom when I got to the top it was snowing again. Stopped at Mollies ridge shelter and set up for the night. All snokies shelters have fireplaces inside which was a great feature! We had an assortment of socks, boots, and clothing drying out over the fire, some of which got scorched including my shoes and 2 pairs of my socks. Day 19: As a result of the snow I fell asleep with turning to rain the trail was a slush pool. This was the worst hiking day yet slipping and sliding all over the place. Day 20: Putting wet and cold socks, and Boots on is not the best easter morning I've ever had. We hiked 10 miles to the top of clingmans dome (acclaimed for the "best views on the AT!") And we saw nothing due to mist. We also did not see was Roosters moms truck who we had planned to meet at 3 at the top. That was when it started to pour down rain. While huddled in some small public bathrooms we found out that the road to the top of clingmans dome was closed and that it was a seven hour hike to the truck. We hiked the remaining 7 miles through cold rain and wind singing all the way! About 12 of us crammed into mama Roosters truck which gave us a lift back to their RV where a massive meal of pulled pork, hotdogs, beans, and mac and cheese awaited. I gulfed down a heafty share. We then went to hotels and got some sleep. Day 21: Took a 0 due to a nasty weather report and the fact that my shoes and socks were still wet. After cleaning clothes, resupplying, eating, and organising we had some beers in the Hot Tub and continued the party to many fine Gatlinburg bars. Day 22: Got a ride back up to Newfound gap and started our hike. There was about 300 people at the trailhead when we arrived at 2 o'clock. Lots of people looked and stared at the dirty hikers and many stopped us to ask questions. After we waded through the crowds onto the trail we found many large sections of trail covered by ice making traversing some of the sections very interesting. This was the best hiking day yet, the average elevation was around 6000 feet and the majority of the trail was along a ridge with death defying cliffs on either side. I stopped about a dozen times to sit, eat a snickers and chill out near an amazing view. I rolled into camp at around 8 just before dark as happy as a clam despite all the ice. Day 23: Hiked my first 20 mile day today! Did not find it too hard even with the icy conditions. Set up camp on the trail literally because the shelter was full and there were no tent spots open. Day 24: Packed up and left camp early to meet Roosters mom at the I-40 for a food and beer drop. It was raining slightly in the morning and we all woke up to wet tents. We hiked down to the interstate graciously took our food and beer and packed it all up underneath a bridge sheltered from the rain. I made a mistake of packing 6 beers in my pack along with my overflowing food bag and water. The next 7 miles to camp were 3000 feet up and turned out to be the worst 7 miles yet. I got hit with freezing rain which made me more wet and cold and the added threat of flying ice chunks from tree limbs was a nice touch. I got to camp and set up my tent got in it cooked dinner and stayed in my tent with a couple beers from 2pm to 11am the next day. Day 25: Late start because I decided to wait out the rain. Planned for a 13 mile day. Started hiking under grey skies with wet heavy cold gear. 7 miles into my day I reached Max Patch, the skies cleared and the sun came out. Made a clothesline the a eagle scout could be proud of and decided that that was a sign from the trail gods that I was meant to stay on the very same spot. I set up my tent with Tallulah, Genius, Fig, and alpha dog. BEST DECISION!! Saw the most amazing sunset of my life and slept like a baby despite the high winds on the exposed peak. Day 26: Strategically set my tent up with the door facing east so when I woke, I opened the door and watched the sun come up the other side of the mountain while making coffee. Best morning coffee of my life. Because of the 7 mile day yesterday today needed to be another 20 miler to get into Hot Springs, but with fry gear and a happy mind the 20 miles fly by and I was in town by 330. The group set up a tent city in the campgrounds and ate some dinner, cleaned up a bit and then hit the town to blow off some steam that the poor weather had given us. Day 27: Took a 0 in Hot Springs because of how great the town was and we wanted to hit the springs that day. We rented cabins at the same campgrounds. We did a little resupply, laundry, showers during the morning and then hit the Hot Springs in the afternoon. The springs were great I even took a little dip into the chilly river Canadian Style. Headed out tomorrow morn headed to Erwin.