Date: 2017-04-05
From: Poplar Stamp Gap

To: Tray Mt Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: few clouds

EVERYONE woke up and started getting ready at 530... granted, Lookout and I were also planning an early start, but I laid in bed until exactly 6, mostly out of stubbornness. Even so, Lookout and I were the second ones out of camp at 630.We didn't hike long with headlamps, within minutes the predawn light was enough to distinguish the trail and it soon blossomed into a beautiful sunrise. Light oranges sillouetted the clouds on the horizon and the world was painted in pastel, purples and blues for the hills and yellows and oranges for the sky.We hiked quickly, cruising by many tents, their occupants yet to rise. The colors of the sunrise continued for almost 2 hours until we reached the next shelter and the first rumble of thunder rolled through the hills and a light rain began to fall. We passed the shelter, people emerging from the tents in response to their thunderous alarm and continued moving as the storm rolled in. We crested a series of rolling hills, passing several hikers, as the lightning and thunder drew closer and thankfully began to descend into unicoi gap and away from the storm. Upon reaching the bottom we took shelter under a sign for a few minutes to rest and chat with the other hikers who were heading into town before continuing uphill.As if tied to our elevation, the storm once again rolled in as we ascended but the heavy rain provided much appreciated cooling on the uphill. As with all things that go up, we came back down into a gap and found some TRAIL MAGIC in the form of a gallon of fresh water. We began our final hill for the day up Tray Mt, the storm crescendoing once again as we crested and quickly descended from the peak towards the shelter amid the flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder.We finally arrived at the shelter to find it "full" of hikers, some who had neroed and some who had zeroed at the shelter. Though the shelters listed capacity was 7, it's hard to leave a hiker out in the rain, so they managed to fit us (and a few more hikers who showed up) for a total of 11 people, including a hammock suspended from the rafters.We hung out all afternoon, played spoons (with sunflower seeds) and euler with the survival cards that Ashley had given me, and watched the rain. Several more storms rolled through, including several "shelter shakers", but they were much more enjoyable when viewed from inside a shelter rather than while hiking. A couple hikers left in between storms, making a bit more room in the shelter, until more showed up and now we're all pretty cozy in here for the night. It's supposed to get pretty cold overnight, so we'll probably get up pretty early and get to the hostel. We'll be taking a zero in Hiawasse on Friday to rest and resupply before heading to the NC border and to Franklin.FYI: there is a guestbook (link on the left) if you feel like leaving messages/questions/etc. There's not a mechanism for me to respond directly, but I'll try to say something in the posts. Thanks to Sharon for the encouragement. Look forward to being back up in DCULs territory! PS: It's only 8pm and I can definitively verify that Lookout snores... loudly...