Date: 2015-03-20
From: Derrick Knob Shelter 

To: Newfound Gap (Gatlinburg, TN)
Miles today: 18.4

I slept restlessly during the night thanks to a mixture of snoring and howling wind. I was up by 7:30 despite my sleeplessness to get ready for the long day ahead. Both Werewolf and I had plans to make it to Newfound Gap to meet friends & family.Thankfully, the weather was slightly more bearable than the day before. The drizzle was only a slight nuisance and the fog and wind were light and variable. I even saw the sun once or twice!I stopped at Double Spring Gap Shelter for a hot lunch and Werewolf arrives shortly after. His lunch turnaround was a bit quicker than mine and took off while I was still packing up. In my haste to get back on the trail and meet my deadline - I told Evan that I would be at Newfound Gap by 4pm - I forgot both of my water bottles. I realized my mistake a short 0.7mi down the trail, but the extra 1.4mi easily added 30 minutes to my end time. Understanding that my mistake would add extra sit-and-wait time for Evan, I picked up my pace. At times throughout the day I was hiking at almost 4mph; fast enough to risk a rolled ankle or turned knee. Luckily I avoided any injury in my haste.My quickened pace, which felt like a run at times, cost me an extra mile. In my ascent of Clingman's Dome (the highest point on the Appalachian Trail) I took a wrong turn and added an extra 1mi to my hike to get back to the AT. It was 2:30 when I started my descent from Clingman's. The last text I had managed to send out earlier in the day told Evan to expect me at 4:30, but Newfound Gap was more than 7mi away. A mixture of excitement and embarassment (I really hate to keep people waiting) pushed my pace to a near-run. A section hiker headed in the opposite direction passed along a quick message: "Are you Houdini? Werewolf said he'll wait for you at Newfound. I passed him about a mile ago."Despite a steady stream of calories and adequate hydration, my body began to shut down in the last mile to Newfound Gap. I was reduced to a hobble as my joints began to ache, my stomach growled, and I began to shiver. Timed perfectly, that is exactly when I spotted the trailhead sign. Including my two absent-minded mistakes, I had traveled over 20 miles through the mud and the muck... I had arrived!I quickly introduced Evan and Werewolf as we loaded our gear into her car. He needed a ride into town and it would have been a sin not to offer an extra seat. After dropping him off at his desired location, we continued on to our hotel room. I quickly jumped in the shower to warm up and wash off my hiker-funk while Evan, being the doll she is, took my dirty clothes to be washed. As soon as I was presentable and defrosted, we took off for dinner and settled on Mellow Mushroom pizza with a Baskin Robbins dessert. I was tired, but I was also warm, clean, full, and in the arms of my dearest. I couldn't ask for anything more.P.S. Despite my rushing, I still found great happiness in hiking through the Smokies. I often felt like I was walking through an outdoor fairytale. The old forest is thick and the trail is carved deep into the dirt and rock. It really is beautiful out here.