Date: 2006-04-04
From: Icewater Spring Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: few clouds

Before I start on today, I have an interesting story from last night that occurred after I had finished typing up my journal. I was in my sleeping bag but no where near sleep, so I was just listening to a conversation between 5 guys playing cards a couple feet away from me. Out of no where one of the guys starts talking about the benefits of Apple Cider. So for several minutes it was cider this, and cider that. Then in a fairly thick southern drawl he says "And if you ever get really bad blisters on the feet, you should just go head and soak yer feet in cider." Now keep in mind that what I typed and the way it sounded when he said it are two completely different subjects. The entire shelter got completely quiet and eventually a few laughs broke out. Eventually one of the guys playing cards said "Well is she cute?" Even more laughs came now but cider man had no clue what we were laughing at. Even after one of the guys tried to explain it, the cider man still didn't have a clue... so another guy changed the subject and the conversation moved on.Woke up this morning at 6:45... I think this is the earliest I have ever naturally woken up. No one else was up, but several min after I woke up the shelter came to life. It was a really cold morning, like 15 degrees and 30 to 40 mph gusts of wind. All the trees had white snow and ice crystals caked to everyone of their branches. It was beautiful!I was one of the first to leave the shelter and due to the cold I was hauling ass down the trail just to keep warm. About a mile from the shelter I came to a place called Charlie's Bunion, which is a rock formation that juts out into a valley. The view from there was spectacular! All around me were these frozen/crystallized trees and plants, but then when you looked out into the valley the forests and hills were lit up by the sun. Farther down into the valley and beyond, none of the trees had ice on them but it seemed like you could literally see forever. It was definitely one of the top 5 most beautiful things I have ever seen. The only negative is that it was hard to stay up there for very long because the wind was blowing so hard and since it was like 20 degrees I can't even imagine what the wind chill was. After leaving Charlie's Bunion it took about a half hour for feeling to return to my face... but it was definitely worth it. I really hope the pictures I took turn out well.The morning miles flew by and before I knew it I had hiked 8 miles, with only 5 miles to go before our first shelter option. Sometime during the next 5 miles I got in a great conversation with a hiker named Posey Picker. Posey has hiked the AT 7 times... although he will tell you he only has 2 "official" thru-hikes. We talked about everything from holistic medicine to how to produce your own electricity and get paid by your electric company for the energy you don't use. I was fascinated.I made it to the Tricorner Shelter at 1:45pm... that is 13 miles of hiking before 2pm. I relaxed there for a bit and then Teddy, Rambo, Shinanigans and I all decided to hike the almost 8 miles to the next shelter. The hike to Cosby Knob Shelter was great for the first 6 miles, but the ibuprofen I had taken earlier in the day began to wear off and the last mile or 2 was very painful on my knee.When I arrived at the shelter I was in a lot of pain... I am sure everyone else already at the shelter could tell due to my cursing and limping. I was then told that someone had left trail magic in the stream next to the shelter and that I should hurry cuz there wasn't much left. I quickly hobbled to the stream and see a single can of coke just floating there... taunting me. I pick it up and ask "Can I really have this?" in response I receive several nods of approval. OH HAPPY DAY!!!! My knee doesn't hurt any more. What better way to cap off a hard fought 20+ day than with a stream cold coke. I am in heaven!Since the shelter is full I begin to look for a flat spot to put my tent. I find a decently flat spot and set it up... I crawl in only to discover that it isn't flat at all. In fact it is slanting pretty badly and my head will be pointing downhill. I think for a second, curse to myself for being stupid and then I say "screw it" and move on to more important things like making dinner.After making dinner and complaining about how I am still hungry these 2 brothers that are section hiking come over to where we are gathered around the fire and begin offering us all food. (Apparently they packed way to much for a 3 day hiking trip.) They offered us gummi bears, poptarts, oatmeal and granola bars. Me and the other hikers quickly take them up on there offering and before you know it all the food they offered is gone. The 2 brothers laughed and commented on how we ate the food like we hadn't had a meal in weeks... which is funny because most of us had over a 1000 calorie meal no more than 30 min before hand.I only have 8 miles to go in the Smokies so I will be leaving the park tomorrow. First stop will be Mountain Momma's, which is a restaurant, store and hostel all in one. My Uncle Tom told me to have a Mountain Momma Cheese Burger on him, so as soon as this is posted I expect cash to be in the mail. (Just Kidding) I am also picking up a mail drop there... I think I am mainly just getting new maps, but who knows what else my mom may have sent me.