Date: 2006-03-26
From: The Hike Inn

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: broken clouds

3-26-06The Hike Inn to Spence Field Shelter16.4 milesOperation "Smoke the Smokies"DAY 1 - I FINALLY got to hike today. Woke up, got that final hot shower in, and sucked down half a pot of black coffee. I went over to the house to get my 12 oz. of denatured alcohol and call my mom to schedule my next food drop. Just before we left John (Billy John Bob) and I remembered to fill out our backcountry permits. Apparently it¢s a $5000 fine if you don't have them.We piled into the truck and were on our way by 8:00AM, with Jeff at the wheel. Arrived at the dam and exited the vehicles, saying our goodbyes as Jeff pulled away. Hanging around the dam was a fellow named Dean, and he started talking to us about the trail. All the sudden, he has got us in a circle and he is saying a prayer for us. I'm not a Christian, but I always appreciate a prayer, and it seemed appropriate to me to have one said just before I started what might be the hardest 100-miles on the AT.Back on the trail, there were plenty of people around, but it wasn't the same with Uncle John. You can fall into the habit of taking a hiking partner and his companionship for granted while he is around, but it wasn't the same without Uncle John. All the other people on the trail were fellow thru-hikers, but friendly strangers, while Uncle John was family, I've know him for years. It will be a mental challenge to get used to this loneliness, but then again I will see Shanae in five more days.Operation "Smoke the Smokies" is going pretty well so far, the first big 10 mile uphill was not so bad, and I ran into Holly and her mom, hiked with John a bit, and then ran into a whole group of thruhikers/ section hikers: Freefall, Able Jack, Amelia, Jessica, Rat Puke, Chainsaw, and various other people.Weather was pretty decent, some flurries here and there, but definitely warmer than the past couple of days.I arrived at the shelter a little after four and already there were a few people there. Two guys on spring break from a high school in Indiana, along with Red Dog ("the Quiet One"), and another woman. John and I claimed our spots before everyone else got there. The rest soon followed and before you knew it the entire shelter was filled with smelly hikers. I thought it was some sort of cruel hiker joke when the two high school kids tool out of their backpacks two hens marinated in Italian dressing in zip lock bags, put them on a stick, and proceeded to roast their juicy tender chickeness over the fire! I just sat there and watched the fat dripping off of them and sizzling into the licking flames. It was too much for me to handle so I went outside to make my own dinner gruel: TVP stew. I was starving; the curse of hiker's hunger, and was glad to see the new alcohol stove worked like a charm.Hung around the fire for awhile with everybody and crawled into my sleeping bag to write. I overheard Freefall talking about alternative 9/11 theories and his prediction that we won't have another presidential election because a disaster will happen right around the time of the election. Pretty interesting stuff. But I have got to crawl into my sleeping bag now- it's pretty damn cold in here. Day 1 complete. Under 2000 miles to go.