Date: 2008-04-14
From: Birch Springs Campsite

To: Spencer Field Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light snow

Today I write from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, home of the lovely Dolly Parton. Just a note that I will be filling in a lot of missing days when I have my first scheduled 0 mile day next week. Can't wait! Feel like I earned it. As of today I'm up to about 207 miles, which means tomorrow I'll be 1/10 of the way through... just do this 9 more times and I'll be in Maine.Actually it's quite miraculous that anyone every finishes with everything that can go wrong over 2,176 miles of hiking. Something as simple as blisters has been known to keep people from finishing. Then there are the hundreds of roots, rocks and streams that one passes on this trail on a daily basis that are just begging to trip any unsuspecting hiker. A simple trip can mean a broken rib, ankle, or anything else. I've heard all these stories so far and even gall bladder trouble that has sent folks home.I started hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains last Sunday 4/13. WE hiked 22 miles the day before in order to stay in the Fontana Dam Shelter and be able to get into town, do our stuff (pick up packages, laundry, showers) and still make some miles on Sunday. IN the Smokies you have to camp in or near a shelter because there are so many bears here. My guide book says that it's the biggest black bear habitat in the US with as many as 1,600 bears in the park. Then again, the other guide book says that there are 400-600 in the park. Either way I haven't seen any yet, but some of my friends have seen their foot prints in the snow.Ah, yes, snow. Those of you who know me well know that I don't operate optimally in the cold, much less the snow. Since we had so much to do on Sunday, we didn't hit the trail until 2 pm. The threat of snow in the late afternoon didn't dissuade us (us being me and Barefoot Sage) from starting since there were a dozen different reports all stating different things. We were hoping to go 11 miles to the first shelter but an hour and less than 2 miles into the grueling climb to Mollie's Ridge Shelter, the winds picked up, the temperature dropped, and flurries began coming down. We saw a sign that there was a camp ground only 4.7 miles into the Smokies so we set up camp there. I saw my very first wild hogs there! There was a family of 3 babies and 2 adults running amuck in a little valley near the campsite. It was very cool. The night was relatively uneventful, though cold. I was still surprised to wake up and see about 2 inches of snow on the ground. We started a fire to dry our sleeping bags out a bit and got a late start around 10. THe RIdge RUnner, aka park caretaker, caught us just before we were leaving and told us it was expected to go down to the teens that night and that higher elevations, where we were headed, was expect to get colder and up to 5 inches of snow. SO we climbed and climbed that day and it kept getting colder and colder and snowier and snowier. IT was actually pretty scary because the trail was hard to see and it was hard to know where to put your foot since we couldn't see anything beneath the snow. When we got to the shelter 11 miles away around 4:00, we were both freezing and soaked, but happy to see that 3 other fellows in the shelter already had a fire going. We immediately started getting changed into dry clothes, when I realized I really didn't have anything dry except for one t-shirt. It was probably around 28 degrees by that point, and then the fellows let us know that there was no more fire wood, and it was hard to find in the snow......So I took off all my wet clothes (and they were ALL soaked) and my shoes to try to dry them in what little fire was left and put on my last articles of dry clothing--a pair of socks, long john pants and a t-shirt. It was just about no use. A couple of us set out to futilely find fire wood. It was a comical image. I didn't want to put my soaked, and by that point literally freezing, shoes back on, so I threw some plastic shopping bags over my socks, put my crocs back on, and set out for wood. A word to the wise: if ever there is the threat of snow coming and you need fire wood, look for it BEFORE the snow starts coming down. It's really hard to find any under 5 inches of snow. If anyone was watching and conditions were less serious, they would have had a good laugh. I was slipping and sliding all over the place, then cursing to the gods in frustration. Meanwhile, back in the shelter, I set my shoes by the fire (at this point a few coals) to dry. At least I thought I did. Apparently I actually put one directly on a hot coal. Yup, almost burned a hole right through the the toe box of my shoe. Thank God BS saw it. I came back with some soaked logs, and soaked the last of my dry clothes. It was promising to be a long night.In the end, I actually slept really well. I'd recommend my sleeping back ot anyone... the REI SubKilo, a 15 degree bag that kept me warm in the single digits.The next day was quite the fiasco. I almost refused to move. It was still freezing, though the sun was coming up and making everything look beautiful, but I was warm in my little cacoon and the thought of moving made me grumpy. When I finally did decide to move, I found that my shoes had frozen solid and i couldn't even begin to get my feet in them. Thank God BS was there... she remained super positive and supportive and finally got my butt in gear after a whole bunch of coaxing. It ended up going into the 50's that day, which made for some difficult, though breathtaking beauty. The Smokeys really are gorgeous, and I'm looking forward to coming back and exploring other trails... when it's not snowing.The funny thing I'm noticing about the more trying days is that at night I have these intense dreams of being home. It's weird, but strangely satisfying and comforting.