Date: 2011-04-29
To: Missing Flycatcher 
Miles today: 0.0

Greetings from Gatlinberg, Tennessee, one of the most touristy-towns I have ever seen. There's everything you could want here: a wax museum, a couple of Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not museums, a haunted house, putt-putt golf, fudge and candy shops, a sky tram...I could go on and on. It's tourist Utopia here!I took a zero day here in Gatlinburg because of the bad weather. I can't believe the weather I've encountered on this trip! I think I've seen just about everything except sweltering heat, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of that in the coming weeks or so. I have three more days left in the Smokies, then I get to reclaim my much-missed sidekick Flycatcher. The hiking just isn't the same without her. I really, really miss her! Her eagerness and enthusiasm are so heartening! You know, when I decided to undertake this adventure with her I wasn't sure what to expect. After all, at home this is a dog who goes from my bed to the couch to the chair to her crate at will. She doesn't run or play much at all. She's a pretty sedentary lapdog. When it's raining outside she doesn't want to go our. In fact, even when the rains stop, she doesn't want to walk in wet grass. Yet here she is, scrambling up and down mountains and through low-water crossings as if she were born to it. There's no hesitation whatsoever! Quite the contrary, she has an amazing eagerness for our adventure. When she sees me grab her backpack in the morning, she knows it's time to go, and she actually runs over to me and helps me to put her backpack on by sliding her head into it. She LOVES it! And her enthusiasm really charges my own battery. We're quite the team, she and I, and almost everyone we encounter on the trail is charmed by her. They're delighted by the fact that, despite her smallness, she is carrying her own pack with food and bowls. Speaking of Tessa carrying her own food: despite the fact that we've been on the trail for nearly a month, she still has much of the food she started out with. She's learned to play me and many of the other hikers. During the first couple of days she sort of turned her nose up at her dog food. I was worried about her caloric deficit because of how hard she'd been working for me, so I gave in and fed her some beef jerkey. Then it was my tuna. Then it was my dehydrated meals. Pretty soon she began to refuse dog food all together. Other hikers asked me "Can I give her some ________(Fill in the blank: Slim Jim, salami, cheese, etc.)" And she's learned, when I choose to make my camp near a shelter, that she can make the rounds and charm little tidbits out of the other hikers. She's also learned that, when she's tired, if I don't have my tent up yet, anyone else's tent will do. And during the times we slept in a shelter to get out of the weather, she has happily burrowed to the foot of one sleeping bag after anorther, sharing her warmth with the other hikers. She's very considerate that way, my girl.I'm behind again in my postings, as you can see. My computer batteries are both dead. They're supposed to last a couiple of hours each, but they don't. At any rate, I have a couple of older entries stuck on the computer until I am able to recharge the battery and get them posted, so you'll be seeing more from me in three days' time. I wish I could resolve this situation. Perhaps the newer battery will help. I have a new mental image for you. Imagine me, hiking up Clingman's Dome (the highest point on the Appalachian Trail), and singing aloud to Aerosmith's Dream on. My hiking poles, at one point, became a microphone. Then they became a keyboard. I looked around to make sure no one was around, then enjoyed being completely silly. Dream On. Great song. I sing aloud to myself a lot, and I'm always worried I'm going to get caught. I'm sure I look and sound like a complete idiot, or a lunatic. I'm afraid I'm going to have to admit that I also talk aloud to myself on occasion. When I remember to do so, I can sort of hide the fact that I'm talking to myself by using Tessa's name after every sentence. For instance: "God, that was a steep incline...Tessa.." "For Pete sake, will I ever reach the top of this mountain...Tessa?" "I'm getting hungry...Tessa." "God, that's so beautiful...Tessa." My shuttle back to the trail is here, so I'll close for now. I wish you all well, and I'll write again just as soon as I can. Thanks for your continued interest and well-wishes.