Date: 2005-05-29
From: Fontana Dam

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up very early ( still dark ) this fine Sunday morning, the 29th of May, to drive from the ' Hike Inn ' where I spent the night after doing the 15.4 mile makeup hike from Stecoah Gap to Fontana Dam. Got the car loaded and started down the road just as it was getting light. Again, it was cool and overcast, which is how I like it when I hike. Not much traffic this early in the morning so I expected to make good time from the Hike Inn ( just a few miles south of Fontana Dam ), around the south side of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, thru the town of Cherokee and half way back thru the park up to Newfound Gap.   As I got to Newfound Gap only 1 1/2 hours later, the parking lot was still mostly empty. It would be much different when I got back there after my hike in the afternoon I was sure. After all, this is Memorial Day weekend ! I got organized and started walking up to the road that goes to Clingmans Dome from Newfound Gap at about 7:15am. I was thinking that I would be able to hitch a ride pretty easy and be ' on trail ' by about 8am. Well, that plan failed miserably. No body even slowed down to look me over, much less indicate they would pick me up. Now I do admit that I may look somewhat like an undesireable character walking along the side of the road early in the morning, and that being alone was something not in my favor. If I had a nice looking female walking with me I'm sure a ride would have been offered right away !! Anyway, my hitching plan failed , so 3 hours and 7.1 miles later I walked into the parking lot up at Clingmans Dome somewhat out of breath and with only half the water left that I had planned on having to start the hike.Glad I brought my water filter !! After taking a good long break to readjust my shoes, eat a snack and watch all the foriegn tourists walk around, I headed up the half mile long path to the Dome and to where I would get back on the AT to start down to Newfound Gap. It was slow going that half mile up to the Dome trying to negotiate around little kids, old grandparents, strollers, picture takers and gawkers. All of whom had passed by me on the road without even slowing down. It was a great refief to get back on trail and within just a few minutes to leave the mass confusion and chaos behind. I really treasure the simple quietness of the trail with only natures sounds to sooth the soul. So as my blood pressure returned to normal, I got back into the easy breathing and relaxing rhythm of hiking. This section of trail starts out pretty rocky with tricky footing so I was careful where I stepped. After a couple miles the trail conditions smoothed out pretty well and the hiking easier. I didn't see much in the way of flowers or other interesting things to take pictures of on this section, probably because of the altitude. Anyway, the hike down to Newfound Gap was fairly uneventfull other than passing a very large group of oriental folks going the opposite direction ( about 50 of them all in a row ) who had been dropped off by a tour bus and were hiking up to Clingmans Dome. Most of the way down, the trail parralels the road up to the Dome, so you could hear all of the cars and motorcycles going up and down the road. I mostly was able to ' tune it out ', but sometimes it was really loud. Especially the motorcycles. Don't think they realize just how obnoxious they are to other people.....especially in that type of setting. But I survived and made it down to the Newfound Gap parking lot by about 2:30pm. IT WAS A FRICKEN ZOO THERE !!! People, cars, motorcycles everywhere. All of the parking spaces where full so folks were parking on any spot of ground they could find. People just shoulder to shoulder all around the whole parking lot. It seemed like downtown New York City !! Why no one got run over I cannot begin to tell you. I elbowed my way thru the croud, found my car, loaded up my stuff and got the heck out of there......although very slowly, as it was bumper to bumper back down the 19 mile long road out of the park and thru the town of Cherokee. I was very glad to get my make-up section done and equally as happy to get out of the chaos of the park and start back towards Indiana and home. I am really looking foreward to getting back on trail again in October when it cools down and hiking for a couple more months. Every one told me that long distant hiking changes a person but you can't really relate how, until you actually do it yourself. Then you get that ' far away ' look in your eyes and tune everything else out, every time you think about the experience of being on the trail. My two little make-up hikes this weekend were a nice reminder of just how much I have changed and miss being ' on trail '.