Date: 2005-03-28
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: light snow

Night brought a nice storm, as seems to be the pattern lately. Mostly wind and sleet from the sounds of it. It let up around 5 a.m. but fired up again around 7 a.m. Snow. Big, fat flakes. I was nice and warm in my bag and in no hurry to put the wet clothes on and go slog through the slush. The banjo boys all had Gatlinburg on the brain. I had no plans for stopping, so I tried not to listen. Made it up and out around 10 a.m. Late start for a long day. Walked the half mile back up to the AT (not included in the total) and found the trail to be more passable than the night before. The snow and sleet stuck to the ice rink and made a tacky surface easier for shoes to grip. Snow and ice were melting somewhere; seemingly all the way down to Newfound Gap, I was walking through a lake. Hey maintainers, two words: Diversion Bars. Made it down to Newfound Gap and the snow was coming in sideways. Stopped to fill water vessels at the bathroom house (warmest place I've been in three days) and fielded lots of questions from day trippers at the gap. It was crawling with people BTW, and clearly I did not look like I belonged with the rest of them. Amusing and sad all at the same time. Got cold so it was off up the hill with me. Eventually made it to the top. All along the way snow was piling up on the firs that lined the trail. I was aiming for the Icewater Spring shelter for lunch. I was a little later stopping today than I usually am, and I felt it. I was all kinds of out of gas. After I ate though, I was like Popeye when he takes a hit of the spinach. The terrain was pretty even and I was a trail rocket. No views except for cloud, so nothing slowed me up save a few icy stretches. Knocked out 8 miles in 3 hours. Along the way, I apparently passed through Porter's Gap. No sign, no pictures. I hit the half mile side trail down to the shelter and found Red Rover holed up. No fence on this one (recently renovated) and a sign warning us about da Bears. Spent 15 minutes trying to find the water source. As I was cooking, a few more showed up. Tank, Eric, and about 4 spring breakers. Plenty of room for all, but I'm on the top shelf, so I hope the roof don't leak.In other news, I suffered, or should I say my shoe suffered a blow-out. Side of the shoe around the ball of my foot finally ripped out. I say finally because there have been two holes slowly wearing and growing over the past week or so. Should they ever dry out, I'll put the old saying that "Duct tape fixes everything" to the test. The two smaller holes are now a huge, gaping one. It just ain't cool. Hot Springs (4-5 days away) supposedly has an outfitter. Looks like they'll be selling me a pair of shoes when I pass through. Even though my feet have been wet for two days, my feet have finally reached a happy state. It's much easier to hike when I'm not gimping because of blisters and what not. I'll probably try and snag the same type shoe I'm in now and hope they last more than 200 miles.Just a side note, I would definitely come back and hike this section of trail again. It looks like there might have been some great views along the way and walking through the evergreens was a nice change. It goes without saying I would pick a sunny, spring day...