Date: 2007-04-11
From: Double Spring Gap Shelter

To: Collins Gap
Miles today: 5.2

April 11, Wind, Ice, Fog Before I reached the Smokies on the AT, I had visited them three times in my life. Each time had been different and all were awe inspiring. I remembered clean, beautiful woods abundant with unimaginable shades of green. I remembered warmth, good company, waterfalls. Life everywhere. Beauty...Today's bout has forever changed the way I will think about the Smokies. From now on, I will remember ice and 40 mile per hour winds. I will remember snow. Brown lifeless trees, but for the evergreens peppered along the trail that helped us stay vertical. I will remember cold and filling my cantene with snow because the guidebook seemed to mislead us about water. I will remember how the sound of a road gave us hope....I woke up at 7 a.m. and it was around 33 degrees in our tent. We had done it! We stayed warm each night in the Smokies (part one of the Smokies) and I hadn't even used hand/toe warmers last night! I got up right away and got after things. It had rained all night so that made everything even more fun.We packed up fast and even opted out of a hot breakfast so we could just get going...we had 10.8 miles planned to get us to our shuttle at Newfound Gap. It was cold, windy, and damp and hard to stay warm but all was well once we started moving.The trail started very nicely. It was actually a very enjoyable hike. We started going up Clingmans Dome almost immediately. The forest was totally different where we were. Full of evergreens, pine needles covering the floor. The smell was crisp and woodsy. Every now and again, we'd pass a patch of snow but we were mostly protected from the wind and stayed warm. I was even hiking without a hat.Then everything changed. We reached the top of Clingmans and, even though there was ZERO visibility, we decided to climb to the top of the observation tower. I was hesitant because of the harsh wind but we went up anyway. The tower is up a concrete ramp which was full of ice at the beginning. Toward the top, the wind really kicked in and I was ducked down for fear of blowing over the side. We got up to the top and the three of us crowded behind the large pole in the center to try and escape the wind. It was brutal. I felt like at any moment, I could get swept away into the air and wake up ... sorta like Dorothy in Wizard of Oz. We took really quick photos and then I crawled down the ramp as low as I could so the wind didn't steal me.At the bottom, I just wanted to get moving. The wind on the tower had stolen all of my body heat and I needed to steal it back. Eric was leading us and we were moving swiftly. And then, all of a sudden, the entire trail turned into a thick sea of ice. It looked like a joke actually.I started clinging to trees to help me keep my footing. I cut through trees off to the side if it meant avoiding a fall. It was solid ice - and we were going downhill! We probably could have sat down and slid downhill. I skirted the trail as best I could by hiking on the side, where the fresh snow would give me better traction. There were several near-falls. This carried on for about an hour. It was tiring mentally and physically.Shortly later, it started to rain and it was still windy. I knew we were expecting big rains and it was not warming up anytime soon. Then, I heard a beautiful sound. A road.We knew we still had several miles to go before Newfound Gap and we hadn't even had lunch yet. We were all too scared to stop for lunch because we knew we'd cool down so much. After we all agreed, we decided we'd try to hitch out right there. The weather was only getting worse, we were just getting tired, and it just made sense.Being a tourist road, we didn't get any bites. But, a ranger drove by and told us he could help us and he'd be back in a minute. We loaded the car up when he got back and he drove us to Cherokee.We had lunch in Cherokee at Paul's Diner as we waited for Jeff from the Hike Inn to shuttle us back to Eric's car in Fontana Dam. We were warm again! I had a delicious BBQ sandwich and onion rings (for some reason I am addicted to BBQ right now). For dessert, I had blackberry cobbler with hot tea. Mmm...town food.I know now that we were very wise to get out of the woods. My clothes were more wet than I thought they were, Michele could not get warm, and Eric was cold too.Anyway, we picked up Eric's car and started heading to Gatlinburg. Earlier, I had been swapping text messages with Gadget and Scribe and had told them when we were in Cherokee for lunch. Turns out they had driven to Cherokee and were wanting to visit. I let them know we were headed to Gatlinburg. After I hung up the phone, we all decided to just find a place in Cherokee to stay so we could visit with them. I called back and left them a message.We drove around Cherokee looking for a hotel deal and finally landed a win at the EconoLodge. Turns out Gadget and Scribe had driven to Gatlinburg to meet us but they would head back here.We just went to dinner with them and it was a fun reunion. I have missed their company on the trail. They are thinking about skipping ahead to where we are and I was trying hard to encourage that. I think they might do it! Scribe was so excited that she gave Certain and I each an emerald that she mined this week! Ha! We'll find out their final decision tomorrow.Well, I am so glad to be in a warm, dry place tonight. I feel so lucky to have been able to get out of that weather. I really think that was smart.I am exhausted after this day. Good night.- Sound of SportsCenter on the TeeVee, the heater blowing. Post Trail Thoughts:I will never forget the trail turning into a luge and having to grab little trees to hang onto along the way. Poor Eric didn't have trekking poles. And then we saw a snowman someone had built along the trail and I knew it was just silly to be out in that. If someone had tried to describe the scene to me, I never would have believed it. A solid sea of ice. I was too freaked out to take a picture at the time but really wish I had.