Date: 2014-04-02
To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: few clouds

Oh boy. It gets harder and harder to keep up with this! I'm trying...So I left off at the Smokies. Since then much has happened. I am nearing the 500 mile mark! But before I get ahead of myself I will get you all up to speed (up til the 2nd of April for now).Stayed in my first hostel after leaving the Smokies. They had "do-it-yourself" laundry, which made for an interesting experience, but I really loved it. I did "work for stay" too which was pretty cool, planted some irises.Had a RIDICULOUS time going up over Max Patch the next day. It started out fine, a winter mix was predicted but I thought it was done doing whatever it was going to do when I got up and there was snow on the ground. As I hiked it began to snow some more, but I didn't think much of it. There is a picture of me (very unsuspecting) with some goodies from my friends Heather (Wooden Spoon) and Tori (T-Suds) who were kind enough to meet me at a gap that day.They left some cherry coke for trail magic, but I bet it wasn't found until a couple of days later for being buried in snow. I told them I would take a picture on Max Patch, a favorite spot of Heather's...As I continued hiking it got worse and worse. I began to wonder if I was just following lost footprints into the woods, because you could not see the trail anymore and most if the white blazes were covered up too. I was caught up by Extra Credit who had never experienced snow before. Pretty amusing, considering what happened next.We both caught up to my friend Laughs A Lot right before Max Patch and he said he'd been waiting because he thought we ought to cross the bald together. Just as he said that there was a gust of wind and snow and he was gone! It was that thick.We huddled together and started to make our way across. We were pushing through waist deep snow and straining against winds that must have been over 50 miles per hour. It was pretty nuts. Lucky there were posts with white blazes or we would have had no indication of where to go. Even then we couldn't see one post from the other. One of us would scout for the next post and holler, then we'd all shuffle over.When we reached tree cover there was much rejoicing. Extra Credit asked if it was "normal" to not be able to feel your fingers. My dreads were frozen across the top of my head. So we all hustled to get to the shelter and warm up.The next day we did 18 miles to get to Hot Springs. Motivated by the 12oz cheese burger awaiting us at the Smokey Mountain Diner.I have NEVER experienced SNOW like that. I was a blizzard. I am pretty sure it met all the criteria. Max Patch was Everest for a day.I have a few pictures (which don't do the experience justice at all), but they are on my camera and for now I can't upload them to the internet. I'll share later.Hot Springs was lovely! I took a zero there and hung out with Queen Diva at the Hiker Ministry. Awesome lady! New friend. A couple at the diner paid for my breakfast and told me to pay it forward. You bet I did! That is, I try to every day. This trail magic thing is really, well... Magical.I'll tell you what else was magical. A private bath in the hot springs. So nice! And good for the poison ivy which I discovered I had on my ear and hands (all cleared up now).I was lucky, because I zeroed on a Thursday and was able to go to the community/hiker potluck! It was so great. Live music and good company.The next day I had a hard time leaving that town. On the way out I got a milk shake from Sunny and a grilled cheeseburger (cheeseburger with grilled cheese sandwiches for buns!). I didn't start hiking until after 2:30pm.The next day it POURED RAIN! I was ringing out my clothes that night and we woke up to six inches of snow the next morning. I can't even begin to describe how uncomfortable it was to put my frozen hiking clothes back on, but I did it! And plodded through snow and mud for the next few days, which was really exhausting! But I got to see what Max Patch might have looked like on a clear day when I got to Big Bald.Started to feel my trail family form on the way to Erwin, TN. Hiked with Canary, Joules, Fun Size, Sun Bear, etc. with the occasional hiker's midnight appearance from Midnight Sparkle (I'm leaving folks out I know, but this was just the section between Hot Springs and Erwin).When I got to Erwin my friend Hopeful drove all the way from Hot Springs (about an hour) where he was visiting to pick me up and take me back to be treated to dinner and lodging in Hot Springs once more! I had great fellowship with Hopeful, Queen Diva and Sunny that night. And an almond joy milkshake that was to die for! I think I will definitely be visiting Hot Springs again. I hope to somehow give back to that community, since I was given so much while I was there.The next day Hopeful drove me back to Erwin and I hiked with Fun Size up to where Fresh Ground was camped. That guy not only had tons of food for us (as per usual), but he had a movie for us to watch on his laptop (dinner and a show!). Pray for Fresh Ground. He has been such a blessing to hikers and he's struck some bad luck lately. Hope he knows he's appreciated for what he does!They were doing controlled burns on the mountain that day. There was a section of the AT that passed through it. So now I can say that while I have had many SUNNY days, I have not only walked through a BLIZZARD and pouring RAIN, but I have walked through FIRE!You could see the fires glowing on the horizon that night. It was surreal, but that really happened,One Day