Date: 2006-04-09
From: Fontana Vistitor's Center, NC

To: Derrick Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: clear sky

I slept good last night at Fontana Village. I wanted to make sure I had the breakfast buffet before I left, so it made for a late start. I was up at about 6am and was out in the lobby waiting for the restaurant to open at 7:30. Shortcut and I took the bags out to her car and the guy parked next to us was scraping ice off his windshield. I got real lucky and picked a great day to restart my hike. :-)) I heard the weather is suppose to be nice for me all the way through the Smokies. I had a feeling it was going to take a while for breakfast and I really wasn't in too much of a hurry, so we just waited until they opened at about 7:45. Shortcut and I sat down and Ol' Drum and Melanoma joined us. Bama stopped by and chatted for a while, but her husband was here, so she was taking a zero. I ate a good breakfast...lots of bacon and scrambled eggs and biscuits...oh yeah, and coffee. :-))) I went to the office and checked out, then stopped by the kiosk and filled out my Smoky Mountain hiking permit. I had gone out last night and walked from the Visitor's Center to where the trail heads up into the Smokies, just to save a mile of walking this morning. I actually walked two miles last night to save the mile today because we had to walk out and back to the car. I also stopped by the shelter and said hello to the hikers that were there, but couldn't sign the register because it was full. I saw Hippie's truck parked near there and wanted to leave her a little memento (he, he), but didn't have anything with me. Shortcut dropped me off at the trailhead at 9:20am and I started climbing the hill. That felt great, although I wasn't sure how I would do since I've sat in a recliner for about a month. A few of my friends that used to hike sit in their recliners now....you know who you are. ;-))) I said goodbye to Shortcut. I don't know how I can thank her enough for helping me out this last month. She was a big help and kept me fed nicely. Ha!!! I ran into Low Gear just as I started my climb, then in a little while, I ran into Red Baron and walked with him until he took his next break. I could sure tell that I haven't done much lately because the hill seemed more like a mountain today. I kept walking and pacing myself so I didn't have to stop. I soon ran into Josh, then Red Beard and Hiking Mike who were taking a break. I walked around a corner of the hill about an hour after I started climbing and could see Shuckstack Firetower off to my left. I still had a ways to go to get to it. I kept walking within my breathing pattern and really enjoying the beautiful day. The sky was clear blue and there were even lots of little white flowers all over the place. I think they are called white beauties. I walked by the tower without stopping, then walked by Birch Springs tentsite without stopping. My body was starting to wonder when we were going to stop. It was saying to me; "Oh no, what have you got in mind this time." :-))) I kept walking and saw a guy sitting on a log resting in the sun. It was Tybee Pete. We talked a short while before I walked on. I ran into Greybeard the ridgerunner who I had met here a couple years ago, then Creaky Bones who said she had read some of my journal before...thanks!! I stopped to sign the register at Mollies Ridge Shelter and saw a guy I knew who thru hiked in '04 by the name of Flippy. He was there with his girlfriend, Outlaw.They were just going to Clingman's Dome, so their walk was almost over. I stopped by Russell Field Shelter next to sign the register, but there wasn't one.This is one of the shelters that has fencing up on it to keep the bears out.I walked down to the spring and got water and drank a litre of Gatorade before walking on. I scared up a turkey not long after I left the shelter and he flew away. That was nice because I haven't seen much in the way of wildlife out here yet. I was walking along at a slow pace and Identity Crisis passed by me and turned off to stay the night at Spence Field Shelter.I kept on walking because I still had enough day left to get to the next shelter. I got to the top of Rocky Top Mountain at over a mile high and could look back and see the last shelter about a mile away and way off in the distance I could see Shuckstack Tower where I had been this morning.That's always nice because you can see that you've walked a ways through the mountains when you can see where you've been. I almost stopped to eat an early dinner, but decided to eat on top of Thunderhead. When I got there, I kept walking because there was a couple guys talking on cell phones. I got to the shelter I was going to tent near and set up my tent.A guy came out to see who I was and when I told him my name, Cheeswhiz stuck his head out of his tent to say hello. I met him at the PA Ruck earlier this year. I went in to sign the register and FDR, Keystone Mike and 4 deaf hikers that I did some trail magic for a few weeks ago were there. I was chilling down and wanted to write my journal entry, so I headed off to my tent. That's when I noticed my arm more.I do OK walking, but I have a little trouble getting my pack on. I am working on stretching my arm so I can reach my water bottle, but that takes a lot of work.I have to keep the sternum strap hooked up, which I normally never have attached. That keeps my pack strap off my shoulder.I'm using my poles better than I did last week. I had the biggest trouble when I went to get in my tent. That was a lot harder.I finally got in the sleeping bag, but I was to tired and cold to journal. I usually lay on my stomach in my sleeping bag and prop myself up on my elbows to type with the pocketmail and write my journal each night. Well, That didn't work. I just gave up and tried going to sleep. I tossed and turned and couldn't get comfortable. I went to bed about 8pm and by 10:30pm, I was still trying to find a position I could lay in.I was getting worried that I wasn't going to get any sleep and I knew I needed it.The next time I looked at my watch, it was 4:30am...thank goodness, I slept well once I got to sleep. My mind had a fantastic day, but my body rebelled just a little. It wanted to get back in the recliner, but I'm not going to let it. :-))) John Galt, a friend from my '03 sobo hike has a contest he's in with some other teachers at the school he works at.You can form groups of 4 people to wear a pedometer to see which group can get in the most miles. I'm supposed to be his "ace in the hole". Ha!!! :-))) Well, I picked up the pedometer that he shipped to NOC and have been wearing it for about a week. I can't keep the totals written out here on the trail, so I'm going to post them on each day's journal for the time being. Hey John Galt, you'll have to take the numbers from here for the ones up to today, then off each journal entry after today. The winners get a day at a spa...I could sure use that!! :-))) 3-30-06 46,734 foot steps3-31-06 43,065 foot steps4-1-06   7,716 foot steps4-2-06   3,923 foot steps4-3-06   1,886 foot steps4-4-06   3,264 foot steps4-5-06   5,586 foot steps4-6-06   2,860 foot steps4-7-06   7,408 foot steps4-8-06   14,033 foot steps4-9-06   61,466 foot steps I wasn't sure how I'd like this, but the pedometer only counts footsteps, not mileage, so it's kind of interesting to see how many footsteps a thru hiker does in a day. No wonder we get skinny walking to Maine. :-)))