Date: 2016-06-07
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 27.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 3: Mt. Collins Shelter to Cosby Knob ShelterGPS MilesElev GainTrip MilesTrip GainDaily AvgAvg Gain27.85,76465.717,62121.95,874This was an easy and scenic day, with less than six thousand feet of elevation gain over the entire distance. The rocky horse trail right before Cosby Knob did get to me a bit, so I slowed down and only made about 2 mph between the junction with Snake Den Ridge and the shelter.I forgot to ditch my garbage at Newfound Gap, including those disgusting Wet Wipes that have to be packed out. Ooops. There is also no running water anymore at the gap. On my way towards the Boulevard Trail I ran into the Hiking Club for the Autistic, who were standing around talking about their personal lives and taking up the entire trail. I had to say excuse me several times and eventually just gently push between them to get them to move an inch in any direction. I should have put my hands on my head to expose my ripe armpits, but unfortunately the thought didn't occur to me until afterward. Hindsight is always 20/20.Besides the obvious Charlie's Bunion, which I skipped this time, having been there before, the highlights of this piece were the views from the trail near and on the Sawteeth. This is also the only real piece of trail that makes you think you're doing something mildly dangerous, since it slopes steeply down to (more or less) certain death on both sides. After the Sawteeth there are at least two more vistas overlooking the SE.The worst thing about this section was that there were about 7 miles between water sources, between the pipe just north of Icewater Spring and a tiny spring flowing from the rock near the Hughes Ridge Trail junction (Pecks Corner). There were some mossy rock drips along the way, but they were so slow that I think the water would evaporate before I was able to fill a bottle.I chased a bear off the trail a couple of miles before Cosby Knob Shelter. I also got 4G reception when I had line of sight to the town of Cosby, so I confirmed my reservation at Sunnybank Inn in Hot Springs. When I first made the reservation, the gentleman who answered the phone sounded very doubtful as to my itinerary and requested that I confirm 48 hrs ahead of time.There was an annoying rocky section after the Snake Den Ridge Trail at Inadu Knob, but overall the hike was so easy that I briefly entertained the thought of being able to avoid the shelter crowd by pushing on to Standing Bear and just taking a full zero tomorrow. Fortunately I wasn't stupid enough to actually try it, because during tomorrow's descent to Davenport Gap, the trail turned out to be not so nice near Mt. Cammerer.I rolled into another packed shelter with people talking loudly, snoring, and taking up all available space on the shelves and tables. I considered tenting but there weren't any good tent sites left and there was a lot of mud all around. Again, the more miles I do, the fewer people I prefer to be around, especially inconsiderate ones. The Smokies are crowded. It's not the thru-hikers who are the inconsiderate prima donnas, though.As majestic as the Smokies are, tomorrow I was glad to be done with my home turf and moving on to new vistas. The balance of the 900 miles I owe can be paid off on a series of long day hikes, or by sleeping at the numbered campsites.View Course in Garmin Connect