Date: 2012-03-27
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mt. Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

20 days on the trail, I think I can call myself a thru-hiker now.I woke up at 5:00 this morning and it was still very dark. I could see the stars shining through the skylights in the shelter so I laid there and watched them for a while. I went back to sleep and woke up again around 7:00. A bit of a late start for me today but everyone got up after me to I guess we all had a late start. Frenchy's exact phrase when he walked out of the shelter was "I must be up early since you're still here."I have been getting up later than I normally do, I think my body is wanting a lot more rest. I believe I was the 6th person to leave the shelter today despite being the first one up. It kind o took away some of my motivation to hike, but I had to go. I mean I'm out here to hike and I I've a group I'm loosely staying with so unless I wanted to separate and do my own thing (which at this point I didn't want to) I had to hit the trail and keep up. But man, did my pack feel heavy all day long.The first five miles today were uneventful and the trail was a bit monotonous. I was taking my time and lazily hiking up the hills. Though, I did end up passing Cosmic Jon, Hungry Bear and Amber Cat along the way. I made it to Siler's Bald Shelter and had a rest and ate some snacks. Blue, Maine-iac, and Phoenix all caught up with me there and moved on to catch some rays on the bald. I kept moving, heading for the next shelter 1.7 miles north.After Siler's Bald the forest seemed to transform itself. There were spruce trees everywhere and the whole place smelled like them. It was awesome. From Double Spring Gap Shelter (which had a privy!) we moved on towards Clingmans Dome.Clingmans Dome is the highest point on the AT and quite an accomplishment and milestone for any thru-hiker. The trail started out fairly easy but got progressively steeper the farther north we ventured. Somewhere along the way my legs just lost all of their energy and I became frustrated with myself. But the views were absolutely amazing the whole way. This side of the Smokies seemed to be made up entirely of spruces and hemlocks. It was a pleasant change of pace from the typical hardwood forests we hike in. Oh, and the smell! It smelled so nice all the way to Clingmans Dome.Unfortunately hiking the AT is not all fun and games. I was hot, sweaty, dehydrated, and my tank was on empty as I climbed so I was starting to get very grumpy and frustrated. Had I not been so driven to get to Clingmans I probably would have had enough mind to sit down, cool off, and relax a bit. But I just felt like I wanted to sit down and cry out of frustration. That's when I caught my first glimpse of Clingmans Dome and all at once the tears came flooding forward. These were tears of... Joy? The weren't tears of sadness. I was having a hard time seeing the trail as my eyes filled up and I'm pretty sure I had snot coming out of my nose. Any day hiker probably would have though I had gone crazy at the sight of me. I came to the sign that said "Clingmans Dome 0.3" and I broke out into a huge grin. I rushed to the top as fast as I could passing the tourists up the walkway even though I had a 30 lbs pack on. Or maybe my smell knocked them back. Either way, I met a bunch of other hikers at the top and celebrated my newly obtained milestone. I walked around, took some photos, and answered the same questions from the tourists:-Are you hiking?-Where did you start?-Where are you going to?-How long will that take?-Have you seen a bear?We were all treated like mini celebrities and it was cool. Though, everyone who talked to us kept their distance, probably because we smelled horrible. So many people were in awe. We tried our hand at yogi-ing - asking for something without actually asking for it- but it didn't work. No one wanted to give us any food even though "we are always hungry and never seem to carry enough food in out packs." Shucks.After Clingmans Dome it was a quick 3 miles downhill but then a mile or so uphill and my body just wouldn't have it. My stomach was empty but I was too hot to eat and my leg wouldn't go more than 20 steps before I needed a break. That's when my mood went south and stayed there for the rest of the evening.There's not much point in going into all the negative. Mainly, the emotions from today and the exhaustion caught up to me. I just tented away from the shelter and kept to myself for the rest of the night, I didn't want to be in a bad mood around everyone else and they all gave me my space. But by bedtime I had eaten food and had plenty of water and had taken a nap so I was feeling a bit better. I listened to some music from my phone as well.Tomorrow we will hit Gatlingburg and I have been fantasizing about a burrito and a large plate of nachos. I can't wait.