Date: 2013-05-06
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Gatlinburg
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: light rain

Day 8: Derrick Knob to GatlinburgMy Crocs, my Crocs, a kingdom for my Crocs;¢Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you¢- Gatlinburg edition!Crazy start to the day, it rained hard all last night, but contrary to the prediction for more rain today, the storm seems to have blown through. It is actually almost sunny in a spot or two around the shelter. With so many people crowded into the shelter last night, I hurried to pack up and get out to make room for the others. In my haste I would forget something¢¦I thanked our Charlotte-based Angel Crew and headed outdoors. It was a relief to get out into fair weather. Even though the ground was still saturated and there were areas of thick mud to slow our progress, the sun did burn through and we were able to see partial views of the mountains around us. We did the usual ups and downs: 400¢ up, 425¢ down, another 790¢ up- all this in the first 5.5 miles; and then up some more until reaching our destination at Clingmans Dome. Motivated by the idea of a shower, clean clothes and a beer in Gatlinburg, Rider and I kept our stops short. We stopped at Siler Bald Shelter only to get a drink and then planned to move on to the next stop at Double Spring Shelter. While stopped at Siler shelter, Navigator and Coach caught up with us. We chatted a bit and then were off again. I first mentioned the Gatlinburg stay a few days ago but with no thought as to whether I¢d be making that stop on my own. Last night Rider said he was along for the ride and seemed happy enough to go into G-burg instead of hitting the next shelter. That was fine with me, he¢s been fun company and I¢m always a little hesitant about hitchhiking alone. We made it to Double Spring Shelter (the destination of my 16-mile hike that didn¢t occur yesterday) and found a nice group of folks there, out for a multi-day 50-something-mile hike. From Double Spring it was a thousand foot climb over a couple of miles. We were pretty high up already but now we were going to hike the highest section on the Appalachian Trail at 6,643¢. Because of the altitude and the weather, we were quite literally ¢in the clouds¢ a number of times. We wove in and out of hardwood and alpine forests sections of which smelled of freshly cut Christmas Trees. The air was cold with a near-visible moist chill which surrounded us as we hiked. We weaved in and out of hardwood and alpine forests and through open, semi-grassy ridgelines which provided good easterly views (of fog). Seriously there was a lot of fog! Mountain waves with fogProbably the best part of our hike today (besides getting a ride to G-burg) took place while we were hiking up Mount Buckley. There we watched the clouds and fog swell up and then recede down the mountains almost like an ocean wave. It was just wild. One minute everything was bright white or a hazy light grey and the next, it would clear out enough to see the mountains and the valleys they surrounded. I tried to video the ¢waves¢ but it was tough to do and nothing ever comes out in photos or videos the way the human eye sees it. This experience happened two or three times in about a half mile, we were so lucky to witness it after a number of days being socked in with fog. For his part, Rider was not impressed with Mt. Buckley and the climb to Clingmans Dome, complaining that the mountain was simply ¢not steep enough¢; that 1K of elevation change over a couple of miles ¢was not challenging¢. I told him if he kept it up I couldn¢t hike with him anymore! We arrived at Clingmans Dome to more fog and even chillier weather! It didn¢t seem like a good day for visitors but we did see about a half-dozen people up at the tower which is a short detour off the Appalachian Trail. We took our obligatory photos and even walked up the tower which really does look like a spaceship, especially surrounded by fog. We couldn¢t remain in the tower long due to the wind, cold and a near-total white-out that prohibited us from seeing the ¢spectacular view¢ described on the info-boards at cardinal points inside the tower. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. Heading to the parking area, we were most fortunate to hitch a ride from the third car that was headed down the mountain. We were picked up by two gentlemen from Texas that were staying in the area on vacation with their wives. We had a great time talking with them as they drove us down to our hotel. Thanks Mike & Ray from Houston!Fast forward to our evening: 1) I discover I left my Crocs at the shelter this morning. We go to a number of locations with outdoor shoes- no Crocs. I¢m forced into wearing my grubby boots. I curse my bad luck and consider having to wear boots the rest of my hike or paying $65 for sandles. 2) We go to the Smoky Mtn Brewery (my hotel choice was strategically close enough to crawl back to the room if required)- GREAT food, GREAT beer! Rider picks up the tab for dinner, thanks Rider! 3) My camera batteries just blow. One day of use and I start getting the ¢change battery¢ warning. While walking to the Smoky Mtn Brewery I notice a camera shop next door. After dinner, a wonderful husband and wife team take good care of me; charging my crappy battery, selling me a new battery and selling me the coolest little device I¢ve seen in a long time! This device, a PPUClip (by Lenmar), is a charger for batteries (cell phone, camera) and plugs into a hot USB connection to charge. It¢s tiny, lightweight (.4 oz or 11g), and genius for such a small item (See photo at bottom of page). It is not a fast charge, but it is a good one! Thanks you G-burg photography couple, you guys are awesome! 4) Laundry¢¦ Rider wanted to do it in the sink, I wanted a Laundromat, and he humored me¢¦there begins the story.Gatlinburg has a nice touristy section, our hotel was nice but it lacked laundry facilities. The lady at the front desk circled the location of a Laundromat which didn¢t look that far away. G-burg has a trolley system, stops are all over the place AND there was a stop not far from the Laundromat. Thing is we saw maybe 2 trolleys neither going our way. So we walked¢¦and walked¢¦ and soon were out of the tourist area. At some point we came to a police car and Rider decides to engage the advice of the local cops. The gentleman rolls down his window, and Rider mentions that we are AT hikers, then that we are looking for the Laundromat, to which the cop says: ¢well that¢s 3 more miles away still¢. Then Rider does what I would never do as I operate under the general principle of ¢It is better to ask forgiveness than permission¢. He asks the cop if ¢it¢s legal to hitchhike.¢ Now what do you think the answer was?! The cop rolls up his window and continues doing whatever it was he was doing before the exchange. I give Bill a little hell. We start walking again. A minute or two later we come to another intersection; an older vehicle with a young looking man inside stops to make a left turn. I step into the intersection and look really confused (at least I think that¢s what I looked like), the gentleman rolls down his window and says: ¢Can I help you, miss?¢ His name was Trey and he was a veteran, an 11B (infantry), retired and now a state-at-home dad (how cool). Trey gave us a ride and took my number so he could text me the number of his next door neighbor who ran a fairly-priced cab service and could take us back up the mountain tomorrow morning. Sweet! Thanks Trey! Fast forward again, it is 9:30 PM, we are finishing up our laundry and headed out to the road where the trolley stop is located. The Laundromat is in a little strip mall with Radio Shack, a Package Store, a Dollar General and a McDonald¢s across the parking lot. I had been told by the Dollar General people that there was a trolley that came around 10 PM. It would be a wait and late night. Rider decides he¢s going to try to hitch. Hitch in near darkness, in a strange town, in a town in which he already engaged the local police in a discussion of the legalities of doing so. I was decidedly uneasy. I kept saying: ¢You are going to get busted.¢ Rider: ¢No, I¢m not.¢ About 5 minutes after this exchange an SUV comes by, a marked police car. ¢Oh he¢s just pulling into McDonalds¢, Rider says. The car pulls around behind where we are standing. The lights go on. ¢Nice¢, I say. To his credit, and maybe because he had shaved earlier, Rider talked his way out of a ticket and the policeman went into McDonalds. ¢I figure another 20 minutes for the Trolley¢, I said. Maybe 10 minutes later, the policeman comes back from McDonalds and pulls around in back of us again. This time he motions for me to come over: ¢How much shit do you guys have with you?¢ I raise my little bag of laundry. He tells me to get Rider and get in the car; he will take us back to the hotel. And he did. ? On the way there, we found out that he was a lifelong resident of Gatlinburg with the exception of the time he was in the Marines. He had been to Vietnam. He talked all about how G-burg had changed. He told us he was not just a cop (about to retire shortly) but a reverend as well so as we exited the car at the hotel, we asked him to pray for us and for good weather. He said he could guarantee we ¢would have weather¢! Thanks, Officer for really underscoring the SERVE in the serve and protect! As we walked into the hotel lobby, the lady at the front desk said: ¢Well now that¢s unusual, we don¢t normally see people escorted by the police without handcuffs¢.It was a great night, quite the adventure, even off the Appalachian Trail! It was a wonderful day all the way around, except for losing my Crocs and being somewhere that didn¢t sell any! Oh well, ¢into each life, a little rain must fall¢--though honestly, Mr. Longfellow I¢ve had enough damn rain!Day 8- HighlightsGoodnight from Gatlinburg, in a dry location, with dry clothes and no handcuffs!More photos for day 8 of the trip can be seen at: 2000Miler_Day8