Date: 2004-10-27
To: Colder than a witch's... well, you get the point
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up early that morning, ate breakfast at a horrible diner that cost an arm and a leg, sent off some mail, and hitched a ride back to Newfound Gap. Now, the night before I had watched the weather channel, which said that for the next five or six days it was going to be in the sixties. So, being the naive fellow I am I believed them and mailed some of my cold weather gear (including sleeping bag liner) back to Boone so I could carry a little less weight. Felt right at the time, it was getting pretty warm in Gatlinburg, and the day had barley started. Funny thing is though, when I got to the Gap it was about 40 degrees and the winds were blowing well over 20 mph or so. FREEZING!! Nothing to do except start hiking. It was sunny and beautiful as I hiked through some great rocky areas, taking my time. The Trail eventually entered a pine forest that was hard to find blazes on. I took a break at a sign pointing the way to Icewater Spring shelter, and started hiking up the mountain. About five minutes into the climb I met another hiker coming down who said I was heading the wrong way. He was up for a reunion with some hiker friends of previous years and had already met Johnny Flash, who had hiked 5 miles up Mt. Leconte, where the Trail does not go. Thanks be to God for putting that hiker in my path, who knows how far out of the way I would of gone if I hadn't seen him.    Back on the AT again I was hiking at what I thought was a fairly fast pace when from behind a snow ball hit me. Here comes Johnny Flash, practically jogging on sheets of ice that I had trouble standing on. He wanted to make another 20 miles that day so he sped ahead. (That means almost 30 total in a day in the snow/ice!!) The rest of the day was spent hiking constantly to keep warm, not even having time to stop to go to the bathroom without getting very, very cold. It was so cold, my peanut butter and honey for lunch sandwiches froze solid.    I got down to Tri-Corner Knob Shelter right as it was getting dark and some section hikers were leaving. All that was left was a father and son team of section hikers. I ate a quick supper that froze halfway through eating, and then the three of us worked to get a fire started and get some warmth in the shelter. The shelters in the Smokies almost all have bear fences across the front, and we covered this with our tarps to stop the air flow and keep some warmth in. The father wanted to prove to the son that he could start a fire and so wouldn't let me help. Trouble was, he wasn't very good at starting fires. In the end he put his whisperlight stove under the wood to get it started (dangerous?!?!) That night the temperature got down to well below 10 degrees, and me with a sleeping bag that goes to 25 without the liner. I curled up in a ball so small I actually fit myself inside my tiny fleece jacket, and still froze. I snowed during the night, putting another two inches on a ground that was already covered in ice. Starting out at well over 5000 feet the first ten miles of the hike went slowly, every step carefully taken, slipping meant sliding hundreds of feet down the side of the mountain until a tree or other object stopped me. Coming out of the Smokies you dropped to around 1500 feet in just a few miles. The weather change was enormous. One mile I was wearing almost all my clothes in windy winter weather, and the next I was crossing under I40 with nothing but shorts on. That night I stayed at Standing Bear Hostel, a farm converted to service hikers. Tennessee Jack, Happy Feet, Johnny Flash, and Sylvan Poet were there. We ate supper 4 times, buying burgers, pizza, snacks, noodles. Finally ended up sitting around a recently installed woodstove talking and generally having a blast together. The outdoor shower was incredibly hot and cold at the same time but was invigorating. Next time Max Patch and Hot Springs!!