Date: 2010-04-04
From: Mount Collins

To: Leconte Lodge
Miles today: 7.8

Friar Tuck and I got up at 6:30, packed and were across the street from the motel at the trolley stop by 8:05 AM. .The trolley came about 8:30 and took us down to traffic light #3. We waited for about an hour for the National Park Service shuttle and I ate crackers and Boursin cheese and some pineapple and cantaloupe I bought yesterday. I read the novel I have been carrying and tried to finish it so I wouldn¢t have to pack it any further. I only had a small piece of it left because I have been ripping it apart and disposing of what I have read as I go.The shuttle left at 9:30 but it went to Pigeon Forge and the Sugar Lands Visitor center before heading to Newfound Gap. We got to the gap about 10:30 and hit the trail by 11:15. I ran into Seminole¢s husband who is out here supporting her hike, I¢ve never met Seminole but I had met her husband once before at the trail magic put on by Grits at Gunningtown Gap. She was behind Friar Tuck and I that day and now she is ahead of us.There was still a lot of snow on the trail coming out of Newfound Gap but it was pretty packed down. There were lots of day hiker¢s out enjoying the beautiful sunny weather.Red Hat and On the Loose passed us on the way up. After we went by what we thought was the turn-off to Ice Spring Shelter we hiked about 2 hours before we realized we must have missed the turn off to Charlie¢s Bunion. The trail was beautiful, along the ridge passing through the fir forest. It was perfect weather and shortly past the shelter sign it became clear of snow.We stopped and took a 25 minute break, boot off. I ate a packet of prepared tuna salad and crackers. It tasted awesome and I could have eaten three more. The hiker hunger has kicked in. I can eat and eat without feeling over full. I¢m not sure what it would take for me to feel like I have eaten too much.Shortly after the break the trail became snow covered. Shortly after that it became truly scary. We were out on the edge of a very high, very steep ridge. There were places where there were no trees below us ¢ just a very steep slope covered with snow. We were following footsteps along a ridge of snow. One missed step and there was nothing but a steep slide down.We walked along the side of that mountain, in the snow heading up for about two hours. I fell once, luckily at a spot that was more protected by trees on the downward side. I had to take the pack off to get up and it was tricky to get it back on. I was o.k., but I was shaken. I had a brief moment where I wanted to cry, but I pulled myself together. I wanted off that ridge, but I knew I had to take it one careful step at a time, watching my footing and not looking at or thinking about what lay ahead.I was tired and scared and I thought ¢I don¢t want to die on this mountain.¢ We passed an area that was clear of snow, but where the side of the mountain had slid down, exposing rock that was layered and crumbly and looked like slate. There was a cable affixed to the rock to hold onto. I said to Friar Tuck, ¢I don¢t remember this. How could I have forgotten this? Maybe the side of this mountain slid down since I was here three years ago.¢ He said, ¢You didn¢t tell me about this! I didn¢t know hiking the Appalachian Trail was going to be like this!¢ Mimicking what we had heard people say early on in the trip.After that, we continued our ascent through the snow. At about 7:00 PM we still weren¢t at the top and I said to Friar Tuck that we had to get up over this mountain before we lost daylight. Finally the trail switched back up off the ridge and at about 7:15 we came to a sign that said we were only 7.3 miles from Newfound Gap. I thought we had made better time that that. The sign said it was .07 miles to LeConte Lodge and Friar Tuck said, ¢Let¢s go there.¢ I headed on and he said, ¢Wait a minute Tango, this says 4.6 miles to the Appalachian Trail. Are we off the Appalachian Trail?¢ I went back and looked and sure enough we had taken the Boulevard Trail.On the way to the lodge we passed a shelter but decided to go on to the lodge, thinking there might be a road up to it where we could get a shuttle out. (There wasn¢t.) Neither of us wanted to go back the way we had come. We got to the lodge and found out we had lucked out. There was one empty cabin. We were served a late supper and shown to our cabin.Breakfast is served at 8:AM tomorrow and then we will probably head back down the Alum Cave Trail to the road and try to get a ride back to Newfound Gap to try again.There is slight embarrassment at the bone-headed mistake we made today but much amusement also. Both Friar Tuck and I enjoyed our beautiful hike today, we are grateful to be here safely, and we were overjoyed to be able to stay at La Conte Lodge, a place we probably would never have seen if fate hadn¢t brought us here. Altogether very magical days on the trail¢¦oops make that off the trail.