Date: 2003-05-06
From: Spence Field Shelter

To: Silers Bald Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: heavy intensity rain

We woke up today to....more RAIN! What a surprise. We packed up, and begrudgingly hiked out into the rain. It was relentless, and cold. Rocky Top came first..and we all stopped to get pictures taken on the summit. There was no view whatsoever, but we were determined to have a picture of each of us. Thunderhead came next...and what do you know; we had thunder up there! On the way down from the big climbs of the day, a guy came sprinting down, through the path (that had now become a white water rapid down the mountain), said a quick hello, and passed on by. 'What a crazy guy,' I thought, 'running out here in this mess.' Of course, a few seconds later, I realized that we were just as crazy, walking out in this mess. We later learned this guy was running the entire trail. That's a challenge that I do not wish to partake in.We stopped by Derrick Knob Shelter to grab a quick bite for lunch, and ran into Tito, Cardinal, Nova, and her dog, Bosco. They had decided to take a zero for the day, and were playing cards. We sat there, just looking at them for a few moments, envying them with their warm, dry clothing...but then realized that it was time to move on. It was cold, and only getting colder with the idle time we were spending there. Once we finished with lunch (Magic Rat, once again, wasn't hungry, and took off before Moss and I), we headed out. My body was cold; my feet were cold; everything was cold. Usually, when you start moving, you warm up a bit...but it was not so this time. I was NOT warming up, regardless of how fast I hiked. Then, when I thought I was just going to go numb, the rain subsided, and the sun came out! I stopped, dropped my pack, and just sat in the sun for a little while. It felt nice! It was still cold, though, and so I got back up, and headed on. I made it to Silers Bald Shelter; last of the group. We were originally planning on making it to Double Spring Gap Shelter, but after reading that 2 hikers had been killed when a bolt of lightening struck the shelter a few years back, we changed our mind. Moss and Magic Rat were there, as were 2 weekend hikers; a father and son. They had made a little too much food, and offered some leftovers to us. I took them up on their offer. We all sat down and started talking a little bit...and I think we had gotten a bit delirious and/or hypothermic during our walk that day, as we would giggle about everything. The father and son asked us about the food we carried; we thought it was funny. Someone mentioned the rain, and it was funny. Someone's stove started wistling, and it was funny. Dead silence - - funny.   You get the picture.Anyway, the father started snoring...and this was just too much for us (see above state of mind). I tried my hardest to keep from giggling, but it overwhelmed me. Then Moss started in...then Magic Rat. We were uncontrollably giggling, but trying to be as quiet as possible about it. All of the sudden, we heard this beating over at the other end of the shelter, and looked over. The son (an 18 year old, just out of H.S.) had started beating the crap out of his father, in order to get him to stop snoring! Well, at this sight, we just lost it. I know this isn't supposed to be funny, but you just would have to understand the state of mind we were in (as in, we had practically lost our minds). We eventually gained composure, and drifted off into a nice, warm sleep. Off to Clingman's Dome tomorrow!!!