Date: 2005-04-05
From: Russell Field Shelter (tent)

To: Gatlinburg TN (Microtel) 
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 20Out of camp by 8am. Spencefield Shelter came up awfully quick. The trail went up for the most part today. First would be Rocky Top & Thunderhead Mtn. Good views were everywhere. The sun was trying to break through the over cast skies. The trail weaved up and over hilltops. Some with grassy slopes and bare rock tops. The trail had more snow than yesterday and when there wasn¢t snow there was the usual mud. The water was rushing down the trail at times. With all my complaining of rules in the Smoky Mtns I had forgotten just how beautiful they actually are. It was a very enjoyable walk. The sun finally poked through the clouds around 10:30am and blue skies were in store the rest of the day. I had lunch at Derrick Knob Shelter with Toolman, Vinnie Vita Vichie, and 2 section hikers. In fact the only hikers I ran into were section hikers going the other way. Had the trail pretty much to myself. This leaves one entirely to much time with oneself. One could ponder over life¢s big questions, but why would anyone want to do that too themselves. So instead I danced down the trail and thought about pizza. I probably should have stopped at Siler Bald Shelter as the shelter looked nice and plenty of room to tent. It was a beautiful 2 miles to Double Springs Shelter where I ran into Doc. I¢m always glad to see Doc and really enjoy any time I run into him. The shelter was filling up and there wasn¢t any really dry spots to pitch a tent. So I take a gamble. I choose to push on to Clingmans Dome and try to hitch to Gatlinburg. It was already 5pm. How many would be there after 6pm on a Tuesday in early April? If empty I¢d be hiking in the dark to the next shelter. My feet were soaked and starting to get cold. The trail was boot high in mud, snow, water or a combination of all. The trail was great as were the views. When I climbed up Clingmans Dome the sun was shinning off all the happy little cars. I head for the parking area. Chat with several people as they head for the tower. I crawl down the parking area to hitch towards Gatlinburg. Everyone is either passing me or heading towards Cherokee NC. When a couple from Wisconsin in a motor home whose names I forgot. Hopefully they will sign my quest book and I will add their names here. So I get a ride down to Newfound Gap in a recliner and have a Mountain Dew. They were headed to Cherokee NC but thought I'd have a better chance of hitching. I hope they enjoyed the rest of their vacation. I walked the .02-mile to the gap. The 1st truck I try to hitch with was a ranger. Whoops! Cars just whizzed by. There were people in the parking area but it didn¢t seem like they even knew the A.T. was there? There was one point where a father and was yelling at his kid running down the Appalachian Trail saying that it was 8 miles long. It was quite amusing when they found out the trail went from Georgia-Maine. Still no one was stopping. This guy even biked up from Gatlinburg then pedaled away. Just as I was thinking where I¢d go when it got dark a mini van came to an abrupt halt. I waved him into the parking lot. He had seen me up on Clingmans Dome. Leon who is a tennis pro/reality guru has done many sections of the A.T. and hopes to one day thru-hike. He¢s actually building a hotel with an airplane, but I don¢t know how much I can really say so I¢ll leave it at that. Had a great conversation and he even bought me dinner. So I sit in Gatlinburg eating pizza and staying at the Microtel for $34.95.