Date: 2006-04-19
From: Ice Water Spring Shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter (GSMNP)
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Before sunrise this morning I awoke to the sound of thunder in the distance. The rumble sounded great and while safely in my tent I grabbed my boots from outside attempting to keep them dry then turned over to sleep for a while longer. Just after sunrise everyone began to stir around so I decided to get up too. The rumble from the thunder was still there but very faint. We sat around and had breakfast together before heading off on the trail a couple at a time. I stopped at the shelter on the way out of the campsite and talked to Doc Narley, Weasel, Slide Show and a few others. While there the thunder started picking back up and the wind intensified. I looked over at Weasel and told him I was going to head on down the trail and if it rained a little it was no big deal because I had my trusty rain suit and umbrella. He looked at me like I was crazy and said ¢OK but you know a storm is coming¢. Not ten minutes after leaving the shelter IT hit. The wind started thrashing through the trees, the thunder turned into a very deep rumble, and the rain started to come down in sheets. All of the sudden this storm turned into the worst storm that I have ever been in while backpacking. Not helping matters out any I was on top of a ridge in the Smokies with no protection. If you have ever hiked this section from Newfound Gap to Charlie¢s Bunion you know it is nothing but a ridge walk with incredibly steep terrain on both sides. During this time the wind was gusting at least 40-50 mph and to top this off it began to hail. I don¢t know the exact wind speed but it was strong because Baro somehow was blow off the trail and clung to a nearby tree for his dear life. I stood in amazement of this for a couple of minutes clutched to my umbrella while attempting to shield myself from the grape size ice pellets falling all around me. Just after seeing Baro, I came across Jane and she mentioned that while she was taking a little cover from the wind on the side of the trail Shasta and H-Bomb cruised by and she has not seen them since. Baro, Jangles, and I ended up making a mad dash across the ridge past Charlie¢s Bunion hoping to escape the storm. For the next 45 minutes to an hour it continued to rain with strong wind gust coming across the mountains. By this time our gear was wet and we were extremely cold. Around mid morning the weather started to clear and the first chance we had to take a break in the sun was at Pecks Corner. I have a very fond memory of about 10 pair of stinky wet socks covering the Pecks Corner Shelter sign while just about every other stitch of clothing we had was hanging in the surrounding bushes to dry. After the weather broke and our cloths dried a little the rest of the day was beautiful. The next section of trail turned out to be very scenic and provided plenty of photo opportunities of the clouds flowing through the valley below. We rolled into Tri Corner Knob Shelter just before dark and settled into a cold night of camping. The shelter was once again completely full so Salt and I put our tents up on the hill just above the shelter while Doc Narley took his normal place under the picnic table later that night. Overall this was a cold wet day on the trail but that is now behind us. I love the trail so far and can¢t wait to see where it takes us tomorrow.Tonight at Tri Corner Knob Shelter: Donkey, H-Bomb, Shasta, Jangles, Baro, River Weasel, Silver Foot, Gringo, Salt, Doc Narley, Slide Show, and a few section hikers.