Date: 2013-04-27
From: Derrick Knob Shelter 

To: Silers Bald Shelter 
Miles today: 5.5

I had a great night in the hammock last night. Warm, comfortable, swaying slightly in the breeze, listening to the raindrops hitting the tarp while I stayed dry and comfy inside. The hammock is much warmer than a shelter. The original plan was to hike 7.2 miles today to Double Spring Gap Shelter, leaving only 3 miles to hike on Sunday morning, to Clingman's Dome, where the Johnnie Walker Express was going to have a ride, at about ten o'clock. I was happy with this plan, and ready for a zero in Gatlinburg. I was also ready for a seven mile day, which seems short after the last few days, and the terrain looked relatively easy on my elevation profile. So I was" sleeping in", no reason to get out of the warm hammock into the cold morning rain quite so early.   But then the Express stopped by my hammock to explain that the plan had changed, because bad weather was moving in, at least three day's worth, and they were going to hike the whole ten miles today, to get the heck out of Dodge while the getting was good. Shoot, there goes my leisurely day, but on the plus side, the new plan gets me to a shower, a much needed laundry, and a cheeseburger one day sooner, so I was in. I got myself out of the hammock and started packing up,which is difficult in the rain. I told Little Janie, because we had decided to share a motel room in Gatlinburg.So off we went, into a steadily increasing rain. It got colder as we walked, the wind picked up,and it shortly became pretty miserable.   We trudged on, heads down, our backs bent into the wind. We knew there was a shelter at 5.5 miles, and I told Little Janie I planned to stop there briefly, just to get out of the weather for a while, and eat some crackers. Imagine our surprise when we ducked into the shelter at about two pm and found it full, with everybody, including the Johnnie Walker Express, already there, and in fact, all tucked into their sleeping bags, ready for bed! I didn't want to stop for the day, but as I listened to the howling wind I realized it was probably the best idea. The problem was that my clothes were all wet, and I knew I would get really chilled in the shelter in wet clothes. Shelters are cold places. I wasn't getting cold while I walked, because walking generates a lot of heat. But I knew I would be cold in the shelter. But walking on didn't seem to be a good option, so I found that my down jacket was still dry. My pants and long underwear, however, were saturated. Fortunately, Highlander offered me a pair of dry long johns! Hikers are amazing! Then Phoenix turned his music up so we could hear it, and played that song that goes' And I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more". We laughed and sang along, changing the words to things like" And I would walk to Gatlinburg" . Then the chorus erupted from different parts of the shelter, with" La, da,da,dum, La,da,da,dum" being sung by different people in each repetition. A great moment of levity today lighten up an otherwise grim situation. I was too cold to make any supper or even hang my food bag to protect it from mice and bears. I shared some cheese and tuna and crackers with Little Janie, and laid down on the hard floor to try to sleep. My pad was wet and muddy so I couldn't use it. The wind is roaring outside, the rain is pounding on the metal roof, and I am shivering. Tomorrow has to be better.