Date: 2007-02-24
From: Spence Field Shelter, NC/TN

To: Siler Bald Shelter, NC/TN
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

Woke when everyone else did around dawn. No sense in trying to sleep with all these guys getting up. It was good that I did. I had ham, biscuits, eggs, bacon, and tortilla's. They also gave me all kinds of food for the trail. I did not need to go to G-burg now to resupply. I did want to go in and see what Colin had to say and update my online journal. I did come to hike first, though. On "Twinkle Toe's" weather radar; I heard that a major storm was coming tonight and I wanted to get to the best protected shelter and prepare for a night and day of 55mph winds...YaaHooooo. I got going pretty early for me, around 9:30 am. This was going to be a grueling first 6 miles to Derick Knob. It does not get alot of play because everyone thinks that when you get over Rocky Top & Thunderhead your home free. NOT. After you get over these two,( which were absolutely beautiful with views of Cades Cove which, I had not ever seen so clear before & views to Shuckstack, man!) you have to go straight down 1000 feet then back up & again. These are not pointless up and downs but necessary up and downs. Well I come off of "T-Head' feeling good and I am on the dark side of the mountain around 5000 feet and the ice starts back up. In one spot I had to get off of the trail and climb about 100 feet up to miss the ice. This type of stuff really drains the calories and energy. I had alot of food; so, I just keep eating tortillas filled with bacon and velvetta. Got to the Derrick Knob shelter knowing I needed to move fast because I did not want to stay at this shelter due to it being an old shelter that will have that 55 mph wind blowing right in. So, I ate a Slim jim & velvetta tortilla and did the undulating mountains to Siler Bald Shelter. I know I am becoming a hiker now. I have some incredibly heavy weight in my pack and am only stopping here and there to rest. I get to the shelter. It is a new one and someone has already put up a tarp over 1/2 the front of the shelter. Also, there is alot of wood in here already. And there is a young man named "Hawkeye". I resorted back to my camp leadership days. I said,"There is a winter storm coming. I am going to gather a bunch of wood & put this tarp up that Im carrying; so, we can be comfortable with a fire when the storm hits!" I expected him to say, "get bent"; but, he hopped to his feet and went out and gathered four times as much wood as I did; broke it up; started the fire. All while I was putting up the tarp and ate. I ate about 7 spicy rice tortillas. It was the first time that I was stuffed since Franklin. I was really impressed with this young man. He was an eagle scout; but, humble. His family went on a skiing vacation to Colorado when he was 16 and he went winter camping instead. He was a history major and we talked about the Cherokee in the civil war fighting for the south; the Cherokee owning slaves; The lost race of the Mehlungeons; The 14th state of Franklin; his home being wiped out in Katrina, etc. Then the rain started and the wind howled. Besides the tarps flapping, we were perfeclty undisturbed by the outside elements.