Date: 2005-04-20
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knobb Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: clear sky

Up and gone early before the rest of the pack moves on. When hiking through the Smoky Mountain National Park it is mandatory to stay at and in the Shelters or camp sites. The only way you can set up a tent or sleep out side under the stars at a shelter like Tal and I did is, if the shelter is full. In this case all we had to do was wait till it got full, and it will, before you set up. The problem there with the shelters is that it bottle necks all hikers in to one spot. The trick is to leave before all the others are ready to go if you want to be by yourself. You wind up eating spider webs that were hung over the trail overnight by some extremely active spiders however, that's the cost of solitude I guess. In the Smokies a thru hiker has to give up their shelter space if a section hiker comes in and there is no more room. I guess they figure a thru-hiker is more apt to be self sufficient. Also you are only allowed to stay one night at the shelter, they insist that you to move on.   The first half of the day went along great all the way to Spence Field Shelter. I had a great lunch there and I met two hikers who became good friends (Fester and Swinger) Swinger's real name was Dan, he was from Maryland. Swinger got his name because he uses a hammock. After leaving the shelter the mountains started climbing in to and above the 5000 foot mark. This is where I discovered just how difficult the "Downs" could be because what went up, definitely came down. Downs are when you go down in elevation so obviously the "Ups" are when you go up. The down hurts the knees like you cannot imagine. There are braces you could wear and different techniques you can try but, the best advise I can give is to try not to go fast. Speed causes pounding and that takes its toll after the miles start to build up. I moved up and over Rocky Top (5441 feet) where I found a stove. At first I thought it was an Urn with someone's ashes in it (it was small, heavy and made out of brass). I even hid it among the rocks and said a little prayer over it (never said I was the brightest bulb in the box). I never seen such a stove and at first glance I thought it was some hiker garbage. I picked it up with intentions of packing it out. It wasn't until I made it into the Outfitters in Gatlinburg and saw the stove for sale that I realized what I had done. Later on up the trail I saw the frame for the stove in a hiker box (sorry to who ever lost it).    I moved on till I came to the Derrick Knob Shelter. There were dozens of hikers there by the end of the day. Tal and I set up outside again and we enjoyed another great evening. Here I saw a lot of familiar faces and some new ones. Once again the shelter was packed. It seems we are all going about the same distance each day due to the shelter and camping limitations. Those hikers that were carrying cell phones were walking around trying to get coverage. It was funny to watch them lean to the left or right, get a signal and stay fixed in that position while they yelled in to the phone. I agree there are good reasons to carry a phone but remember this, cell reception sucks along the trail. The decision is up to the hiker to carry a phone, if it works fine, if not you might as well carry a brick.