Week Four, 2022
Sunday
March 20
I woke up Sunday morning in the Mt. Collins shelter and found it had SNOWED overnight. When Eli and I went to bed on Saturday night, the air was chilly, but not freezing. I suppose at an altitude of just over 6,000 feet, the air temperature changes pretty rapidly. Luckily, we had a light day of hiking planned. Eli and I only needed about 4.5 miles to get to Newfound Gap to meet my sister Laura. She was to pick us up at two p.m. and take us to Gatlinburg and then Pigeon Forge for a resupply and a shower. We started hiking at about nine. The terrain was mostly downhill so the going was pretty easy. Interestingly, about halfway through we encountered a hog wire fence with an oddly shaped metal ramp attached for people to cross. After we crossed the first ramp, there was a sign that explained the fence was there to keep the wild hog population from spreading any further. I don't know if it was working, but it was interesting to see. We reached Newfound Gap at about noon. Trail Magic was everywhere. All you had to have was a backpack and dirty clothes and people were trying their best to feed you. Eli and I ate warm donuts and talked to the trail angels. We started talking to two brothers who were hikers themselves their trail names were Packrat and Smoky the Bear. They asked is where we were from and how far we planned to go. We answered all their questions and then Smoky asked if we needed a ride to Gatlinburg. We said absolutely we did and he loaded us and our gear into his ancient Geo Metro and down the mountain we went. Remember that only ten minutes ago we had never seen each other before. I think it is the common bond that I mentioned earlier. There seems to be an amount of implied trust in someone's word in the hiker community. I think that people everywhere could learn a lesson from some smelly hikers and the world would be better off. Smoky dropped us at the Nantahala Outdoor Center store in Gatlinburg. I called Laura and told her to meet us there. She arrived shortly and we went to Huck Finn's and had all you can eat catfish, hushpuppies, soup beans, and slaw. We washed it all down with literally quarts of sweet tea. This was another Southern first for Eli. He had eaten fried fish before, but not catfish and never a hushpuppy. He again loved both. This boy is getting a first hand education on Southern culture and food. I told him that 99% of Southern accents on tv are terrible and only Southern people know the difference.
Eli is very much interested in music. All afternoon on Saturday we talked about the Southern Rock movement in the seventies and how it influenced most rock music after. I probably spent an hour just telling him about Capricorn Records and what they meant to the popular musical the time. Capricorn was founded in Macon, GA to record and market The Allman Brothers Band. At its peak, Capricorn was the premier record label for Southern bands that included Marshall Tucker, Wet Willie, C Level, Charlie Daniel's, and many others. I love the fact that a middle-aged man can speak to an 18 year old and the boy is interested in what is being said. There are no phones or tablets involved, just two people having an honest discourse about a random topic.
Monday
March 21
Laura took us to the post office first this morning for Eli's box from home and then to Food City so we could buy food for a week. We both bought too much, but it will not go to waste I am sure. After those errands were completed we started up the mountain and back to the trail. When we got back to Newfound Gap there were tourists everywhere. Hikers were of great interest to the crowd. I suppose we put on a good display when we were loading up and adjusting everything. People asked us if we were through hikers and some just stared. We said hello and started off to get to the Peck's Corner Shelter at mile 218.2.
After about four miles we reached the side cutoff trail to Charlie's Bunion. Charlie's Bunion is a rock outcropping on the sheer side of a mountain face. It has been photographed many times by hikers as they pass through. We were no exception. After that stop for photos and a snack we made our way on to the shelter. Eli and I arrived at about 4:30 after a 20.5 mile day. We are planning to get out about 08:00 tomorrow to get another ten or so tomorrow before the wind and rain return.
Tuesday
March 22
Everyone in the Peck's Corner Shelter was up and moving at 07:00. There was a threat of high winds and possible rain later in the afternoon and everyone wanted to be in a dry spot before the bottom fell out. The Peck's Corner Shelter is a half mile off the AT, so if you want to stay there you have to walk an extra mile round trip to do so. It was worth it and I would do it again. The only recourse is to hike another seven miles to the next shelter because no one is allowed to camp except in designated shelter spots in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Eli and I set our sights on Cosby Knob Shelter. We left at 07:45 and the air temperature was about 45. We were above 6,000 feet so it was also very dry. We hiked about five miles and the weather improved considerably. The sun came out and it warmed up nicely. We ate lunch beside an abandoned helicopter landing pad. As we were walking the trails along the ridges, you could see the rock walls that were built to keep the trail on the top. I assume that the Civillian Conservtion Corps built these almost a century ago under the New Deal plan from FDR. Regardless, they still look good and are holding their own against the elements and all the foot traffic. We got to Cosby Knob shelter at about two p.m. We hit a milestone today. We have now completed 10% of the entire AT.
Wednesday
March 23
Eli and I left the shelter this morning at about eight in the rain and wind. We were headed down to the next shelter, and if it cleared up we were going to walk farther. The terrain was mostly downhill and we made good time. We did not even stop at the shelter. We made it to the Pigeon River and I 40 at about lunchtime but did not stop there either because we wanted to get to the Standing Bear Hostel. This place is out in the woods and it is an eclectic bunch of people and buildings that caters to hikers. It is like a little town that is open for business. When you get here they hand you a clipboard and a piece of paper and tell you that is your tab. When you want a Coke or something to eat, you write your selection on the paper and then settle up before you leave. Everything is on the honor system. Eli and I have a room that faces the woods and the front porch is over the creek. There are two bunks in here with clean sheets and blankets and an overhead light. What more do you need? Tomorrow we plan to hike about 15 miles to Roaring Fork shelter. We are trying for Hot Springs on Saturday morning.
The hostel just fed us dinner. We had salmon, chicken, rice, Naan, zucchini and carrot salad. It weighed about two pounds and it was delicious.
Thursday
March 24
We left the hostel at about 08:15 headed to Roaring Fork shelter about 15 miles away. Today was a hard day of hiking. In addition to the 15 miles we needed to complete, there was about six thousand feet to gain and lose before the day's end. Our first challenge was Snowbird mountain. Snowbird is about 4,200 feet high. We started up it and my 55 year old body made us go slowly and stop frequently to let my heart catch up. We made it to the top of Snowbird at about noon. We can travel about two miles per hour including breaks. After lunch we set our sights on Max Patch. Max Patch is a famous bald that is at about 4,500 feet. After Snowbird, we had a descent to about 3,500 feet before beginning to climb back up. Some people call these pointless ups and downs. It is all just part of the trip, but some days are better than others. When we finally reached the top of Max Patch, it looked for all the world like the opening scenes of The Sound of Music. The terrain is high meadows with grass everywhere. All we needed was Julie Andrews running around and the scene would have been complete. It was a little windy and cold on top so we hurried off the mountain and down to the shelter. We arrived about 4:00 p.m. tired but with a feeling of accomplishment.
Friday
March 25
Friday morning came early at the Roaring Fork shelter. We were up, fed, watered and on the trail by 08:00. Eli and I had decided Thursday night that we were going to get from Roaring Fork to Hot Springs today. It would mean our highest mileage day yet. As always, we had a motivation. Eli's dad has a high school friend that has been following Eli's trail progress via Facebook. He lives in the Hot Springs area and sent word to Eli's dad that he would love to pick us up and bring us back home with his family for a meal, shower and laundry. We decided that was a good idea and took off. The terrain had three climbs within the first six miles. We started early and began climbing. After about two hours we had the first mountain behind us. In about two more hours, we had cleared the second one as well. In between the two there was a large downhill grade just so we would not feel cheated. After we topped the second, we went down about a half mile and had lunch. Afterwards we literally went downhill for ten miles. We even passed a small burial plot with two headstones. It looked like a couple had been buried together on the side of the mountain between 50 and 80 years ago. It was a nice spot. Me being me, I wondered how they got the bodies up there. It must have been on a mule or horse because there is no way that six men could carry those caskets uphill six miles. We made it to Hot Springs at about four p.m. We were picked up at about 4:45 by Skip Middleton. He took is to his house to meet his family and be fed by his wife an Italian feast that would rival any meal in any four star restaurant. We did laundry, thanked the Middletons again, had a shower and went to bed. We put in 17.9 miles today. That is the largest daily total yet.
Saturday
March 26
This morning was cold. We made our way from Skip's house back to Hot Springs. The post office is open from 09:00 until 10:30 on Saturday mornings. Eli had a box from his mom to pick up and then we had to get food across the street at the outfitter.
Hot Springs is a trail town. The AT literally comes down main street. The people are friendly. When we walked into town yesterday, a man was giving snacks and drinks to hikers on his front porch.
Since we had a later start than usual, we are planning to hike 10.6 miles to the Spring Mountain Shelter.
