Thought Foot and I left Standing Bear hostile this morning. Road Rash is sick and zeroing today. He's planning on yellow blazing his way to Max Patch tomorrow morning, and catching up with us in Hot Springs. He has only been filtering water periodically.
We climbed from 1700 feet to 4200 feet this morning. It looks like my phone service is good. I had to climb a hill behind the hostile inorder to get even spoty service. I'm hoping my service stays good for a while.
Today was fairly uneventfull. Road Rash made an incredibly delicious breakfast this morning. He is a cook in real life. Road Rash and Hobo Joe found everything they needed for breakfast before I even got up.Later in the day, Hobo Joe gave Road Rash a mohawk haircut. I was taking my first shower in about 5 days so I missed the event.
Red Eyes showed up late last night. He and Road Rash planted trees today to pay for their stay. We all guessed correctly that Red Eyes would do little work.
Not much else happening today. It was nice to relax and rest my feet. Me feet feel much better today. We are heading off tomorrow
morning and should be in Hot Springs in two days.
We have been bouncing above and below spring since we started at Springer. Spring started below about 4,500 feet today. Its amazing to see the difference in plant life with elevation. It think we might be in spring the rest of the trip.
It was an amazingly erie day walking in the fog. I took a few pictures.
Road Rash and I got to the hostile at about 3 PM. Shamrock decided to go to the hostile too. Thought Food got in a little later. Hobo Joe is also staying at the hostile.
We are going to zero tomorrow and rest and do laundry. We hear there is a bear getting into food bags at the next couple shelter.
I've had no phone service for the last two days. I'm writing this entry from Standing Bear hostile. I need to walk to the top of a hill to send it.We stared Day 19 at Double Spring Gap shelter. It started raining about an hour after Road Rash and I started walking. Several of us thought it would be a good idea to wear only our rain jacket. We thought our pants would dry quickly. However, we were walking in a cloud. Absolutely nothing drys under these conditions.
Road Rash and I decided to leave Thought Foot a note on the trail letting him know we were going to stop off at another shelter to wait out the rain. We met Beetle and a couple who said they quit their jobs and were going to hike the trail starting in Maine in July. We built a fire in the Shelter fire place and dried our clothes. Road Rash got lots of tasty treats from the couple. Thought Foot never saw our note and he went on to Tri Corner Nob shelter.
We later met up with Thought Foot. There were spectacular views along the way when the fog cleared. The shelter was packed. People were sleeping on the ground. It rained all night. There were many people at the shelter I did not know. Most of us laid in our sleeping bags after dinner trying dry out and get warm.
The Smokies are incredibly beautiful even in the rain.
We made it to Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the AT, in the clouds. We could see absolutely nothing except for a very brief moment when the clouds lifted.
The Smokies are incredibly beautiful. We walked through what must have been old growth hemlocks. Although, someone said they were not hemlocks but something similar. The forest was thick and very green.
Red Eye's hitched a ride into town, and just returned with some crazy stories. You can never believe his stories. He was showing us a note from a waitress with her phone number. Stranger said that he asked her for her number and she refused. He did not stop asking until she agreed to give him a non working number.
Red Eye's is getting more and more erratic. He smokes dope all day lon and has been taking something else too. Road Rash thinks it might be benzos. Red Eyes is doing lots of crazy stuff that will likely result in an injury. He climbs on shelters to take pictures. He runs down the trail or he stagers down the trail. Its like a train wreck that is about to happen. None of us think he will make it to Maine. We all think he will be injured at some point.
I've talked a lot to Shamrock lately. I really like him. He just retired from the national guard with 27 years. I think he is about my age. He's putting in about the same mileage as we are.
The terrain of the Smokies has become tough. It looks like secions are graded for pack animals. Those are the easy parts. Everything else pounds you feet and knees.
I've acquired a few minor blisters on my right foot. I do not think there is anything you can do to prepare your feet for the trail. The rocks and roots and steep declines tear your feet up. Nearly everyone has foot problems of some kind. I think those that do not manage their foot problems well do not stay on the trail.
I've also spent a lot of time talking to Doc, a former drug counselor. The agency he worked for in FL downsized due to budget cuts. Doc los
t his job a
nd is in the process of losing his house.
The shelter was one of the most mice infested I've seen. I had mice crawling over me during the nigbt. I had to pull my sleeping bag over my head so I could not feel them. They chewed through Thought Foot's pack. He spent about an hour sewing this morning.
Red Eye is losing it. He is becoming more and more unstable. He is smoking dupe all day and doing something else that makes him stagger. He may be a manic depressive. Although, that is just a guess. I've never seen him in any way depressed.
He was telling me about a good water source because it came out of a pipe. What he failed to notice was the other end of the pipe was in a stagnant pool. We are guessing he will be hurt or sick on the trail somewhere. Its like watching a trail wreck. I think we are going to try to put some distance between us soon.
Also with us last night was Doc and Shamrock.
The Smokies are easy. We are at the Spencer Gap shelter tonight. I just turned my phone on, and I'm surprised I have coverage. The trails are very well maintained, and so much better than the section out of NOC. If the trail continued like it did after NOC, I would go home without a second thought. Everyone is still complaining about that section.
So far my feet are holding up ok. I have one blister on my heel from the NOC section. I think it will be ok after a few days.
The trail was incredibly beautiful today. There were many different colors of wildflowers in the woods along the trail.
We met up with Road Rash today. He made it back to Fontana Dam yesterday afternoon. He heard Thought Foot and I were in town so he waited for me by the trail. He eventually left with Hobo Joe who is also here at the shelter.
Thought Foot and I stayed at the Fontana Hilton aka Fontana shelter last night. I bought a bottle of wine to share with Road Rash, but met Reds Eyes on the way to the shelter and drank it with him instead. The shelter really was the Hilton of shelters. Someone even put a Hilton sign on it.
The Spence Field shelter is thankfully filled so I was able to sleep in my tent without fear of a fine. There is too much snoring in the shelters to sleep well.
We saw the last of the fenced shelters on the way here. People were feeding the bears through the fence so the park is taking the fences down.
Doc, Shamrock aka Shan from WY, Stranger, Green T & Feral are also here along with three middle age out of shape women who I think are also thru hikers. We met several other very out of shape thru hikers today who I've never seen before.
It was a strange feeling walking up steep inclines with virtually no pain in my legs. We would occasionally rest when we were winded or over heated.
We met Woof Man and Camel in the laundry. Road Rash and I were hoping not to see them again. We met them way at the beginning of the mountain. I'm not sure they are going to make it up. If they do, we will have so much mileage between us that we will not see then again.
We also met Red Eyes and some others in NOC. They were supposed to be on their way out by 2 PM. They were drinking beers so they must have done a zero day in NOC.
Doctor Dee was the only one we met going up the mountain. He looks to be in his 50s, but he is in good physical condition. Even he did not make it all the way up. He told Thought Foot he was going to camp near an overlook. I'm really glad I did not wait another 10 years to do this trip.
The three of us are putting in more mileage at a faster rate than just about anyone else. This is not intentional. We were finding ourselves at camp before anyone else so we decided to go further. It feels good having our trail legs.
I walk and let my mind wonder. I often have no thoughts as I walk. Its a good feeling. The furthest I can reasonably plan is the next incline, and the inclines are becoming easier and easier as I gain my trail legs.
I enjoy stopping to enjoy the scenery. This slows our mileage. Fortunately, Thought Food and Road Rash enjoy the same things.
I look forward to seeing how the trail coninues to change the way I think. As long as I continue to experience this change, I do not think it will be difficult to stay on the trail.
Another reason we pushed it yesterday was to put some distance between us and Van Sherpa. Van Sherpa is a guy in his 20s who is very generous with his spiced rum. He drank a bottle of mad dog 20 / 20 before starting on the spiced rum. He puked on the way up to Siler Bald, then fell asleep snoring so loud we did not have to worry about bears. No animal or human would have gone close to him. He was a little too obnoxious for Road Rash and I. Our impression was he would also be too unpredictable. My guess is that the only problem would be if there were two Van Sherpas in one shelter.
We are on to NOC to shower and do laundry this morning.
Nearly everyone was snoring at least part of the night. We were joking that no bear would go near us with all that noise.
The good thing was there were no mice. Some shelters are infested with mice. They will crowl all over you while you sleep, and chew through your pack if you have food.
Many people bring ear plugs so they can sleep. I don't like the idea of having plugs in my ears all night.
Had my first trail magic this morning. A guy parked his camper on a road where the trail is near. He had hot coffee for us. Doctor Dee was already there when Road Rash, Thought Food, and I got there. Doctor Dee and I had a nice conversation.
Sherpa and Low Impact would also be odd traveling companions in the real world. Sherpa is a married woman in here early 60s I think. Low impact is a young man just out of college. They seem a really good fit. Sonic and I started our hike with them. I think they started hiking together about the time Danger Mouse (Sherpa's original hiking partner) developed bad blisters. They were both wondering what happened to us because we were not signing registers at shelters.
The trail is a stange place. It breaks down social barriers. I really like that. Its a good lesson.
We are staying at Siler Shelter. This is the first party crowd I've seen. Some has a bottle of spiced rum. I've seen no drugs or alcohol until now.
I hear Sherpa and Low Impact will be joining us at the shelter tonight. I also hear that Ursign Magnet is still on the trail after his bad blisters. Unicorn and Pegases are already at the shelter. Red Eyes is a day ahead of us. There is another guy at the shelter that Road Rash thought was kind of strange. He met him a couple times before.
Its going to be another cold night.
I especially miss Heather. Its hard being on the trail alone. It would have been nice if Heather could have joined me. However, she has a job that would not be waiting for her when she left the trail.
I've also been thinking a lot about my dad today. I doubt that I will ever see him alive again. He made some poor choices over the years in so many ways. Now he is suffering the consequences.
The trail has been good. I told Sonic that we do not go on vacations, we go on ordeals. This really is true about the trail. Its an adventure of a lifetime, and way more than that too.
Life is so simple on the trail. I eat, walk, have breakfast number 2, walk, have lunch, walk, have lunch number 2, walk, set up camp, eat, and sleep.
There is plenty of time to think. I tend to just let my mind wonder as I look at the paterns of leaves or trees or mountains. Most of the time I don't even think. It feels good.
Its hard to explain how the trail is already effecting me. There is something about the simplicity that is changing the way I think. Its good.
Sonic, Sonic's mom, and Rocky are heading home today.
The terrain is a lot easier in NC than GA. We are going to start increasing our mileage. We have 60 miles before our next stop. We are expecting at least 15 mile days.
