Trail Days

The following day, I hiked only 6.3 miles to the next shelter, but it was a fairly difficult hike, being mostly uphill through rutted trail. Although the night was still extremely cold and windy, the shelter has two large tarps in front of the entrance, which kept most of the wind out. Another peaceful, uneventful night, and two days after my horrific experience at the Russell Field Shelter, I hiked 14 miles. This left 4 miles from the road crossing that would take me to Gatlinburg, TN.

I got there at about noon, and attempted to hitchhike the 15 miles into town. After about 20 unsuccessful minutes of this, another hiker came up and asked me if I was waiting for the free shuttle. Free shuttle? I’d known about a $30 shuttle, but not a free one! He told me that it should arrive at about 12:30 or so, so I went to wait for it with a few other hikers that had stopped for lunch.

The appointed time came and went, as did 1:00, and by 1:15 we were wondering what was going on. I had, as usual, “No Service” on my phone, so someone (with another provider) called the Nantahala Outdoor Center store in town. They operate the shuttle, and informed her that it left at 3:00, and should be there by 3:45 at the latest. Having no desire to wait almost 3 hours in the cold wind, I went back to try to get a ride, and an older couple immediately stopped. As I was getting into the car, the hiker who’d told me about the shuttle came up and asked if he could come, and we all headed in to Gatlinburg.

They dropped us off on the main road, and I immediately started looking for the motel in which I’d planned to stay, as it was $30 per night and they had laundry facilities. When I got there, the first thing I saw was the “for sale” sign, and the second was the empty pool, shaped like the club on a deck of cards. I saw that they were open though, and I got a room. After taking a shower and washing my clothes, I headed out into town. Gatlinburg was not quite what I expected. Described as “a tourist mecca” in my guide, it was an unending succession of ice cream and fudge shops, places to buy funnel cake and candy, all manner of hotels, souvenir shops, and restaurants. I’m sure by “tourist mecca,” I should have suspected this would be a family friendly sort of place, and thus, really not my bag. The town was redeemed by a large outfitter (the NOC), a Subway, and places where I could get soda and especially coffee. By now, I’ve given up on tea. Although it’s less disgusting than instant coffee, it isn’t coffee. Every chance I got to have “real” coffee felt like a real treat. I stayed there that first night, and the following morning it was absolutely pouring rain, which wasn’t due to let up (and didn’t) until the following morning. So I stayed an additional night.

That next day, it was really quite cold, and the forecast bore a “hard frost” warning for the city and surrounding areas, with temperatures in the low 30′s that night. Now, since it’s generally 10 degrees colder for every 3,000 feet in elevation gain, I figured the temperature in the mountains (at 6,000 feet) should be absolutely frigid. I found out later that it got down to about 16 degrees that night at a shelter, with people knocking sheets of ice off of their tents the following morning. So I stayed a third night, figuring that it was probably the wise thing to do. If I never have hypothermia again, I think I’ll be just fine with that. For those counting, I dealt with dangerous hypothermia three times. $30 was worth the warm room!

The next morning, sunshine finally warmed the air, so I took the 3:00 shuttle back up to the trail. Due to the fact that I didn’t get up there till 3:30 or so, I only hiked about 3 miles to the next shelter, where I spent the night. I hadn’t felt like I had a really good hiking day in too long. All the cold weather zero-days irritated me. April was drawing to a close and this southern climate should offer warmer weather by now. I resolved to make the next day stronger.

The following morning, I set out and managed to hike about 13 miles to the shelter I ended up staying at, the Tri-Corner Knob shelter. When I got there, I realized that during a break after my first eight miles, I’d managed to leave behind my backcountry permit, which authorized my stay at the shelters in Great Smoky Mountains National Park! I certainly wasn’t going to hike approximately five miles back for it, assuming it might even still be there, so I hoped I wouldn’t run into any park rangers. I do know that if they catch you camping along the trail in an undesignated spot they’ll give you a $230 ticket, but I wasn’t sure what a foolishly left behind permit would cost! Fortunately, I never found out, but it made me even more eager to get out of the Smokies.

Leaving the next day, I kept an eye out for the wreckage of an F-4 Phantom that had crashed in the 1970s. The crash killed the pilot and everyone on board; I don’t remember if F-4′s have one or two crewmembers. The wreckage is about 10 feet off the trail- at least the beginning of the debris field is. Right there, I saw some engine and afterburner parts, along with a bunch of stuff I couldn’t identify. Rumor has it that many hikers have taken a piece of wreckage with them, and then later decided they didn’t want to carry it. So they’ve dropped it, and now the debris field stretches for miles longer than it did when the plane crashed!

In a hurry to be out of the Smokies, I made another strong day’s hike. I made it to Davenport Gap shelter at the end of my 15-mile day, which is the last shelter in the park. Luckily for me, I completed the day with no rangers in sight. There was, however, chain-link fence along the front of the shelter, to keep bears out. Apparently, this is the only shelter that still has it. I guess the park service has been removing it from the shelters, as idiots stand inside and pass food through the fence to bears! Sounds to me like a Darwin award waiting to happen.

The next morning, I hiked about 3.5 miles to the Standing Bear hostel, which costs $15 per night for a bunk. There’s a shower, a laundry room, and a kitchen. There’s also a camp store. I hadn’t planned on staying there, but I had a bit of time to kill: Pax would be meeting me 30 miles away in Hot Springs. We’d planned to meet in Damascus for Trail Days, an annual hiking convention that occupies the entire town. Debating the hostel and the short day’s hike, I considered that I only needed to go 30 miles by Friday, and this was Monday. Good weather was forecast, and the elevation shouldn’t be so bad. Plus, this was a cheaper place to stay than Hot Springs, if I made it too early. So, I stayed, and spent most of the day and evening reading out on the porch.

After leaving the hostel, I hiked about 7 miles or so until I got to the shelter, which had water nearby. To my amazement, there was no one else there. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a shelter by myself before. I was glad I did, though, because it rained fairly hard that night. So much for the good weather, but at least I was sheltered! I was awakened the following morning by two hikers who’d stopped for water also, and set off towards Max Patch bald, which had some absolutely amazing views. I took plenty pictures here, though it took me a long time to post them with, again, no cell phone signal. Pax, thankfully, had booked a hotel with Wi-Fi. I would be happy to see her, but the promise of Internet connectivity was something I looked forward to, especially with these photos.

That day, I hiked about 14 miles until I found a campsite. It was SO nice to be able to camp wherever I felt like again, rather than having to sleep in a shelter! The next morning was Thursday, so I needed to be sure to get to Hot Springs. I hiked the 13 miles there, until I got to Elmer’s Sunnybank Inn. Elmer has a 160-year-old house, filled with books and antique furniture, and offers long-distance hikers a $20 per night special rate. He also serves gourmet vegetarian meals, which are worth the trip by themselves. I stayed there that night, and the next morning, after a delicious breakfast, I walked down to the library to use their Wi-Fi. Since I had no cell service in the entire town, I emailed her about how to find me. I wondered if she’d recognize me. My beard covered most of my face and the hair I usually keep short curled out of my hat. Fortunately, the library was easy for her to find, and soon after we were reunited, we drove north to our motel in Abingdon, VA. The plan had been to meet her in Damascus. I was so held up that it took two hours to make up the difference in the car.

Once we checked in to the motel, we immediately drove to Damascus, VA for the first night of Trail Days. By the time we got there, everything was pretty much closed, save a funnel-cake vendor or two, with every restaurant and bar filled to capacity. Hikers, visible in trail clothes and in various states of cleanliness and facial hair growth, celebrated the reunion and huge community. We walked around town a bit, and decided to come back the following morning at 10 AM to see David Miller (Awol) give a presentation. We’d both read Awol on the Appalachian Trail, which I appreciated as a hiker and she enjoyed though she’d never been on a long distance hike. Actually, this book ultimately made me want to do this hike; he outlines the good and the bad in equal measure. Additionally, his other book, simply called The A.T. Guide, is the guidebook I carry, one section at a time in a plastic bag.

We returned the next morning right at 10, and parked quickly and luckily found a spot close to downtown. Unfortunately, the Trail Days website gave the formal name of the building hosting the talk, but that’s not the name locals call it. We then spent the next 15 minutes looking for and asking other hikers and townsfolk about the building that he was supposed to be in. According to both the fire department and post office, the building didn’t exist! We finally found a small sign pointing to what appeared to be a satellite TV and Internet store, and found our way in. It appeared that two others and myself were the only current hikers there, with most of the elderly audience asking questions like “what did you eat”, or “what did you do when it rained?” These questions are not only answered in his book, but also answered by every hiker, every time he or she encounters someone in town or just out for the day. The questions are good natured, but constant. It’s a joke among us, but we ultimately don’t mind. We enjoyed the talk, though we didn’t catch all of it. Later, we made our way over to a booth he had set up with the vendors just to say hello and tell him how much we enjoyed his books. Being an author is, presumably, like being a thru-hiker in the matter of answering the same questions, but he was very nice and signed a copy of his story for Pax.

The town green in Damascus was filled with vendors selling all manner of foods, as well as things like candles and tie-died clothing. Past them, though, were quite a few gear vendors, including Six Moon Designs, who made my Lunar Solo tent. I’d lost a tent stake a couple weeks ago, so I bought a new one for $2 from the owner, and then asked him about a small repair on my tent. He directed me to another part of town, where there was free gear repair. We started walking the half mile towards it, when we were picked up by a shuttle driver, who not only gave us a ride but free bottled water.

At the parking lot we were dropped off at, there was a multitude of tents set up, representing different major gear manufacturers. I found Leki, and gave them my hiking poles, one of which I’d bent while stopping a fall. Not only did they fix it, but they cleaned them, replaced the baskets and the entire bottom section of the bent one- and they did it all for free. Then, I found Granite Gear, and told them that my size medium waist-belt of my backpack was a bit too big, and that it wasn’t necessarily loose, but could be a lot tighter. I estimated that I’d lost about 25 pounds by this point. After offering me a few Snickers bars to help me gain back a bit of weight, the attendant helping me replaced the entire waist-belt with a small one. I asked him what I owed him, and he said “Oh, nothing”. Then he fixed my tent for me, also at no cost. It was just amazing; I probably got $60 or so of free repairs and replacements. Those waist-belts alone usually cost $40 or so, I think. Providing this kind of service at events like Trail Days is how manufacturers keep customers for life.

Behind all of these manufacturer’s tents was “tent city.” We couldn’t see all of them, as many were in the woods, but there were thousands of tents set up back there. I saw Charlie, whom I hadn’t seen in a month and a half or so, since we stayed at the Blood Mountain cabins and at Mountain Crossings. He’d just managed to hike into Damascus on the Wednesday before Trail Days started. I’m still almost 200 miles away, but I tell him about my delays. He already knew: hikers, as I’ve mentioned, share goings on when they’re bunked together in shelters or walking together. I wonder if during the Russell Field Shelter, this gossip saved my life when someone knew that I was diabetic.

We made it back for the parade of hikers down Main Street, with thousands of people walking and getting sprayed with hoses and squirt guns from the bystanders, along with quite a few water balloons. Everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun. Different “graduating classes” of thru-hikers marched down the street together. The town was involved, too, with the fire department, police, and town officials driving in the parade.

We went back to the area with the vendor’s tents set up, and sampled some really great trail food. Enertia makes it, and I’d seen it but never had any. Most of it was vegetarian, and they were selling 5 for $20. This, we decided, makes a pretty good deal, given that they are usually about $5 each, plus there was no tax. So I got 2 of each kind, 12 in all. I sent half back home, to be shipped later. We also came upon a couple selling excellent vegetarian jerky, with free samples of every kind. They were all excellent, and I ended up getting a bunch of those as well. Then things began to wind down, so we headed back to the motel, and went in search of dinner.

Nothing was really scheduled for Sunday, save for hiker worship at a church, and shuttle departures back to different points. We went back anyway, though, and spent some time just walking around. We stopped in one of the outfitters, and I got an awesome summer sleeping bag. It’s made by Deuter, a German company, and is a 50 degree, 1.4 lb. bag that packs incredibly small. It was on sale for $80 plus a 10% hiker discount, so I bought it. My summer bag I’d planned to use is a 45 degree bag, but weighs over 2 lbs. and takes up a LOT more room in my pack.

Though there was rain during Trail Days, the days finally felt warm. I went through my pack and traded out for the seasons change. I sent back about 3 lbs. worth of winter clothing, like my light-weight and medium-weight long underwear, my gloves, and of course my winter bag. My pack definitely felt a lot lighter now. That’s not to say I wasn’t cautious, this year had been tricky weather wise. Even before I left for the hike, Connecticut saw record snowfalls, and we saw more rain and cold weather than any hiker expected. I kept my 5.6-ounce down jacket, along with my silk sleeping bag liner just in case.

Monday came, and Pax had to head home to go back to work. We should have hurried, but didn’t. We checked out of the motel, and before making the 2-hour drive back to Hot Springs, we made a point of stopping at Starbucks. We found a nearby Wal-Mart so I could get a prescription. One more stop for a big meal at IHOP, and we made it back to Hot Springs around 3 PM. We sat in her car and talked and hung out for a while, neither one of us particularly excited about splitting ways again. Eventually, she had to go in order to make it back in time for work on Tuesday. I ended up back at Elmer’s, and stayed for 2 nights, due to the fact that it rained really hard the following day, but was supposed to clear up. When it did, I finally left Hot Springs at about 3 on Wednesday, after hanging out with a couple of hikers. I got one last coffee, made certain my phone was fully charged, and headed out.

Right when I crossed the river to leave town, I saw Deadman, who I hadn’t seen in a week or so. I stopped at his campsite, where he was packing up after a 3-day stay. We ended up hiking together for a few miles, until we needed to find a spot to camp. We came to a pond, and there was supposedly a campsite there according to the guide. Well, there was a fire-ring, but the area around it had running water going through it from all the rain the day before. Deadman camps in a hammock, so he can camp pretty much anywhere- but I needed a spot to set up my tent. After looking around for a good half hour, we eventually asked some locals, who were fishing. One of them told me that there was an old helicopter-landing pad nearby, and that I could camp on it. I assumed it was concrete, and my tent is not freestanding. It needs soft ground so I can get the stakes in. But I figured I’d take a look anyway, so I headed on. Deadman wanted to stay where he was, so he could make a fire and be near water, so I set off again on my own, and found the landing pad. There was no way I could have camped on it, but I saw some ruts in the field beyond it, heading downhill. I checked it out, and as soon as I got back into the woods found a beautiful campsite, with a fire ring and room for probably 6 tents. I almost went back to get Deadman, but figured he probably had all his gear out and his hammock set up already.

The next morning, the 19th, was my birthday, so I set off and decided to give myself a gift by only hiking 7 miles. I found myself a nice little campsite, but as I was lying in bed reading kept hearing sounds around my tent. I’d seen a deer around dusk, so assumed it was a deer- but after a few minutes of this decided to go outside and check it out. I couldn’t see anything with my headlamp, but did finally see a pair of green eyes reflected back at me. I made some noise, but whatever it was didn’t seem to care, and circled around my tent a couple of times. It was at a fairly good distance away, but still. Deer, in my limited experience, seem to be quite skittish, while bears are not always. I’m pretty sure it was a bear nearby that night. I also considered it a birthday gift that it kept its distance!

The next morning, I woke up at 8:30 to the sound of pouring rain. The last time I’d checked the weather there was a 20% chance of showers, so I figured I’d sleep another half hour until it stopped. Well, it didn’t, and didn’t end up stopping until about 1, at which point the sun came out.

It was almost 2 by the time I actually got going, and after hiking almost 4 miles I came to a sign for the Hemlock Hollow Farm, which had a small store, a restaurant, and a hiker hostel. It was .7 miles off the trail, but I went anyway; not intending to stay, but perhaps to get a cup of coffee and something to eat. I found it to be a beautiful place, with very nice people, so I ended up staying the night. There was one other hiker there, a section hiker named Smoking Jeff. He and I had dinner together, with another hiker who only stayed for dinner. This hiker was named The Big Easy, as he was from New Orleans. I told him that I’d met another hiker with the same name 4 years ago, during my 400-mile southbound hike in 2006. It turned out that it was he! We tried to remember where we’d met, exactly, but all we could come up with was that it was a small store somewhere in Pennsylvania. Still, it was really cool to see someone from that trip, and for us to remember each other.

This brings me to Saturday, where I managed to oversleep. After I had breakfast at the cafe, and drank, I believe, a full pot of coffee. I talked to the waitress, her visiting parents, and the owner’s son. I had a great time there socializing. It was about 2 by the time I left, but I still managed to hike 10 miles. Again, I wrote a blog post with no way to post it, but feeling optimistic. That day I dined well, stayed warm, socialized and still managed a good distance. I was refreshed by repaired equipment and cheered by visiting with my girlfriend. Soon, I realized, I would pass through the roughness of these mountains, and Virginia, though long, was milder, the trail following ridges and offering less intense climbs. Surely, my best days lie ahead of me, my insulin dosage adjusted, and the horrors of hypothermia left in the past.