late last night a family (dad and two boys) showed up at the shelter. they were cold, wet, and noisy. so I didn't get to sleep until after 11, and then I was up at 6:30 packing up for the hike. I guess in my normal life this wouldn't be a big deal, but it felt like a huge deal this morning on the trail.
had to cross clingmans dome (6600) early today. highest point on the AT. it was windy, cold, and wet. much of the trail was frozen...and when not frozen, really muddy. at one point my left shoe was pulled off by the quick sand - like mud and my sock became soaked with water and mud. nice. for a short time the trail was covered with about 4 inches of solid ice, so it was slow going. also...I'm writing this while I repeat to myself "I'm here to grow" over and over: I left camp in a spread-out group of four, and someone ahead of me took a wrong turn so we all made the mistake of assuming we were going the right way...even though I knew it was wrong, but I was too far behind to get their attention. SO we went over a mile out of our way and had to backtrack. nice. so after 10.5 miles we were finished and I hitch hiked into gatlinburg - oh yeah, I hitch hiked with d'leader at newfound gap. some other hikers picked us up in their pick up truck and drove us 15 miles to town. cool. staying at a creepy cheap motel tonight after having a big dinner at a weird brewery in this really odd town. it's like Branson, MO without the music. hehe.
stomach is fine now, HA David - I'm not dying of some odd virus! did laundry, bought groceries, and doctored my feet.
everything seems ok - just wish the trail were friendlier. have supplied myself for about 5 days - hitting the trail again tomorrow morning and should be in hot springs, nc by sunday or monday.
talk later. KU is a #3, really? go DUKE!
L
-- Post From My iPhone
A.T. Map
about me
- Lance Madson
- A guy who decided to walk away from the corporate world for a little while to hike the entire Appalachian Trail and document it through photos and writing.