I got a shuttle back to the trail from Gatlinburg. The outfitter in town provided the shuttle at 10 am. It was 10:45 before I was on trail. There was heavy fog. Half of the miles today were snow pack/ice covered. Without any rain it was much easier to hike today than yesterday. I hiked by myself today. For several miles I was hiking along the ridge of the mountain. In the one picture you can see that on each side of the trail the ground drops steeply. The sun came out at 1:00 pm warming things up. There was ice falling from the trees, as in the picture. I was hit by it several times. There were many places where it looked like someone had emptied out 10 bags of ice. I believe it's called rime ice. The trees were covered with it. I met some other thru's eating lunch. There was Quaker, Trouble, Hobo, and Sun Driven. Guard is the young guy that went into Gatlinburg with me yesterday. By afternoon the fog was gone and there were many beautiful views. There are 12-14 people in the shelter tonight. Guard and Rabbit are the only two I have sheltered with before. Rabbit is 19 and goes to Virginia Tech. The hikers that I met eating lunch today are here too. My socks got wet today for the first time since I started. There was a lot of water standing or running down the trail. Hopefully I can get my boots and socks dried tomorrow. I'll be out of the Smoky Mountains in about 16 more miles.
looks like your having a good trip so far kept up the good work
ReplyDeleteHope the weather changes for the better soon. The pics are so great. Continue to be safe. Love, Nancy
ReplyDeleteKeep on hiking! Your blog has become the night time bed story for the kids. We look forward to hearing of your progress, who you meet, and where you sleep next. The kids liked the trail name "Hobo".
ReplyDeleteHappy Trails.
Kenji
Hobo lives in Maine. It stands for homeward bound.
DeleteSave some of that ice, You might need it in July ;).
ReplyDelete