On top of Ol' Smokey

Hey everyone! So I rolled into Hot Springs yesterday to make it to an Easter service, and have been hanging out since then. It's definitely a hiker-friendly town (the trail actually goes through downtown), and it has been my favorite stay so far. I started 8 miles from Hot Springs (which I did in about 2 hours, thanks to caffeine drink mix), and made it just in time for a service at the first baptist church in town (ironically next door to the presbyterian church). Despite cleaning up a bit and changing into my least stinky clothes, it finally dawned on me how badly I smell. It took a lot for me not to be ashamed of my odor at the church, trying to remember that God cares about the heart, and not so much the stench. After the service, I reunited and hung out with old hiking buddies (including Uncle Roj who I met my first day, he really caught up!) at the Spring Creek Tavern. I barely finished an 18 ounce hiking burger, and then camped in town (which they let thru-hikers do).

Rewinding a couple of days, I left Fontana Village and entered the Smokies last Sunday, narrowly missing a snowstorm that hit the day before (other hikers I met had to go through about half a foot of snow, which mostly melted before my arrival). A note about Fontana: I obviously couldn't post this while still there, but we found it to be very expensive and somewhat of a trap for hikers. The frustrating part is that it is so convenient for hikers about to enter the Smokies, and they are hence able to have the upper hand. It was relaxing, but I'm glad to be out. The first night in the Smokies was cold and windy, and because the park requires people to stay in shelters unless there's absolutely no room, we squeezed more than twenty people into a 12 person shelter. The next day, I hiked a strenuous 15 miles to the next shelter, due to the mud. If you know what it's like exerting the extra energy to walk on sand rather than stable ground, you can understand what hiking 15 miles through mostly mud was like. The next day, I started early to make it to Clingman's Dome in morning light. The weather was perfectly clear, and it was probably the best view I've ever seen in my life (if you know how much I've hiked, that's saying a lot). I also entered the canadian zone, which is made up of a unique spruce-fir forest (reminded me of the Adirondacks). There was still some ice on the trail (better that than mud in my opinion), so it was slower going, but I was already enjoying the scenery anyways.

Later that day, I received trail magic at Newfound Gap and hitched down to Gatlinburg. I'd heard a lot about the city (that it's tourist central), and I can say that it was definitely a shock compared to being in the woods for a long time. All of the t-shirt, fudge, and trinket shops reminded me of the Jersey shore, minus the ocean. One characteristic thing about Gatlinburg is that there are numerous moonshine bars that apparently offer free samples, so from what I could see, one could potentially get drunk for free. I did fill up on dip and hot sauce samples at a cooking store, though. I shared a room with some other thru-hikers and hitched back up the next morning. They are called the fantastic four, and one carries a travel guitar and another carries a melodica (look it up, it's hard to describe). They're writing a book about their adventures, and they play music at open mics and on street sides (apparently making decent money).

After making it out of the Smokies, I stayed at a shelter with a deformed floor (there was some shifting toward the center that night), and it thunderstormed, which made for quite a show. The next day, I received trail magic on top of Max Patch, which was originally cleared for cattle, and looks just like the background on a Windows computer. It was clear and beautiful, but the windchill was brutally cold. There was a family trying to fly a kite, but it kept trying to escape from them. I camped right before Hot Springs that night. I'll probably put in 10 miles later today, and will be picking up my first dropbox from the Hemlock Hollow Inn the next day. I feel like I am starting to get into the groove of the trail more, and I'm starting to recognize more names and faces. I feel like I'm part of a close knit community. Of course, the feeling is almost instantaneous whenever one walks into a hiker hostel, but hey, that's the trail. I'm gonna hike on, but I'll fill you in about 2 weeks from now!