Day 15: Clingmans's Dome!

Woke up freezing. Below freezing, actually. The themometer read 25 degrees... Few wanted to leave their warm sleeping bags. I was one, but somehow mustered the strength to get up, go get water from the stream and make some tea. Ugh, it was so cold!!



During the evening before, lots of kids were talking about hitching into Gatlinburg from Newfound Gap for a night at the cheap Grand Prix hotel after surviving the snow. Xan, Brian and I had planned to go straight through the Smokies, but the idea of going into town was sounding more and more overwhelmingly awesome. AND Brian's sister, Meg, goes to U Tennesee and was willing to swing by, pick us up, and go have lunch in Gatlinburg. Excellent. But we had to get to the gap by 2pm.

So, we began hiking shortly after 9 and it was pretty cool. A winter wonderland of sorts... Luckily, a few people left before us, so there were tracks to follow. Couldn't see much of any white blazes...

Now, there are good times to be 6 feet tall, like when you have to hang your pack on a high nail... and there are bad times to be 6 feet tall, like when all the trees are heavy with snow and hanging all over the trail. Though, unless you were 4 foot nothing, you'd have to duck and dodge all those branches... And if you hit one (which happened very often) all the snow goes right down your back. Hello!

The 5 mile climb to the top of Clingman's Dome (the highest elevation of the whole AT) was very beautiful in the (thank god!) morning sun, and it was nice and gradual. We got to the top and took a few frosty photos from the observation deck before the strong winds chased us back down. (most of those photos are on my camera, not my iPhone, but I'll try to get a few uploaded...)

Then we started DOWN. By this time, the sun was strong, and all the snow was melting. It was basically raining on us, and the mud/snow/ice mixture on the ground was gross, slippery, and quite unpleasant. Brian and Xan took off (they're very fast downhill), and I was walking with Little Foot for a while. He stopped to pee and I didn't end up seeing him again till the end. I was trying to focus hard on my steps, and a bad-news-bears email I got (with brief phone service at the top) had me all flustered and thinking, but I wanted to go fast to be in time for our ride... I was soaking wet from the snow/ice drips and frustrated, and then stumble #10 of the day was my first fall. Slippery log. Right foot went left, and I came down on my right knee and hand. Argh! But no injury. I did a bit of a laugh/cry and then took off again, a bit slower now... The boys and I had a bet where the first person to fall would buy a round of beers. Beer's on me.

I was so ready to be done with this mountain!! And I was going to make it in time. Just before I got to the gap, someone had left trail magic on the trail!! A box of Nutter Butters, Ho-Ho's, oranges and bananas!! Instant good mood. And then I met the boys in the parking lot. Lots of action and tourists a this gap. One guy asked me to pose for a picture, so he could capture a "real through hiker." Ha!

Meg showed up a few minutes after we all got there, and soon we packed 6 stinky hikers and all our stuff into her friend's jeep cheroke... It was impressive. 20 minutes later, Meg, Brian, Xan, Little Foot, Joyce, Still Steve, and I were packing in the food at Wendy's in Gatlinburg, TN. Delish.

Meg had to get back to campus for a softball game, but dropped us all off at the Grand Prix hotel at the edge of town. 4 in a room for $14 each. Nice! Two queen beds and a balcony for all our stinky crap! Joyce and Steve gir singles. We dumped everything and "e-pack-ulated" everywhere, and started laundry. A quick trip to the outfitter and the mini mart, and we hung out with a few other hikers in our room. We were waiting for laundry and drinking a few beers before hitting up the all-you-can-eat buffet at Shoney's. Aw yeah. We ate like kings. And now it's so very late for us. Almost 11?!?! Tired. Too full. Big uphill tomorrow. So tired. Bloated. But happy with a pillow...


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Ski Mountain Rd,Gatlinburg,United States