March 30th

I'm writing the date since it might be a while before I get to post this. Probably Erwin, TN, in a couple of days. Haven't had any phone signal since Gatlingburg. Verizon sometimes gets signal out here, but not AT&T. Today's been another long day. Wasn't supposed to have been. 

So slept on the floor inside the shelter. It got pretty cold, but not too bad. Woke up to 6 inches of snow. The shelters aren't airtight, and where the wind blew through it had blown snow. But the best part was, everything that was wet from the torrential downpour yesterday was now frozen. See the sock picture for an example. That made getting ready this morning fairly challenging. I just waited for a couple of people to leave before I even considered getting out of my sleeping bag. I was just planning on a short day, 9 miles to the next hostel where I was going to watch the UK game. I pretty much sold everyone else on it, even though it was pretty expensive. I think most people were feeling in need of a pick me up and a warm bed. So off through the snow goes I. One reason I waited to leave was so someone else broke trail. That stuff is hard. 

It was an exceptionally beautiful day. Funsize, who was one of the earlier risers, wrote her name in the snow, and everyone after her did as well. I caught up with Joules and Canary there. I made the attempt at drawing a "midnight sparkle" in the snow by drawing a crescent moon with a shine. Pretty sure people are wondering who drew a banana. 

Left the girls behind and hiked on, eventually getting passed by Sheepshead. But he ended up taking a wrong turn. The trail is covered in snow, so you pretty much follow the footsteps of whoever went first. But they don't always get it right. I've had to backtrack several times to get to all of the white blazes. The trail had a fork. I stopped at this place for a long time, trying to decide which way to go, because no blazes were in sight and tracks went both directions. 

I finally chose a direction, the right one, and as soon as I saw a blaze I went back and made an arrow pointing the correct path. Sheepshead was in front of me though, and he took the wrong path. For a long way. I didn't see him again until he caught up to where I was taking a break in a hostel. He was mentally done in for the day, but after hearing about that hostel he decided to join me. We walked together the rest of the way, and at the trailhead Happy Fellas wife was parked there. She drove us to the hostel and waited for me to talk to the people there. The owner said "sure, no problem. You can watch it in the store." But the store closed at 5. The UK game didn't start until 5. I asked for some understanding, didn't get it, so said to heck with it and rode back to the trail. Sheepshead, Rockfish, and Gandalf were staying there, and Laughs-a-lot and Two Putt were staying at some random guys trailer. It was an interesting situation. They were charging $25 a bunk. Plus $5 for a shower, and $10 for laundry. And if you wanted a ride back to the trail (2.8 miles), then another 10 bucks. I'd have paid it if I could have watched the UK game. Oh well. 

Back at the trailhead Joules, Canary, and Copperhead were just coming out of the woods. I explained the situation, and they all decided to stay. The weather has been rather nasty, so totally understand. I bid them adieu, and off I went for another 6 miles. 

I badly misjudged how long it would take me. I didn't get here (Hogsback shelter) until almost an hour after dark. One Day, Funsize, Sun Bear, Treefrog and one other guy were already here. They made room and I climbed into bed. I'm exhausted. The snow and mud are really hard walking. Still don't know how the game turned out. 

A typical sock this morning. 

Me thinking I'm becoming snow blind. 

Joules and Canary. 

The trail. Yes. That cold.