March 30th
Looks like the TStorms may not come til afternoon tomorrow, so early up and hiking tomorrow.
All you can eat breakfast at Bennett’s BBQ, then $5 shuttle back to Clingman’s Dome to get into my 12.5 mile day to Ice Creek Shelter area. Hope to put up my tent tonight. It’ll be a coffee and pop tart breakfast to minimize cleanup and getting some miles in before the TStorm comes. Met Clutch, Moonboots, another Shaggy, and several others on the shuttle. After 1/2 mile, I’ll pass the 200 mile mark. Since the AT weaves for over 100 miles back and forth between NC and TN, the marker for state line crossing won’t come til the final cross into TN, out of NC.
I gave myself a break in middle of my 12.5 hike, after about 4 miles of very rocky down hill hiking. It was very hard on my knee. It also took back all the treatment that I gave it yesterday. I just ate a quick lunch of turkey jerky and a peanut butter meal replacement bar and took some ibuprofen and pain relief Tylenol. Today feels like the worst day that I’ve had on the trail. The knee pain has been dull but constant. I continue to take time to stretch 2–3 times a day. When my body is not working at optimum or not close, it feels like situational depression. I’m sitting on a fallen tree, next to the trail, as I write these feelings, as I feel them. I know I’ll have a better day tomorrow and that I’ll feel great once I get to camp. Today will be my latest arrival, about 6–6:30pm, in time to put up tent and make dinner before darkness arrives. Time to get back to hiking. As a long time runner, I’ve used hard days when I seemed to struggle to get thru my typical run, knowing that when I got through it, I’d be a stronger runner because of it. I expect the same following today’s difficult hike day. I put up my tent quickly, setting up my mattress, my 16 degree sleeping bag, pillow, silk liner, book and eventually my backpack, to keep it dry from dew condensation. The rain is expected to begin again tomorrow. I love sleeping in my tent, in my private home, listening to the strong gusting winds at 6,000 feet. To be able to quickly and easily exit my tent to pee on a nearby tree. Instead of having to crawl out of my sleeping space in the shelter, trying to avoid waking others and then walking around the shelter to find a place to pee with my headlamp. No stars tonight. If TStorm comes torrentially, I may take an extra day to hike out of the Smokies, possibly staying a full day at the shelter, which will empty with motivated hikers. I’ve sufficient food in my pack to last 4 more days, if necessary, though I’ll hike out not later than 3 days from now, if not 2, depending on the storm and my knee. Good night.
