Closed Trail: Newfound Gap (208.0)

Starting Point: Green Corner Road (241.8)

Ending Point: Groundhog Creek Shelter (249.0)

Total miles: 7.3 trail miles

Steps: 22,825

Injuries: None

Achievements: Snowbird Peak

First and foremost, the band is back together!  Blaze has rejoined us.

So let me explain what happened today.  With the bad weather, the Park Service has closed Newfound Gap, our entry point.  Talking with people at the NOC, based upon the weather, it probably will not open until Saturday or Sunday.  We already took a triple zero — one for rest, one for healing and one to allow Blaze to rejoin us.  Gatlinburg is expensive.  We cannot spend another night or two in town.  It is already packed with hikers.

I proposed that we hike the trail in front of us.  If we cannot get back on a Newfound Gap, then let’s get on at the spot after that.  Everyone agreed, so we hired a shuttle to do that.

It is the same principle as when I advanced on the PCT to avoid the Redding Fire.  I’ll hike the trail that is in front of me.  If it is closed, then it isn’t trail.

With fresh and healed legs, the hike was easy.  There were some excellent views.

Tomorrow, we have don’t have much choice.  There is a shelter at 8 miles, and one at 13, but the one at 13 was polluted by two hikers who stayed in the shelter despite having a virus which gave them diarrhea and vomiting.  Nice huh?

Starting Point: Newfound Gap (208.0)

Ending Point: Newfound Gap (208.0)

Injuries: Healthy

Achievements:

With the weather conditions in the Smokies bad enough that the Park Service closed Newfound Gap, we’ve huddled at a nice, older, hotel for $79 a night.  With four of us jammed in here, it will be less than $100 for us to avoid dangerous weather with conditions outside the scope of my lightweight gear.  Can my zPacks tent weighing 13.1 ounces handle wind gusts of 60+ MPH and temperatures in the teens?  I really don’t want to 

Mileage: 4.8 bonus miles.

Steps: 9,739

The goal today was to go to the grocery store and the outfitter.  I’ve started the transition from freeze dried dinners to more classic hiker trash fare.  I cannot stomach cheap ramen, but instant mashed potatoes works.  I’ll dump a protein like chicken or salmon in.  It actually has more calories than a Mountain House meal.

I also went to the nearby NOC outfitter to purchase some gear.  I seem to have left my carabeaner on a bear hang, so I needed to replace that.  I also purchased a small tank of fuel.  The small tank fits inside my titanium cup.  I’ll switch between a medium and a small.  That will allow me to not have to guess how empty a tank is.

My big purchases was a new outer shell.  My Columbia Men’s Glennaker Lake Rain Jacket was just not cutting it in heavy cold rains.  I’ve upgraded to a Columbia Titanium.  I need something that will keep my core dry.  The exciting news it that I’ve dropped a full size!

That evening, that phone alerted us that we were in a tornado watch area and it rained all night.  We made the right choice staying in.

Mileage: 10.4 bonus miles.

Steps: 20,885

Captain Blogger and I decided to go to Pigeon Forge.  There is a thrift store there that she wanted to visit.  She is also loosing weight at a rapid pace, but cannot afford to buy new equipment at an outfitter.  I went with her just for the adventure.

Public transportation here is a joke.  The bus was over 30 minutes late.  Routes only run once an hour.  I had a call at 4 p.m. I wanted to attend.  We started our way back at 2 p.m. and I was still thirty minutes late.

While we were waiting, we talked with some drunken Canadians on the bus.  They went to Clingmans Dome the day before and there was a foot of snow.  I was the reinsurance that we made the right decision.

We ended the night with some good cheap Mexican Captain Blogger discovered.  That will provide lunch to tomorrow as well.

Mileage:

Steps:

Blaze left in the morning in a rental car from Connecticut and will rejoin us tonight.  Our hodge podge trail family, now expanded to five, will hopefully make our way back to Newfound Gap tomorrow.  How we will get there and whether it will be open, we do not know.

A combination of daily showers, rest, and clean laundry has allowed my chaffing to heal. I’m now 100% healthy and ready to go.  I’ve removed it from my health status.

The only chores I need to do is some laundry and to pack.  I’m itching to go.  The question is whether we will be able to do so.  With Newfound Gap closed, I asked the hotel what our options might be.  The room jumps from $75 a night to $150, and there is only one room available.

Starting Point: Mollies Ridge Shelter (178.0)

Ending Point: Derrick Knob Shelter (190.1)

Total miles: 12.1 miles

Steps: 37,576

Achievements: Rocky Top, Thunderhead Mountain

We got up early and pushed hard again.  12.1 miles.  While today didn’t have as much climb, the terrain was much more challenging.  Normally, I can make up time on a ridge or a decent.  Not today.

Tomorrow, we’re going to have a shorter day.  We are going to position ourselves for the climb of Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the AT.  I haven’t staged for a climb since the PCT.  Clingmans Dome is also the 200 mile point for me.

I remain healthy with no issues.

Starting Point: Fontana Dam (164.6) 

Ending Point: Mollies Ridge Shelter (178.0)

Total miles: 13.4 miles

Steps: 35,972

Achievements: Shuckstack, Doe Knob