4/9

The common theme in the smokeys is, when you wake up its gonna be cold and foggy. Today will be my last day in the smokeys, so I am wholeheartedly ready for some warmer weather. It rained again last night, but luckily none of my stuff got too wet. I will need to dry my tent and one side of my sleeping bag. Luckily I never got cold at any point. At some point the rain must have turned to sleet and snow, the ground is littered with patches of white. Since I didn't stay in the shelter, for the first time in a long while I am able to wake up and get going at my own pace. It is too cold to stand around and worry about cooking again so I gorge on peanut butter and begin my day. 

The path is high enough elevation where many of the trees for the first half of the day are frozen. Mile long sections are covered in a coating of winter, and turning down some paths looks as though I am walking through a wonderland of white. As the sun comes up the fog starts to break allowing for larger sections of white to be seen. Whole mountainsides are glistening white as thin clouds roll through them. Again I pass through fir thickets, but none as fantastic as the day before. 

As the sun begins to climb many of the paths begin to thaw revealing a mess of trail the likes of which I have yet to see. At some points walking straight down the middle of the trail means sinking inches into mud. Today is somewhat warmer than past days, but that may be in part of the elevation drop as well. The sun climbs higher and by 1, I am close to 13 miles in. With the sun occasionally peeking through the clouds I stop at a shelter and have a hot lunch. 13 miles sounds like a lot for a day, but most of the trail has been very rolling or downhill. I quickly eat and then set off for the remaining 7 miles to the last shelter of the park. As the downhill truly sets in and my elevation falls, for the first time since I have started my hike, it feels like spring. I smell budding flowers and green surrounds me on all sides. Shrubs and ferns spring up around me while some trees have begun to grow leaves. Signs of spring have been sparce until now. I hope that it stays this way. 

By the time I reach the final shelter it is only 4:30. I decide that this is not far enough today and I make a quick snack and then I get back on the trail. Because the trail has been so nasty all day I change socks to some dry ones to try and help my feet. I can feel at least one blister forming on my right foot. Lacing up my boots halfway and then considering how wet it is have not helped at all. After bypassing the shelter the next place to go is standing bear farm, it is a tent/bunk hostel. I am hiking up the hill to the hostel when the owner passes me and offers me a ride the last half mile. This hostel has got to be one of the most interesting out there. The owner and his best friend run it, the best friends name is rocket. Rocket is the burnt out rock version of a wild redneck past his prime. The hostel itself looks more like the adult version of a summer camp. The resupply shed works on the honesty rule. Everyone gets an envelope as they arrive and as you take things from the shed, write what's you took and how much it was on the envelope. There is no washing machine, so all laundry must be done by hand on a washboard. I realize that is a very old fashioned thing to say and I assure you I never thought I would have to do laundry on a wash board. The ash board tub is located night next to a dryer, which makes sense? I opt to stay in the bunk house, which remind me of an actual summer camp bunk house. All the bunks have been cut and built with what I can only assume is local wood. There is only 1 outlet to share among the 14 bunks. 

There is a kitchen area where we can make use of any utensils and or cookware. The whole hostel winds down early. Once the sun goes down, there is not much else for a hiker to do. Most of us are far too tired to worry about staying up to find any amusement. I manage to stay awake for a little while to read and the head out to a campfire where rocket is having a good old time. I listen to the ramblings and enjoy the warmth and before long it is cold and I am ready for my bunk. 

I have managed to only come out with 1 blister so hopefully dry socks and some shorter miles will help to cater to that. Today's final miles has once again set the record for farthest number of miles in 1 day. The new record stands at 23.6 miles. I don't see myself breaking that record again until Virginia when the landscape is supposed to be rolling and not so drastic in elevation.