Trip Miles: 199.10
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Circumstances forced us into Gatlinburg a few days early. One of us had enrolled at UTI and needed to clear a few things up. Fortunately for us, Duck Tape, who's from Knoxville, was meeting his dad at Clingman's Dome. He arranged a ride into town today and back to the trail tomorrow. Thank you.
As much as we would have liked to continue for a couple of more days, we're learning that the trail makes a lot of your decisions for you and it's best to take the path it offers.
We got up to very cold temps this a.m. So glad we were in the tents, it's much warmer than the shelter. Even so, my breakfast of a snickers bar was frozen. The hike to the Clingman's Dome Observation Tower was pretty easy and had lots of views. We saw another doe grazing along the trail and passed close enough to touch it. As we neared the tower we met Tony and Jessica who were walking the trail handing out magic. They hope to thru hike in the future and gave us some snacks and soda. Thanks guys, just what we needed.
At the tower we met Teacher and Snacktime from R.I. who are going to each of the fourteen states that the trail passes through doing trail magic, and walking ten miles of the trail. An awesome homeschool experience for Snacktime.
The tower gave us great views of where we've been and where we're heading, but the cold wind chased us down pretty quickly. We walked down the road and met Duck Tape's dad. There is no way we can thank them enough for driving us to and all around Gatlinburg. They went well out of their way to be helpful and we so appreciate it. Thanks again for all your kindnesses.
Tomorrow we hope to put in about 12 miles and then pick up the pace a bit. We'll see where there trail sends us.
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| Duck Tape, me, Natalie, and Mike on Clingman's Dome |
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| The observation deck at Clingman's Dome |
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| Looking back from whence we came |
The walk leading up Clingman's Dome was gorgeous...reminded me of the enchanted forests found in Portland, OR. We met a ranger who looked liked Mr. Dangles from Reno 911...Mike and I explored Gatlinburg, and Mike got to have deep fried oreos for the first time. We got to ride the trolley which we didn't know would take us in the wrong direction for an extra 20 minutes before heading back to the hotel...haha long day but really fun. My second time in Gatlinburg. Got to get some moonshine so I was happy! Mike prepared for the half gallon challenge by eating his own ice cream and than finishing John and I's left over ice cream!
ReplyDeleteTrail notes: Day 29: 4 miles got a uti and had to go into town and had a blast hanging out with Mike in Gatlinburg. Thanks to John and dean and his dad I got into town and was able to get stuff for my uti and spent 5 hours trying to resupply. met sunshine and mad science! Cool people!!