Fellowship With the WildernessTed's A.T. Trek!: Day 21

Woohoo! And yay I have service!

I'm here atop Mount Cammerer, 5000 feet for the last time until New Hampshire. It's funny, there were many times in the Smokies where, if you asked me how I was feeling, I would have said "not too good." But, looking back, those moments were not that bad, and the good certainly outweighed the bad, and even the bad times were important learning opportunities. What was good was the terrain. The Smokies are absolutely unbelievable. Not only are the mountains huge, affording the best views I've seen on the trail so far, but the ground-level experience is so unique to any other land I've been in. Sometimes, near the top of a mountain, there is nearly no underbrush; it's either grass or huge trees. It feels like a park, or someone's manicured backyard! Other points, particularly around Clingman's Dome, were the densest, greenest, darkest pieces of trail I've been on. It was like hiking at night. Then there was the weather. My first 3 days in the park, as well as today, were very nice, with warm-enough temperatures and clear skies. Man, the views were (and are) amazing on days like this! Yesterday it didn't rain very much, but it was windy and I hiked in a cloud all day. Despite the "bad" weather, it turned out to be a very enjoyable day. Points like Charlie's Bunion, a rock outcropping, I had looked forward to all week for their fantastic views, were just as impressive in the clouds. I found the force of the wind and the stark whiteness that surrounded me very powerful.

I also hiked with some fantastic people. Some were fellow thru-hikers, like Uphill and his friend Purple Blaze (who thru-hiked last year and was just sectioning). Purple Blaze gave me some super helpful tips for the future (including to walk the extra half mile here). Some were section hikers, like Payday. Payday told me the story of April 2 1987, when he was trapped at a shelter for a week because 5 feet of snow had fallen in the park! And some were day hikers, like Ed and Nick, who were kind enough to give me a banana just now. Anyway the good definitely outweighs the bad, the bad being Wednesday afternoon and evening. I had just finished Clingman's Dome, and it was only 2:30 so I thought it'd be a good idea to push on to Newfound Gap, which I mistakenly read as 6 miles. At the 3.5 mile mark, I realized the gap was actually 8 miles from Clingman's. Unwisely, I pushed on, stopping only once to take a break, eating no food, and probably drinking too little water. When I got to the gap at 6, I was kind of out of it and gratefully recieved the bountiful trail magic being offered there. I ate 2 snickers bars, a bag of potato chips, a bag of Cheetos, 8 double stuff oreos, a pack of Nutter Butter, and sour patch kids in about 15 minutes, then I followed that up with a Knorr dinner. To put it simply, my stomach did not agree the 2000 or so calories suddenly dumped on it.

It was not a fun night, but I learned that I need to hike responsibly. Frequent stops for water, slowing the pace when tired, and knowing when to stop for the day are very important. I don't want another night like that one. Yesterday I took it easy and I've since returned myself to health. Now, on to Davenport Gap. Goodbye Great Smoky Mountain National Park!

-Ted
1:20 p.m. 4/3/2015