april 2 - out of the smokies

April 2 was the day i left the smokies. So of course it was a good day. We woke up pretty early because of the cold, Everyone did. Anything that was wet was frozen solid, which means that everyones boots were frozen. I wanted to start hiking as soon as possible to start generating heat. So as soon as i was packed up i ate a handful of trailmix and started hiking. We hike most of the day with chad and silas. Talking to chad i learned how easy it is to get a degree in education. Evidently there are online colleges that'll give you a recognized degree in about a year. As the elevation got lower and lower, it got warmer. First the snow began getting softer, then thinner, then just mud, then dry ground. The sun was also out all day, and the terrain was mostly downhill. So even though the day was longer, it was still much more enjoyable. We ended at davenport gap shelter. Its an old style smoky mountain shelter, that the front wall is a chain link fence to keep bears out. I hung my tarp on it to keep any wind out. A few more hikers arrived, one of them made a campfire, and some of us sat by it until late. It was a pretty nice, but chilly night.

april 1 - smokies solo

April 1st started off bad, and ended not too bad. It had rained over night, and the temps got to the 20s. So in the morning there was a sheet of ice covering everything, especcially the trail, which at this point was frozen slush covered with ice. The only redeeming quality of that morning was that since we were on a mountaintop, the view from the shelter was amazing. The sun was beginning to come up and heat the mountains, so the lower mountaintops were poking through what looked like a sea of clouds. It looked as though we were above the clouds. I cooked breakfast, so it was a slow morning for me. I was in no hurry because i wanted to let the trail warm up a bit first. Dj had left a half hour before i did, and my pace was a little bit slower, so i hiked by myself the whole day. The sun stayed out most of the day, so the fog on the lower peaks was visible alll day as well. There was one part where the fog was beinng blown over a lower point of the trail. So ahead of me it looked liked a river fog was flowing over the trail. It was pretty amazing. Being able to go my own pace and stop whenever i wanted made the day much better. I listened to music while hiking until my mp3 player died. The solo days are nice, but they get boring quickly. I wouldnt want to hike alone everyday. The destination shelter was also high altitude, and was cold when i got there, around 330pm. I cooked my dinner soon after getting there, and i was glad i got there so early when other hikers started arriving around 6. The shelter filled up and some hikers slept on the floor. Its good the shelter was crowded though. It was a very cold night.

march 31- clingmans dome

March 31 was a very wet day. All the snow that had fallen was beginning to melt. so the day was trudging through watery slush and sliding down the slippery descents. The day wasnt as bad as it sounds though. When i swtarted hiking in the morning i felt light and energetic. The slush was fun, and as long as i was hiking i felt warm. I slid down every slippery spot and loved. I dont know if it was the vitamins i took the night before or the dump i took in the morning, but i felt great all day. The beginning of the day was the climb up to clingmans dome, the highest mountain on the appalachian trail. At 6655 feet its not as high as the rockies or many other high mountain ranges, but you can feel the altitude in the cold weather, and you can see over all the mountains in every direction. There was no view when i was up there though. The entire day was cloudy, and even rained later in the day. The bad weather did have a good break to it, in the form of trail magic. Trail magic can make a bad day feel good, no matter how bad the day is. And dj was having a pretty bad day. I think the cold and the wet and the not having had dry socks since last thursday is getting to him. Its getting to me too. Its getting to everyone. Also, he left the shelter almost a half hour before i did, and told me he'll wait at clingmans for me. I took my time getting up clingmans. Its was only about 2.5 miles from the shelter, so it didnt take very long. But shortly after i began i caught up to silver fox, an older hiker. He hikes pretty fast despite his age. He attributes his energy to herbalife. A nutrition company that runs on multi level marketing, and evidently is the best quaity nutririon company there is. I spoke to him while hiking about what it takes to make money of multi level marketing schemes, particularly herbalife, which he has made millions off of over the years. We spoke and hiked, not too fast, not too slow. By the time i got to where dj was waiting, he had been waiting 45 minutes, and he was cold, and pissed. He continued hiking with silver fox, and i continued up to the top of the mountain. It was only a quarter mile so it didnt take long, and i picked up a few small rocks as keepsakes. I was able to catch up to them quickly afterward anyways. It was alot of fun sliding down the descents and jumping off the small ledges and continuing the slide, using my trekking poles like ski poles. Ive decided that i have to try skiing when i finish the hike. We eventually got ahead of silver fox, and another hiker, northstar, hiked with us for a few miles. He eventually stopped when we passed a road to wait for a friend of his who was hiking slower. From there it wasnt long to newfound gap, the parking lot and road that goes to gatlinberg. Thats where the trail magic was. Free food always makes people feel better. We hung out there with godspeed and mountain momma, the two trail angels providing the trail magic, for about a half hour. It was raining at this point, but was only 3 miles to our destination shelter. So it was only another hour and a half to the end of the day. There was space in the shleter but it was crowded, so it stayed in the low 30s dring the night inside the shelter. While it was in the low 20s outside.

march 28-30 into the smokies

Hiking in snow is not fun. It makes for some decent views when the clouds go away, but is more tiring and slower than hiking on solid dry ground. Its been a really busy and tiring few days. We managed to get a ride back to trail on thursday morning, the 28th. After miriam made us breakfast, david, one of the guests from the seder, came by to pick us up and drive us back to the trail. Davids fulls name is david perkins. He has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles in both america nad israel. He said that some israeli newspapers have written that he may be the messiah. And one there has called him the king of klezmer, because of his clarinet skills. Though he plays multiple instruments. He gave us a ride back to fontana dam. He told us his story of moving to knoxville. It was an interesting story, some of which was covered in knoxville newspapers. When we got to the dam. He wanted to play some music on the dam. So he played flute, and clarinet, and trumpet, and made us balloon animals to bring with us on the trail. The beginning of the way into the smokies wasnt so bad, just alot of uphill, and the weather was nice. Sunny, in the 50's. I was able to hike in my tshirt until we started getting to higher altitudes. I started to see patches of snow every now and then. We continued climbing higher, until we were walking through slush and snow. We started hiking late in the day. Around 3pm. But the first shelter was almost 11 miles in. We were hiking fast, and my ankle went right back to hurting, after a week of rest. We got to the shelter after dark, i was too cold and tired to cook so i just ate the rest of my trailmix and got in my sleeping bag. ... We woke up in the morning on the 29th of march to the sun shining bright as ever. It looked like it was going to be a good day. Then, after only a few minutes of hiking the clouds covered the sun, and a light snow began. The light snow continued for most of the day, but towards thye end, the last few hours, it was a heavy wet snow, with the snow being almost a foot in some areas. The trail was very slippery and the going was slow. When we got to the shelter, around 6pm, it was already full. The only spots left were the floor. So we spread our tarps down and put our sleeping bags on the floor. Our clothes were very wet from the snow, so getting everything dry was a priority. The smoky mountain shelters have fireplaces and wind tarps up, so as long as a fire is burning, it can keep the shelter a few degrees warmer. Me and another hiker, rocky, kept the fire going, he was rotating the drying shoes and socks by the fire, and i collected wood. It was very hard to fin wood because of the snow. So i broke down a small tree and brought it back to the shelter, i broke the tree up and we kept the fire going til about 10pm. Sleeping on the floor meant that i was between everyone else and the door. I was repeatedly stepped on by other hikers dring the night who woke up to pee. On the plus side, it was surprisingly warm in the shelter because there were about 29 people in a shelter thats meant for 12 people. ... The next morning, march 30, was another sunny one. We got up slowly, made a hot breakfast, and were almost the last ones to leave the shelter. Half a mile in i realized i left my watch at the last shelter. I ran back while dj and sarah continued hiking. i got my watch and caught up to them after an hour or so. The sun eventually came out and stayed out. The ground still had alot of snow from the night before. About a foot deep still, but the warm sun kept things somewhat pleasant. We didnt hike very far today, only about 7 miles. Its very difficult to hke in snow, every 3 steps only takes you forward for 2. Your foot slides in a different direction every time you take a step, and having a backpack only adds to the instability. Ending our day early also helped ensure that we got spots in the shelter. About 4 hikers here didnt try for spots in the shelter, setting up tents and hammocks instead. Theres enough space in here for a few more people, and more people might still come. Were gonna go over clingmans dome tomorrow. Its the highest mountain on the appalachian trail, 6655 feet above sea level. Theres talk of rain tomorrow, which in the temperatures wont be fun. Not sure if we'll stop in gatlinburg, we have just enough food to get us to the end of the smokies, but im running low on fuel for my stove. Yesterday, someone mistook it for my water when he asked me for some for his stove. I realizd after the fact that he had took half my fuel and poured it into his pot along with the last of his water. That was wasted, and i went from having more than enough fuel to having only enough that i might have to go a day without hot food. Dj gave me some of his, because he got his pocket rocket in knoxville, which runs on canned fuel. I still might not have enough. We'll see.

march 26-27 second seder and second day of passover

We woke up at 11am. Later than we wanted to wake up, because we wanted to get to shul. We went to shul anyways, and got there just as it was ending. We went back to the house, and miriam had to go to thne hospital for her patient. When she got back around 3pm me and dj helped in the kitchen. She was hosting the second seder for 15 people, and hadnt started any cooking yet. So the 3 of us began preparing the food, an hour later two of her friends came over to help too. The seder started around 630pm. And it was more similar to the seders i am used to. Except that many of the parts were in english. It was an entertaining crowd, there was david, a clarinet player and balloon sculptor, he busks in market square in knoxville, so he has lots of practice entertaining. His fiance, robin, reads palms and tells fortunes, she read djs palm, and yes, palm reading is a scam. and once again i drank a whole lot of wine so i was pretty loud most of the time. The next day, the second day of passover, we woke up early enough to catch the last 15 minutes of shul. We took a walk with miriam, she showed us the knoxville greenway, a 10 mile walking trail through knoxville that runs in a loop. We went back to the house shortly after, and miriam took a cab back to the hospital. We sat reading until she got back. The rabbi came by a little while later and me and dj walked with him and his wife back to the greenway. When we got back, about an hour later, the rabbi went home, and me and dj walked some more. This time the opposite direction, towards the shopping area, and came back about a half hour later. When we got back this time, miriam took out soem food for us to eat, and we talked about politics and history until the holiday ended. We all then went shopping for groceries for breakfast. That didnt last very long, we were back within an hour. And finally i was able to take a shower and put alll of my clothes in the washing machine. Clean clothes on the trail feels so great, and i grab every opportunity to wash my clothes. Tomorrow, david will probably give us a ride back to the trail. I need to run to the post office in the morning to send home my suit. The post office is a little over a mile from here, so ill probably walk it. Weather is still cold here, and definitely still cold in the smokies. Also, our packs are heavy right now from all the passover food we have. About 8 days worth of food. So thats about 14 pounds each. Its gonna be rough in the smokies, but we gotta do em sometime.

march 25- first seder

Our day in knoxville was pretty good too. Woke up around 9am, didnnt get outta bed til 10 thoough. I was the first one awake in the house, and dj woke up not too long after. We helped austin clean up the kitchen and wash the dishes. we ate whatever leftovers we had from the night before and austin made eggs. we left around 1pm. Austin drove one us back to the groundswell collective because dj had left his hat there. The doors were locked and nobody was inside. Then we dropped off austins friend eric. After that we went to an outfitter store so dj can get a new camelback, as his had gotten a leak the day before. I got a new filter for my pump while i was there. Every time i go to an outfitter i check out the backpacks and boots. Backpacks because i want to get a smaller lighter one. Mine is a 90 liter, which is huge, and weighs about 6lbs. There are 70 liter packs which weigh less than 4lbs. Problem is, i cant justify spending $200 for a 2.5lb reduction at this point. The same goes for my boots, they are big, heavy, and despite that they dont do much to support my ankles. Having lighter boots will definitely make my trip easier, but at only 150 miles in i dont want to get new boots. Im considering getting new boots in damascus, which is another 150 miles down the trail. So that i wont feel like my currrent boots will be wasted. Also, at that point the weather will be warmer, so ill be able to get boots with more ventilation so the summer will be more comfortable. Back to the day in knoxvillle... after the outfitter austin drove us to a goodwill. We said goodbye and gave him our extra non passover food. Hes starting the trail on saturday, so the food will be helpful. We went to goodwill to buy suits for passover. We wanted to make a decent impression on the people wed be spending pesach with. Besides, trail clothes just dont look good at a passover seder. After that we walked the mile towards where we were staying. We stopped and found some kosher wine at a liquor store for our host. It was the first liquor store ive seen since ive got here. There are entire counties in the south where no alcohol is allowed. Possession of alcohol in some places is a crime down here. We found the house. Our host, miriam, is a physiatrist. She works with children in a hospital, and does rehab with them. Some after injuries, usually brain injuries, and some who were born with developmental issues, such as premature or because the mother may have been on drugs. The first seder was starting pretty soon after we got to the house. We called our families before the holiday started then hurried to the shul, which was pretty much across the street. The seder was unlike anyy i had ever been to. When we arrived at the shul we were instructed to pick up a nametag and haggadah. Each nametag had a different group name on it. Ill get to that soon. The whole congregation, about 100 people, sang the names of the different parts of the seder. Then the rabbi made kiddush, followed by washing, then he broke the middle matzah and set it aside for the afikomen. Then each group went to assigned classrooms for the discussion of passover, also known as maggid, or "telling over". Some of the member of our group werent even jewsh, but wanted to experience a passover seder while contemplating conversion. After about an hour of that the entire congregation met in the ballroom for the meal. By each plate there was the components of korech, which is the traditional sandwich made by the passover seder. Korech is made of matzah, bitter hebrs, and charoses, a chunky paste of ground nuts, apples, and wine. We washed for the matzoh, made the sandwich, and the meal began. I made sure to have plenty of wine, just in case i missed one of the four cups. Besides, the cups were small. Had about 1.5 liters by the end of it. The meal ended with the congregation singing chad gadyah, the last song in the passover haggaddah. Then everyone left. Me and dj stayed for a bit. I helped clean the tables, while helping make sure there wasnt too much leftover wine. By the way, greatest quote of the night was created while i was helping to consolidate the opened bottles of wine. One of the workers asked me if im marrying tthe bottles, which is another way of asking if im consolidating them. I responded " ive never married a bottle before, but ive spent the night with one" . I thiink it was a genius line. When we finished cleaning up we went back to the house were staying at, fell asleep shortly after.

march 24 - party in knoxville

March 24 was by far the coolest day ive experienced out here on the trail. It was also a day that gave a whole new meaning to southern hospitality. It started off waking up in the hotel room i shared with 6 other people. Ii slept on the floor, and it wasnt a bad sleep compared to sleeping on the trail. I showered and washed some clothing. Then went upstairs to the lobby which is where most of the hikers spend their time .i made breakfast, but oatmeal by itself is kind of unsatisfying. So i tried to find someone to walk with me to the general store to pick up some eggs. Nobody wanted to go, but sarah needed an ace bandage for her foot so she gave me some cash and i walked down to the store. I came back with more eggs and cheese than i knew what to do with. So i sat on the hotel patio and gave scrambled eggs out to all the hikers that walked by. I hung out there for an hour or so. Then we decided we have to leave before it gets too late to catch a ride. I said goodbye to all the friends i had made. I told them ill try to catch up when i get back to the trail. Maybe the rest days will heal me enough that hiking will be easier from now on. Me and dj walked down to the gas station by the main road. it was 2pm. We waited there for about an hour before deciding to just walk the 10 miles or so to the next highway junction. We got about a mile before a couple stopped and picked us up. They were heading to knoxville, and were able to give us a ride all the way there. Which was great, because we were expecting to have to catch multiple rides from place to place to get there. Their names were mike and sherre. They live by fontana dam, and work in knoxville. So on a sunday afternoon they were making their commute. She works in a hospital, so she has odd hours. And hes a truck driver in the coal industry. They were probably the nicest people ive ever met. On the way to knoxville we stopped at the restaurant their son works at, and they treated us to dinner. Then they drove us to the edge of knoxville. We didnt know exactly where were going so we figured wed just walk to wherever we needed to go. We were looking for a hostel that djs uncle had found online. Dj had been calling the number but nobody was answering the phone there. Having no other option, and it being late in the day, about 6pm, we began walking towards the part of the city where we thought the hostel was. It had been raining for a few minutes already at this point, and it was getting harder. While walking, a drifter named shorty started talking to us. He travels around looking for work, often goign to forest gatherings called rainbow gatherings, and hes satisfied just having his needs provided for. And interesting guy, but we didnt want to trust him too much. The conversation ended and we continued walking. We got to downtown knoxville and realized we were kind of lost. We walked into a small restaurant to ask for directions. They were already closed but hadnt yet locked the door. The workers there, jessica and collin, were very helpful. Collin toold us the hostel we were looking for had closed a few years ago, but that he knew of a place on the edge of the city called the groundswell collective. He described it as an anarchist hangout, that might let us stay, or know of a place where we could stay. Jessica told us that a friend of hers was house sitting and would probably let us stay. She said we should call her if we couldnt find anything else. We took a map of downtown knoxville that was in their store, and they gave us the leftover food and coffee that they were going to throw out. We continued walking towards where collin told us to go. It was about a mile away, but we had no idea how to get there. It was beyond the map we had. we quickly got somewhat lost so walked into a bar to ask for directions. Nobody had heard of the place we were looking for but they pointed us in the direction they thought we should go. We eventually found the groundswell collective. It was 8pm at this point. The lights were off and the front door was left open. We figured it was abandoned, and were about to leave, when someone entered the back door and tuurned the lights on. His name was william, he told us he was setting up for a concert that was goign to begin in about 2 hours, but that we can hang out there. And try to find a place to stay when people start showing up. I wanted to stay for the show, but it was safrer and more certain to call jessica and go to austins place. Jessica came to pick us up and we all went to austins place. Turns out he was having a small party. The people he was house sitting for had left alot of alcohol and told him he can do whatever he wanted. There were about 10 people there when we got there. Austin turned on the hot tub, we chilled in there for a while, then came back inside and played poker for a few hours. It didnt take long for me to lose. I couldve bought back in but i didnt wanna lose any more money. I was pretty drunk by this point, and it was 2am. I hung around the game for another hour or so, then went to sleep. Theres some more good news too. Someone at the party had a pump and needle for inflating balls. So i inflated wilson to where hes supposed to be. And on another completely unrelated note, i weighed myself. I thought i had lost 5-10 lbs out here so far. Turns out, if i lost any weight, it was only about a pound.