18.4 miles today – Smoked the smokies. It was long day, this morning seems like a long time ago. The night was cold as predicted but I think it was the best night’s sleep I’ve had at a shelter. Had my pillow inside my sleeping bag and it was zipped up and drawn up tight so there was just enough space for my eyes nose and mouth to have fresh air. The morning came and I got moving quickly, as usual the first one on the trail. It warmed up quickly and the wind from yesterday was completely gone.
Today was down, down, down – I think it was about 6500 feet total downhill. By far the most in a day so far and the longest distance day by almost two miles. Going down takes a big toll on the feet, and the best part of the day was coming to a stream crossing just after exiting GSMNP at around 16 miles. I took my boots and socks off and plunged my feet into the icy water. It felt fantastic at the time and it made walking the last two miles much easier.
The big day was designed in order to reach the Standing Bear Hostel. It’s quite a place. It’s basically a collection of wooden cabins run by a guy called Rocket. There’s several private cabins but they were all gone since its Memorial Day weekend so I got a bunk in the bunkhouse. Rocket has one little cabin as the camp kitchen where theres a microwave, stove, and pizza oven. What makes the place unique is the “store”‘cabin where Rocket has all kinds of hiker food, both to cook here and for resupply. Everything is marked with a price and you simply take what you need, and write down each item and the price on the outside of an envelope. You add a line for the bunk cost of $15, and at the end of your stay put cash in the envelope, drop it off and go. There had been some talk on the AT forums online urging people to avoid the place mostly because of Rocket. He seems alright, mostly good guy, but he’s rarely seen without a beer and cigarette in hand. He’s probably not the kind of guy you want to piss off, but he’s been fine tonight.
That reminds me I’ve been meaning to mention how many people on the trail smoke. It’s pretty amazing that people trying to wall over mountains for 2100 miles do it while smoking. Besides all the usual health stuff it seems to take up a lot of time and money for people who are often saying they don’t have enough of either.
With the Smokies done the ups and downs should start leveling off, if only slightly. Other than tired feet I felt great after 18 miles today and I’m looking forward to seeing whats possible on ‘easier’ sections of the trail.