4/8/01
Every day is a special day when we're blessed with the gifts of health and life, and today was extra special because of some additional gifts! (trail magic). I began the day with the alarm going off at 6:30 a.m. After a HOT night in my zero degree bag with the sweat pouring off my body, I had already decided I couldn't take another night in that sleeping bag! (Congrats to Marmot, the Zero Degree Coulouir Bag is incredible from 0 degrees to 20 degrees!!) Several nights I have been fighting the bag, trying to find the right mix of clothing/bag conditions for temperatures in the 30's. My body just couldn't adjust to the super efficient bag. Goose down is the most amazing insulator but it doesn't forgive when the weather gets warmer! So my goal today was to find a solution to drenching nights in the shelters.
By 7:15 a.m. I was booking down the trail. A quick 5 miles to Newfound Gap in an hour and 40 minutes and I was among the hoard of Sunday morning tourists at the parking lot in the middle of the Smokies! They stared at me as if I was an alien from another planet...I guess thru-hikers who haven't bathed in six days are kind of scary to the average citizen. Ten minutes after I arrived at the Newfound Gap, Creeper showed up, having been shuttled 65 miles through back country mountain roads. As he and I were catching up on the events of the last 3 l/2 days, Pat pulled up in his Saturn vehicle to shuttle us to Knoxville. Pat and Jane (parents of sister-in-law Ashley) were the consummate hosts! Pat immediately asked us what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go. My mind was on showers and laundry, but Pat was successful in convincing me that we really needed to fully realize the beauty and uniqueness of the GSMNP, so we stopped by the visitor's center for a peek at the tourist version of the Park! What a culture shock! I realize we've been on the trail less than a month, but seeing all of those tourists gawking at the nature exhibit simply floored me! Duh huh!! "Yes, little Billy, there are animals in the forest!!" Anyway, after a quick tour of the center, Pat took us on the super duper back roads to Knoxville to avoid the "tourist sprawl" of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville!! Whoa!! Boy do I wish I had seen the 47 stoplights and 4000 motels to choose from, starting at $18.77/night and up. NOT!!
So we arrived safely and soundly at Pat and Jane's house in Knoxville and proceeded to set up "Little Havana" in their carport, with clothing and food and gear spread everywhere. Now this is a nice neighborhood, and just as Pat and Jane's neighbors were arriving back home from church in their Sunday best, we were single handedly lowering property values in the neighborhood. It took awhile, but we finally got everything sorted, dried, repacked and ready for the northern half of the Smokies. Meanwhile, Pat was doing all he could to help, including bringing us fresh OJ, bananas, water for our bottle refills, boiling water to sterilize our bottles, etc. Spring is in full bloom in Knoxville and Pat and Jane's house is basking in color, and we soaked up as much as we could while performing our "Little Havana" routine. Jane, Patrick and Geri arrived from church and Jane jumped in the fray to lend a hand as well.
I finally washed off four days of mud, grit and otherwise unpleasant aromas (my natural bear repellant) and we made the quantum leap from thru-hikers to wedding reception guests in a matter of two hours. Bill and Vicky, Pat and Jane's long-time friends and neighbors, were celebrating their daughter's wedding with a beautiful indoor/outdoor reception at their home. Creeper and I had extremely limited attire as our clothing was in the laundry, so Pat loaned us some "cottons" and off we went. Now I'm not sure if this qualifies as true "yogi-ing", but there was a spread of food to quench every thru-hiker's dream meal, plus plenty of adult carbohydrates to help celebrate my 200 mile mark in grand style. We stayed until the majority of the guests were gone and our bellies were sufficiently full. Earlier back at Pat and Jane's I had weighed in on the scale and was shocked to find that I had lost 10 pounds already. It was a great excuse to over-indulge on calories to bulk up for the second half of the Smokies.
Pat took us by a local outfitter, and yes, doggone it, I broke down and bought a 20 degree bag (Hey, Paula, it was ON SALE at 45% off!) It sure felt strange buying winter gear on an 85 degree day, but there's a great chance I'll need it before spring is done. Then we hustled over to the grocery store for a couple of items, then back to Pat and Jane's house to catch up on journaling and watch Tiger Woods claim another green jacket at Augusta National (why does Phil Mickelson always gag the short putts on Sunday?) Since Pat and Jane dry their clothes using fresh air we had to find a laundromat in town for the quick dry routine. This led to a tour of the University of Tennessee campus. We finally found "The Dungeon", a rat-hole of a laundromat, but hey, the ambiance outside was delightful!! Especially appreciated was the overzealous singing robin who brought back fond memories of mornings in Hawaii back in July when a tropical friend of Jane and Eric would awaken them at 5:00 a.m.??? Ah, we love singing birds, don't we??? After what seemed like eternity the laundry was finally acceptably dry (those wool socks just won't let go of moisture!) We then had a late dinner at Calhouns on the River...while waiting for our table we were entertained by local UT students who were fly-fishing for carp in the Tennessee River. What a disgusting fish. It was a total blast watching from the deck of the restaurant as one poor fellow landed a carp then lost it on that fly rod. We thought that the two guys fishing might not have both oars in the water, and as it turned out, one of them was a thru-hiker in 1998. (Backtrack was his trail name). Oh boy...I wonder what happens to the brain after 2000 miles in the wilderness??? At least they were having fun and it was cheap entertainment!
Finally, after dinner (awesome biscuits and BBQ for this hungry thru-hiker!) we arrived back at Pat and Jane's house, checked out the website (great job, Eric & Ashley and Jim & Jennie!). Maybe Eric, when he has time, can make an adjustment in width of the text as many folks are having to scroll left to right to read every line and when printing lose the last few letters on the right margin. Please help us webmaster, oh great one!!! [Note from webmaster: How's this? -A] It was a late night and this has been a long journal entry, but I want to thank Pat and Jane for being fantastic trail angels and for their truly appreciated trail magic today...it was special and it was great to see these special people. Good job, Eric, picking these in-laws! I know you worked hard at it for years!!! Finally, I want to thank all of you who send me e-mails. They are inspiring and meaningful and raise my spirits and really give meaning to this great adventure!! Thanks to Marge..keep it up woman and it's your turn to buy lunch when I get home...remember, I am unemployed now! To Jake...come on and meet me on the trail...bring your parents and we'll hike together for a day or two. To Rod, Carolina will always be my team, but you 'Bama fans are OK too. We luckily made it out of GA without any Deliverance episodes! To Brooks...be kind to yourself and hit 'em straight and long while I'm hiking. To Katherine...great to hear from you and I truly wish your dad was with me though I know he's there in spirit every step of the way. To Thom...answer the phone, please, when I call you from these mountain tops...see you in late April. To Marijke...I hope Phoenix has been fun for you and I hope your visit to the U.S. has been fruitful and rewarding. Come visit us if and when you return and we'll see you some day when we decide to fly over the Big Pond. To Figmo...semper fi! Come join me when you get a chance. Best of luck on the career change if you decide to move forward. To Briana and Chip...thanks for all the support on the home front...your friendship is treasured. Finally to Mike...yes, chafing is part of my life now and I can appreciate your love of the Vermont section of the AT/Long Trail!! Ouch!!! RABBIT
P.S. To Mom...sorry this entry is so long! You'll probably have carpel tunnel syndrome after typing this!!! Keep that insurance current.
