Day 21 - 3/22

Daily mileage: 15.6
Total trail mileage: 220.3
Starting location: Gatlinburg, TN
Ending location: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter
Weather: Showers in the morning in town, snow all day on the trail.
4-6 inches of fresh accumulation. 20-30 degrees throughout the day

I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=35.711601,+-83.517068

We had breakfast in town (mmm, pancakes), and my dad drove me up to
Newfound Gap. It is much easier to get up when I don't have to put on
wet clothes. I started hiking by 9.

Ok, I got REALLY lucky with the weather. While we got rain all night
in town, up in the mountains the temperature dropped. All the soft
snow and mud froze, making a solid base. The fresh snow provided
traction. And, the fresh snow was dry and light so I didn't get wet
all day. So, I was able to make good time while staying on top of the
deep snow (I only postholed 3 times all day).

When I said I wanted a little snow on this trip, this is what I
meant. Not the 4-6 feet of snow, ice, and mud that I have been
dealing with. Today looked and felt like January in Vermont, not the
end of March in North Carolina and Tennessee.

I am picking up my pace a bit, even with snow. I knocked out the
first 3 miles in an hour including a 1000 ft climb. Those of you who
know me know that I am a slow hiker. So, that is a definite
improvement.

Almost all day the trail wound along a ridge. At some points, the
ridge was literally a 4 ft wide plateau that the trail followed with
both sides descending at a sharp angle. There were sections that
would have required crampons if there wasn't the fresh snow. If you
slipped you would end up sliding down the hill (not too far as there
were trees, but still...). There were plenty of lookouts, but it was
unfortunately quite cloudy today. I think this section is my favorite
section on the trail so far.

Tonight is probably going to be cold. During the day it didn't get
above freezing and I am still at close to 6000 ft. I am staying at
the shelter with 4 section hikers on spring break. Unfortunately they
are pretty irresponsible with food, so hopefully I am not eaten by a
bear tonight.

I am now more than 10 percent complete! Of the 2179 miles, I have
completed 220. There is still a long way to go, but I am getting
there. Tomorrow, if everything goes well, I will be finishing up with
the Smokys.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I finished up the first canister
for my stove. I got 16 days on it with another 4 cups of water
boiling. That was on one of the MSR 112g canisters, with cooking
dinner each night, cooking breakfast every other day, tea and hot
cocoa a couple times a week, and a hot water bottle the one night for
my sleeping bag. However, in those 16 days, I did have 3 dinners and
4 breakfasts in town (and thus did not require any cooking). Well, a
canister with the Jetboil lasted a lot longer than I expected.