Day 20 - Thursday, July 3

Double Springs Gap Shelter to Newfound Gap

Linda "Red Rainbow"

Today was also a day of contrasts, and wonderful surprises. We were on the trail by 7:30 to hike the 2.5 miles to Clingman's Dome. Following this rocky, eroded trail, we certainly understood why it took an army of over 20 people to evacuate the woman from Siler's Bald Shelter. Hope it ended well for her. This morning was consistent with the last few days, and began as thick fog, so we knew there would be no view waiting for us from the observation tower at the Dome. At 9:00 am we climbed the spiral walkway to the top of the tower, more just to say we had, than for anything else. The chilly wind soon drove us on, and we continued on our way toward Newfound Gap.

The trail toward Mt. Collins was actually an improvement over anything we had experienced so far in the Smokies. Small stretches were even flat and sandy, like walking through a park. After passing a guided group of nature hikers on one particularly nice stretch, we were joking about how the Park Service rolls out the nice trail for the sections that day hikers frequent, but a few hundred yards beyond that, it goes back to bogs, and eroded ruts. Took a lunch break about 11:00, at the turnoff to Mt. Collins Shelter. We'd been following big bear tracks for a while. I was a bit nervous about sharing our lunch with a bear, but we never saw one, so after a while I relaxed a bit. We continued on to Newfound Gap, where we burst out into the sunshine to be greeted by hordes of tourists, and bumper to bumper traffic. It was here where we met Cindy Bollrud, our "trail angel" for the next two days.

Before we even had a chance to clean up to look respectable enough to hitch a ride into Gatlinburg, a woman approached us. She introduced herself, and said she was there to meet another hiker, but had missed him, so would we like some watermelon and cold drinks? We thanked her and mentioned we were going into Gatlinburg. She said she had the afternoon free and would be happy to drive us anywhere we wanted. We relaxed in the shade, munching watermelon and chatting with Cindy for a bit. She'd also brought a Whopper and fries for her friend, so Brandon (the growing boy) snarfed those down in no time. We told her how disappointed we were that Clingman's Dome was foggy this morning. Cindy quickly said it was only seven miles away, so why didn't we drive back up there? Before we knew it we were back at the Dome, amid all the tourists, drinking in the sunshine and the 360-degree views of the Smokies. I had Ronald take a picture of me sitting on the circular bench at the top of the tower in hopes of looking healthier and happier than in a similar picture taken in '77. I felt sick as a dog that day, but not today.

Cindy drove us into Gatlinburg, then all around town to show us where things were, and to find a motel. We popped into the Happy Hiker Outfitters and had our photo added to their famous rogues' gallery of thru-hikers. We fully intended to just stay the night, then be back out on the trail the next day, but Cindy said we should be doing something special for the 4th, and invited us to spend the day with her, her husband Larry, and some friends. They live in a log home overlooking a river outside of Sevierville, and planned to spend the afternoon out on their boat on Douglas Lake. We only hesitated a few moments before accepting her gracious offer. She said she would be back to retrieve us at 10:30 in the morning, then went on her way.

After the requisite showers, we spent the entire evening winding our way through the shops and attractions of this "tourist mecca", as Wingfoot describes it. It truly does boggle the senses, and seems to go on forever. The party atmosphere was even further magnified by the fact the Gatlinburg really knows how to celebrate the 4th. The town was decorated to the max, and they have the unique distinction of having the first Independence Day parade in the US. It starts winding down the main street at 12:01 am, and we were there to watch, along with thousands of other flag waving revelers. It was 1:30 before we dropped into bed. What a strange, but wonderful day!

Ron "Fallingwater"

Some days are almost impossible to describe. Today was certainly one of them. It started out in the usual way with a blanket of heavy clouds covering the mountains. The climb up Clingman's Dome was through a graveyard of dead standing trees. Shrouded in mist, the scene was almost surreal. Droplets of water falling from the dead trees made me feel like the trees were weeping.

I viewed the scene with mixed emotions. The loss of a large stand of firs was hard. Yet on the forest floor amidst the fallen giants, grows a new generations of trees. One day they to will stand tall. This forest of dead trees opens up views to the mountains beyond. For the next few years, hiker will enjoy some excellent views.

The clouds were still cling to the peak when we reached the summit of the dome. We made the obligatory climb to the top of the tower. Stretched before us in all it's glory was a sea of white. After a few minutes of viewing bliss, we headed down off the mountain. By the time we reached the Mt. Collins shelter trail, the sky was blue and crystal clear. Since we weren't about to go back to the dome for a view, we stopped for lunch.

We were surprised how nice a section of trail we were hiking on was. At least until we passed a group on a nature hike. Shortly after we passed a side trail to the road the AT got worse. We figure the nice section of the trail was maintained for the paying tourist.

We arrived at Newfound Gap around 1:30 and proceeded to make ourselves presentable. We wanted to look our best to get a ride into Gatlinburg. There was such a mass of people there, I doubt it would have made much of a difference. Before getting clean, we needed to replenish our bodies with water. The three quarts we started with this morning were long gone. As we approached the gap, or conversation turned to how many quarts of sweet tea we could down at a sitting.

As we stood at the water fountain drinking deeply, a woman approached wanting to know if we were thru-hikers. She had arrived at the gap with goodies for another hiker from her church, but she was a day late. She offered us the watermelon, burger and fries, pop and a ride into town. Brandon and Linda rushed off to remove some of the dirt that had accumulated in the last few days. I remained behind to make sure this angel didn't disappear.

While polishing off her treats stretched out on the grass under a tree, we mentioned our ill-fated view from the summit of Clingman's Dome. She immediately offered to shuttle us back up to the top and enjoy the fabulous view. I was hesitant at first, not wanting to over stay my welcome. She insisted that it would be no problem and she would enjoy it. Since it would probably be another twenty years before we were back, we agreed. I was glad we went back, the 360-degree views were fantastic. Although I must apologize to Cindy, our trail hardened legs, unbridled by packs, literally floated us to the top. When we arrived Cindy was winded but undaunted.

On the ride into Gatlinburg, Cindy mentioned that she and her husband lived on a nearby lake. Tomorrow they were planning to take a few friends out on the lake to celebrate the 4^th of July. Would we like to join them? I'm not sure what Linda or Brandon thought, but I was instantly receptive. Later at the Happy Hiker outfitter in town (where we are now enshrined with the rest of this years thru-hikers) Linda and I had a chance to confer. It would throw us a day behind schedule. That just meant we wouldn't spend the night in Hot Springs. After very little thought we readily agreed. So our plan is to spend the next two nights in town and Cindy will pick us up in the morning for a 4^th to remember.

After getting a hotel room we said good-bye to Cindy until tomorrow. Then took showers and dressed in our cleanest clothes before venturing into town. Gatlinburg is your typical tourist town and packed with people for the 4^th. Brandon is in seventh heaven. I, on the other hand, tend to cringe every time we buy something. We spent the rest of this evening eating too much and deciding which attraction to see. I was glad we were hiking. The thought of carrying extra weight prevents us from buying much. My motto "If you can't eat it, watch it. Don't buy it."

Long before midnight, people were beginning to line the streets in anticipation of the 4^th of July parade. Gatlinburg had the distinction of having the first parade in the nation. It starts at one minute after midnight. After playing a round of HillBilly Putt Putt, we wandered around a while before finding a suitable place to watch the parade.

Brandon "Lucky 13"

The day before Independence Day and we are hiking. We only had ten miles today because we did two extra miles yesterday. So we took it somewhat slower. We hiked for awhile then stopped at the turn off for Mt. Collins Shelter. The shelter was a half-mile off the AT. From there it four more miles to Newfound Gap. The four miles were nice but had a lot of mud. We passed some Nature Hikers along the way then passed them again about a mile and a half from the gap. At the gap we walked across the road to the water fountain. This lady walked up to us and offered us drinks and watermelon. We accepted as good hikers would and walked with her to the car. We put our packs in the trunk and dad carried the cooler to a spot under a tree. We drank our drinks and ate watermelon. She also gave me a Burger King Wopper with fries to eat. It was great. We had mentioned it was foggy coming over Clingman's Dome. She offered to take us back up there to get a better view. We when up and had a great view and took pictures. Then we walked down to the car. She took us into Gatlinburg and to the hotel where we checked in. We decided to stay and extra day in Gatlinburg for the 4^th. Cindy went home and we walked around town for a few hours. We played miniature golf at a place down the road from our hotel. It was lots of fun. Great town, but lots of tourist.