So it was a great thing that we were able to sleep in the shelter again, since it rained all night. And yet again, if there were any mice, they really didn’t bother us (except Casey was pretty sure that a mouse was on her sleeping bag at one point).
We woke up by about 7am. It’s interesting how everyone in the shelter just sort of follows the same schedule. When people start getting into bed, everyone just gets into bed. When people start getting ready to go, everyone else gets up too… even though people end up leaving and hiking alone. In any case, it was a cool, wet morning. We donned our rain gear, and began the 2.9 mile hike over Clingmans.
The hike up to Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the Appalachian Trail, really wasn’t to bad. Unfortunately, since it was such a foggy, wet morning, there were absolutely no views. We didn’t care though, we still climbed up the observation tower and took a picture to prove we were there.
Since it was still early, and there was no one else on top of the mountain, AND we had a potential ride, we decided to hike the extra 8 miles down to Newfound Gap. It hadn’t really been raining at all during the initial climb, but it started pouring rain on the way down, and never let up. I learned that my pack cover is no longer water proof… it’s s good thing we were heading into town.
At 10.8 total miles, we reached Newfound Gap by 12:15, soaking wet. In a lucky twist, there was a girl doing trail magic, handing out cokes, bananas, and cookies. She even said she might be able to give us a ride after she handed out a few more goodies. However our luck was about to continue. After we went to use the restrooms, and I called a hotel to book a room, Casey was chatting with a gentleman named Ken, who gave us a free ride to Gatlinburg. This is a hiker service put on by the First Baptist Church of Sevierville. They certainly made our day!
Once we got into town we were able to check right in. We decided to spend a little extra for a nicer hotel… clean rooms, lots of towels, comfy beds. We immediately took showers, then headed across the street to a place called Old Dad’s General Store. We grabbed some sandwiches, chips, drinks, and, of course, beer. We headed back to the room and enjoyed. I had a very tasty fried green tomatoes BLT, and Casey stuck with a tried and true turkey sandwich.
After lunch we had to finish our chores, which was really just laundry, but we had to walk about a half mile to the closest laundromat. Luckily it had stopped raining. Gatlinburg is a very touristy town, it’s really not a true hiker town, and in fact we didn’t really see many other thru-hikers. It was funny wearing our rain gear, hauling a bag of dirty hiking clothes through the crowds of tourists.
As we were doing laundry, we sat outside, and a pretty strong thunder storm came through. At least this time we were under cover.
After laundry we changed, and headed back to the hotel. We decided to just go next door for dinner to a place called The Park Grill. They have a pretty impressive all you can eat salad bar that’s included with most entrees, and I’ll admit that I made it worth my while. The food was very good, and my only real complaint was that they didn’t have any local beers on tap (only 4 taps… all national brands… I got a Sierra Nevada).
We took a brief stroll after dinner down the main drag of Gatlinburg. This place is… interesting. I’ll share more thoughts in a separate post, since we’ll be zeroing here for a day.
Love to hear that you keep on keeping on…hopefully you can hit the Smokie Mountain Brewerie tomorrow! ????????to you both.
Got it!! Marked the map. Appear to be on plan.