Stephanie's Trail Journal

Wednesday, May 12th

Stats from Day 20
Beginning Point: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Ending Point: Derrick Knob Shelter
Daily Mileage: 11.7 miles
Total Mileage: 185.8 miles
Weather: sunny and warm; lots of black flies in late afternoon.

Wow, the Smokies are beautiful! We had some serious altitude today; We hit 5,527 feet at Thunderhead Peak. Tomorrow we reach Clingman's Dome after 10 miles of hiking; then we have 3 more miles to get to the next shelter.

Aside from some awesome scenery, today was about 2 things - steep climbs/descents and eating. I was so hungry today... I started with poptarts and coffee at the shelter (my first trailside coffee - thanks Mom!). We finally left camp around 9:30 and couldn't even wait for an hour for second breakfast. We basically stopped every 1.5 - 2 hours to snack on foods like triscuits (which hold up really well) and cheese and peanut butter, then beef jerky and more cheese, then some gorp, oh, and a cliff bar, and skittles. Our last eating opportunity occurred around 2 pm and I didn't eat again until dinner - 3.5 hours is too long to wait for dinner!

Frequently we find that one dinner is not enough so we prepare 2 dinners, like tonight. This evening we feasted on chicken with couscous and vegetables, followed by second dinner which consisted of black bean chicken chili and mushroom flavored ramen noodles. In regular life I wouldn't buy ramen, however they are inexpensive and filling and pair well with my various soup recipes. We finished dinner with chocolate pudding and cocoa for dessert. I was still a little hungry afterwards so I ate half of a Baby Ruth (we were talking about the movie Goonies, Kara, and when I saw the baby ruth, I couldn't resist). You'd think I'd be huge eating like I've been, however, I am happy to report that my hipbelt is almost at the lowest setting and I will soon need a smaller belt. And my butt is starting to look good if I do say so myself!

Here are some wildlife observations... I always knew that Juncos liked to forage on the ground, but these little guys are taking things to the extreme. I've kicked so many up from the side of the trail, and they usually don't flush until you get within 3 feet of their hiding spot. They scare the poop out of me when they flush! They are prety cute litle guys. I also saw my first spring beauties today - some areas we passed today are just like a postcard with cherry trees in bloom in the canopy and spring beauties or bluetts on the forest floor.

Well, that's all to report for now. If you have any questions about this whole trail experience, drop me a line!

Cheers,
Stephanie