Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 18, Sunday, 4/3 – I skipped the all you can eat buffet breakfast this morning. I didn’t trust myself to not overeat before a big hike. Instead Ax Hole gave me granola and dehydrated milk that he was going to toss into a hiker box. I’ve never had dehydrated milk before this morning. I was honestly impressed, and am planning on buying some in future resupplies.

Ax Hole, Parkour, Jetpack, Breakfast Sandwich, Willow, Genie, Liz, Sprite, and I all got dropped back off at the marina. Today we crossed Fontana Dam, and entered the smokies. Here’s Parkour and Jetpack Crossing the Dam.

We all hiked together until the uphill started. At about 3,000ft of elevation gain, it’s quite a climb into the Smokies. There was a fire watch tower along the way that I climbed up into. Great views from the top, but it was a sketchy climb. I took the stairs slow and held onto the railings.

I hiked alone for much of the hike. I was in a melancholy mood. I was thinking about a relationship that had ended. Some memories are sad, and I seem to recall the sad ones more frequently than the happy ones. Or at least the sad ones stick around longer. They get analyzed. There’s always something I feel that I could have done different. Or I just wish things played out differently. Sprite caught up with me which cheered me up. We finished the last few miles of the hike together. I finished the day after about 13 miles of hiking, which puts me at mile 178.

I cooked dinner and started a fire in the shelter. The shelters in the Smokies all have fireplaces which make things feel cozy. It’s a cold night and the fire made the shelter much more comfortable. Everyone appreciated the warmth.

There’s a lot of really fun people in the shelter tonight. I ran into Story Time again, who is always so cheerful. Level 1 and Fabian were sharing riddles. Beastie had homemade cookies that she shared with the group.

My highlight was talking with Learning Curve. We had a great conversation about being present. Specifically we talked about rumination and worrying, and how neither of these actions are beneficial. It’s a topic I really find interesting. He’s a genuine person, and I’m glad I met him.

I’m sleeping in the shelter again tonight. I rolled into camp and didn’t really feel like setting up my tent. As I’m writing this blog, Breakfast Sandwich is really snoring. It’s actually so bad is comical. We joked in the morning that his snoring kept the bears away.