Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 20, Tuesday, 4/5 – Trout and Birthday Sandwich woke up at 4:00am. They wanted to catch the sunrise on Clingman’s Dome. There was also a storm coming through, so they wanted to beat the weather. I’m a light sleeper so I woke up when they started packing up. I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I packed up early and was out of camp at day break.

I hiked with Sprite, and we hit a few fun milestones today. Clingman’s Dome is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail, which is at mile 200, and I’ve also hiked over 100 miles with Sprite!

I hiked 7 miles to 203, ending the day at Mt Collins Shelter. I fully expected to have to tent camp today. I was happy to find another shelter spot available. It just started raining as I got to the shelter. I gathered some firewood and started a fire in the shelter fireplace.

Jetpack and Parkour came into the shelter after a few hours. They got caught in the storm for about 4 miles and were wet and cold. With how windy it is, wet and cold can be a dangerous combo. They were rattled, and relieved to make it to the shelter.

4 section hikers also rolled into the shelter after being caught in the storm. The shelter was full, but section hikers technically get priority for the shelter spots. We all squeezed together and made room for 2 of the hikers. The other 2 are going to sleep on the floor of the shelter. I feel bad, but they said they didn’t mind.