I started hiking at 0800 in the rain and strong wind. The entire day proved to be nasty. The climb was steady uphill. By the time I reached the summit of Mt. Buckley at 6,585 ft. I was completely run down. The trek was arduous through the ice and snow. The wind was whipping across the ridge line at 45 mph plus, launching the freezing rain. I honestly thought I would have trouble getting off that mountain. I still had another mile to Clingmans Dome (highest point on the AT).
All of a sudden in the worst weather and location I have encountered to date, it hit me!!! I desperately had to go #2.... Lol. So on that cold blustery ridge I found a spot, dropped my pants, held onto a tree limb for dear life and let it rip!!! Lol. A huge gust of ice cold wind blew over the ridge knocking me off balance and onto the ground. Even though I was completely miserable, I could not stop laughing. I yelled into the wind at the top of my lungs, "bring it on!". After I gained my composure and pulled up my britches I was reminded of an old saying. "If your not taking a dump in the woods, you're not living..." Lol.
The weather quickly worsened. I made the decision (and a bad one) to take a side trail .6 miles to a parking area and walk 7 miles down a road to the main highway at Newfound Gap. The plan sounded good but was a nightmare. When I started the side trail, it was evident that only one other hiker traveled it before me. I slugged through knee deep snow and massive amounts of water run off from the mountain the entire way. It was dangerous to say the least. This trail is obviously not traveled. If an injury would have occurred, it would be a while before someone found me. My cell phone battery was completely dead. I made it to the parking area and began to follow the road out of the park. It was soon obvious why it was closed until April. It was covered in snow and ice. The 7 mile death march was long, cold and lonely. My feet were completely frozen and numb. About 4 miles into the road walk, I began to imagine a nice Chinese dinner once I got into Gatlinburg. Rice, General Taos Chicken, egg rolls and that yummy hot mustar . Over and over I thought about the food to keep my mind occupied. All of a sudden in the fog, I can see a shadow approaching me. I was shocked to see anyone heading in that direction in the bad weather. A voice let out "helwoo". It's a Chinese exchange student with a camera around his neck!!!!! I looked to the sky and asked God if this was some type of joke... Lol. He and his five Chinese buddies thought it would be cool to summit Clingmans Dome to take pictures on the worst day of the month. I convinced them not to and we walked together all the way to Newfound Gap. They were very nice and offered me a ride into Gatlinburg.
When we arrived to the Newfound Gap parking area the fog was thick. Across the parking area I could make out the figures of three hikers. I walked over and found Rash, How Bout and Julia. I was so happy! They were waiting for a shuttle. I joined them. We checked into the Grand Prix Luxury hotel ($29 per night)... Lol. Had a nice meal at Texas Roadhouse, shower and even shaved my head back to my normal appearance. I could not stand the straggly hair!!
Today I hiked 11.8 miles in very bad weather and nearly crapped my pants on a desolate cold ridge.
So far I have hiked 206.8 miles!!!!
