Smokies-Trip Report-What a trip!

“I guess I was the first to make it home so here it is from my view.

I met up with HPM, katibug, ductape, smokygirl, azimuth, debbieb, donna, ewker,currhee, spewgirl, Opie, Miss Opie, nowslimmer, baume66, HPM's wife, and....i think that might be it. Met them at Cosby at 7:00 am on saturday morning where they camped the night before. Brought in 4 dozen cracker barrell biscuits and jam and butter and a few cofees and chit chatted for a bit and then we hiked some trail to a campsite about 5 miles down the trail. Great hike, it rained like crazy, currhee and spewgirl's tent almost floated away as well as Ewkers. I slpet like a baby got up packed up and hiked some more and had some steak and rigs for an afternoon snack as well as a few miller lite's. Later on the evening I decided to eat a large pizza and then crawled into the hammock and went to sleep. Woke up this morning packed up and headed home.

I will have to say that Opie and currhee decided that they along with spewgirl and Miss Opie should bail on the hike and decided to go get a cabin for the night. I tell you what and I thought they were real backpackers. It rains a little and they run back to get a cabin.

All in all it was a great trip with a lot more details then what I posted and some great food as always.”

“Rain is good for the body and mind so I always say grasp it and enjoy it.

By the way BB I need to talk to you about some gear that I am going to need to buy very soon so give me a call and I can tell you what I need ok.

8)”

“Hey Brandon-it was great to see you! So glad you were able to get out and play this weekend!”

“How many actually stayed at Cosby last night? We thought we might but after hiking out 3 miles in the pouring rain everything we had was wet, including sleeping bags. So we decided to drive home last night. Thank goodness Katibug was driving, I was so tired I slept the whole way!”

“glad you had a great trip!
thanks for reporting bback.”

“As the Irish say, "It never melted anyone!" <G>”

“Where're the damn pics!?

Went to a cabin? Sacrilidge!

Glad y'all had fun.”

“Steak, ribs, miller lite, pizza, camp chairs with integrated unmbrella. Yep, sounds like a real backpacker to me.”

“Bastard, I have a name!”

“Me, HPM, Binks, Ductape, and Nowslimmer hung out at Cosby that night. I didn't finish the Old Settlers' trail because of a ligament issue. As Binks said, Currahee and Spewgirl got soaked in their tarptent. I must say that trail is very nice, both ways. THe yellowjacket nest sucked, for all the people who got stung. I'll post more later.”

“Yeah, the yellow jackets did suck. My ankle is super swollen today. So is KabinKamper's (previously known as Spewgirl). We're gonna slather them with Caladryl and prop up on the couch.”

“I don't remember getting too many mosquito bites, but my legs are nothing but welts.”

“i would have pegged opie as kabinkamper.”

“Kabin Kamper & I were talking about the medicinal effects of filth, sweat & grime. We are never bothered by insect bites until we come off the trail and have a good scrubbin. Then the itchy madness begins.
Did you & HPM have a smooth trip back to Fla?”

“treebait- I knew your real name but didn't want to post that. I couldn't remember if it was treebait or trailbait. I'm sorry. So, I figured I was safe with HPM's wife..lol”

“She's a fiesty one.

Traffic sucked around Asheville and was pretty think all the way down but we made it home about 9pm.

Laurel is now walking on her own.”

“We were stuck in Pigeon Forge for a while, I didn't think we would ever get out of the redneck rivera. Once we finally got on the interstate traffic was hell until Knoxville and then it was backed up in Chattanooga also. Randy and I made it to my house around 8 and I talked him into staying here for the night.”

“Don't let him run over your mailbox.”

“hey - it was nice meeting everyone... and for those i had met before it was good seeing you again... the route me and smokygirl took sat (14 miles to # 37) ending up being a long slog thru rain rain and more rain... smokygirl had some rough moments due to some blisters and cramping... had no rain gear... but she tuffed it out... i was impressed”

“Well, I did not make it to the smokies trip. Actually I left friday, and still did not know where to go. I left with directions to the smokies and directions to grayson highland. Somehow, after buying me some sushi, I ended up on 77 to Grayson Highland.

Talk about spare of the moment huh?? Oh well, that's what made it interesting.

Glad you all had fun, even with the rain. :) Rain on our trip too!”

“Yeah, I was so sweaty, I let the first downpour drench me. I had my pack cover on, but my PVC rainjacket wal-mart special makes me sweat so dang much that I refused to put it on. After the 4th or 5th downpour on Saturday, I was soaked to the bone. We had a break in the rain enough to set up our tent and put on dry clothes. Once we climbed in and was ready to cook a hot supper, it rained again so we ended up munching on trail food for the night. The next day, I woke up pretty grouchy, if you know what I mean. Swallow Fork was 4 miles uphill and relentless. Pretty Hollow Gap was 4 miles down hill, rocky, muddy and wrecked by horses. I kept muttering to myself like a crazy woman. I had blisters from getting soaked so I was walking funny. I was cramping. I yelled out every now and then from the stinging nettles on Pretty Hollow Gap. BUT - when we finally came out to Cataloochee, a sweet couple drove us to the campground where my Pa was waiting. They gave us an ice-cold Seven-up. They were from Kentucky. It was heaven. Oh, and on Mount Cammerer it was rainy, sunny, and smoky all at the same time. Lots of flowers too. Those were my two favorite parts: The Seven-up and the rainy/smoky/sunny/flowers scene. I had a blast with everyone on Friday night. It was good seeing the lots of you again, and it was awesome meeting new faces!!”

“Ewker, your tent got flooded, and you finished your original itenerary?! Awesome! What did you all think of Old Settlers?

After we were delivered to my Pa, Azimuth and I crashed at my place. The next day around 1:30, I took my buddy Scott who was visiting from Michigan to the Fox and Parrot. Nowslimmer was the only one that was there!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!
I had a Snakebite and a Harp, and we did end up munching on some fish and chips, Treebait and HPM!! It was delicious. I am going back! The owner is feisty... I told him so, but he can't scare me off! Scott, NOwslimmer, and I chatted for a good while.”

“what are you doing? ha ha... just kidding... did you get your underwear out of that tree? i think a bird got trapped in them... just kidding again...”

“Oh crap! They were my Go Vol underwear too!”

“Sounds like everyone got rained on and made the best of it in their own way. We had a great time and had the best of all worlds - a bit of car camping, back country, and cabin camping. Our ankles are still pretty swollen and we're still trying to defumigate our gear, but all in all a great trip. Glad you guys made it to the fox and parrot - it was great food. I could have eaten everythin on the menu I was so hungry.”

“I'm airing out my car, trying to get rid of the hiker stink.”

“just to clarify, sleeping in a cabin is not camping. i'm a professional so don't try any more of that funny stuff.”

“Yeah right, mister "I'm hungry so we're running for a pizza at 10 pm" guy!”

“this from a guy sitting in a plastic chair with a umbrella coming out of the top....you looked like a fruity mixed drink ductape!!!

Just got home..will comment more later..great meeting all the new faces and seeing all the others”

“you left your wig in the back of my jeep after you got your cooler out... it was still sopping wet from all that rain so i tied it to my antenae to try and dry it out so you could wear it to your reunion this weekend but a big 18 wheeler blazed by me and it got blown into the median there at the rest stop... i stopped to try and get it but this other lady was wearing it by the time i got to the next exit and turned around...
sorry...”

“Glad you guys had a good trip despite the rain.I thought about you.Sometimes my most fun has been in the rain..( warm weather that is ) wish I could have been there..”

“"this from a guy sitting in a plastic chair with a umbrella coming out of the top....you looked like a fruity mixed drink ductape!!!"
OPIE

I want pictures.

Rains not so bad, tents floating away, thats bad.

Tevas, good in the rain.”

“Waldies tend to float away too. Glad mine were penned into the vestibule, because they DID float.”

“i never heard of waldies before this hike and i saw about 8 pair of them this weekend. if it weren't for ewker having some with him, i'd a thought they were a car camping fad.

i think waldies look funny.”

“is that why you guys went to the cabin? you were jealous of my chair? i could have told you where to get one.”

“What a bunch of slackers.....hee hee.
It does tend to rain a bit in the smokies.
Pictures, where are the dang pictures... ;)
I see Ewker toughed it out.”

“Hey it was rough, Opie broke the TV during the 4th quarter of a Texas blowout and we didn't have milk to wash down Miss Opies pancakes Monday morning. :~(”

“lol, the more i think about it, the more ashamed i become of our behavior this weekend.
i could always say i just went back to make sure the wusses made it ok, but really it was just cause beer and laziness were sounding pretty durn good.”

“LMAO@ ductape”

“Stove, it sounds like you didn't have any faith in me :(
I didn't take to many pictures due to the weather. My camera had to dry out all day just to get the battery to recharge”

“Didn't take any pictures during the rain. My camera is still drying out as well. Hope it still works cause it is brand new.”

“Mmmm.. all this talk about the Fox and Parrot is making me hungry! The fish and chips were great!

I hope that OPIE and I get to finish the trail one day. Maybe we can make it back up there this winter when it isn't hot and raining.”

“Smokygirl - that day sounded almost - unenjoyable? I think now we know whey so many thru-hikers bail.

Ewker - you get a medal man.

True downpours are different from rain. Rain pitters and patters on your tent and makes cooking dinner an exercise in looking down, or at worst a nuisance. But the downpour is basically like swimming while standing up. Pools and puddles seem to form instantly - and often in what seem to be nice little campsites. And bodies seem to be soaked no matter what fancy raingear you have on. If you can pitch camp and catch some shut-eye in a downpour...

To Ewker - the Downpour Medal.”

“I slept great in the tent. We actually stayed dry and I found it relaxing sleeping to the sound of the storm.”

“Big Coop, its funny how your mindset is what makes the day. I was at a pretty low point, and was miserable. However, Azimuth's trip was better than mine. His worst was when I was feeling good up on Siler's Bald. We laughed about that! Yeah, it is all in the mind, and any thru-hiker will make it if they tattoo that on their eyelids, I believe...

Azimuth, you are buying me a new wig, you rat!

What the he!l is a waldie?”

“Waldies are these ugly foam clogs we all now have. They are very comfy. They also float well.”

“Ewker, my man. Just the opposite.
I'm going to have to go into training to keep up with you now.”

“unh uh - what's this crazy talk - a new wig?! those things are 50 big ones... you're going to have to wrap a rag round that head!

yes... i think we all have had bad days on the trail... but you learn from them and go on to the next trip and hopefully apply those lessons to make your own experience better

pppphffft... ah ah... ha... ha!”

“I finally got all of my gear cleaned dried, and odor free. Damn, cleanup was a b!tch this time. I guess that comes with having all of our stuff floating in 4-6 inches of muddy water.
I talked to a guy on the phone about my camera and he sounded optimistic. It'll still cost me to have it opened up and cleaned out. That beats shelling out another $300 bucks, though. Keep your fingers crossed.”

“DECISIONS

It was a great hike with a great group. There was something for everyone. And just about everyone was confronted with some decision making, from the initial parking and/or shuttle arrangements to whether or not to stick around for the post-hike festivities. Some of the stronger hikers chose an alternate and difficult route to the first campsite.

Some chose to leave their bp's along the trail, while they hiked down to visit Hen Wallow Falls. I found four such bp's and stayed to guard them for almost 30 minutes until some of the owners returned. I know cases of bears seizing packs within 20 feet of the owners and the Park Service can tell you about bears approaching from behind hikers and trying to grab bp's off their backs. Please be careful, folks. Feeding the bears this way can get you a fine, a destroyed bp, and lead to destruction of the bear.

The first arrivals at the campsite elected to not collect firewood, which was OK because of the rain that evening. Late arrivals were confronted with a space problem for their tents. During a good downpour with water flowing into some tents, some had to decide how best to try to stay dry. I guess everyone had a sleeping bag. At least I did not hear of anyone trying to enter Ewker's tent. Maybe they could not swim that far!

On the second day some had to decide between going forward or withdrawing for various reasons. Those going forward then had to decide whether or not to attempt to cross a fast moving creek. For those who pulled-out, there was a decision on where to spend the night. Mind you now, I am not critical of anyone's decisions. We are all different and I respect everyones' decisions. I especially enjoyed the pre-hike and post-hike festivities.

I would like to express my appreciation to Katibug and the Sierra Club (? LOL) for organizing this trip. My thanks to Opie and MissOpie for letting me use their tent the second night, to baune 66 for offering to send me a tent, and to all of you who responded to my request to stop at the Creekside Market. Bill and Alice were overwhelmed by it and I am really grateful. And thinks to BBrinkley for the t-shirt, biscuits, and for the pizza, which he and Ductape provided..

BTW, for those posters who previously were critical of my carrying a snake-bite kit: It was used to extract fluid from two victims of yellow-jacket bee stings during this hike.”