bitpusher does the Smokies!

“Friday, April 28, 2006

I left home after getting packed up in the morning. It only took me a couple hours to pack everything I needed for a weekend of car camping. I made a short list of things to buy on the way, hopped in my truck, and left.

The drive up to the Smokies was uneventful. Traffic wasn't too bad, even in Knoxville, although it did slow down some there. I got off I40 at exit 407, and drove through Pigeon Forge (mistake) to get to the GSMNP. After being delayed going through Pigeon Forge, I took the bypass around Gatlinburg and drove into the park.

Finding Elkmont was easy, I just followed the signs. I got to the campground, parked my truck, and walked over to the sign-in station. Spying the message board, I lifted it and found a note from Nowslimmer "A-18, you're welcome, bitpusher". I drove to site A-18 to find Nowslimmer's tent, but no Nowslimmer. I sat down at the picnic table and read for awhile. Within a few minutes, Nowslimmer pulled up. We greeted each other, and I began to set up my tent and unpack a little.

Nowslimmer had already eaten, so I fired up my charcoal grill and grilled a cheeseburger for myself, which I ate with potato chips and a soft drink. Nowslimmer and I talked and discussed in detail exactly what we thought about each and every one of you, then we sealed a blood-brother pact to not repeat to anyone what we had said.

After dinner, it began to get dark, so we built a fire and continued to talk. Nowslimmer declined my offer of a cigar, so I smoked one while we discussed everything under the sun. Finally, my yawning became nearly constant, and I suggested it was time to hit the hay. We retired to our respective tents. I read for a little while, then fell asleep.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Nowslimmer wanted to get an early start, and go to a pancake house in Gatlinburg that he is fond of. We woke up before 7AM, and made it to the restaurant at around 7:30. We were seated immediately, and ordered. The pancakes were a good start on the day. I could not finish my order, there was so much.

We left the restaurant, and walked back to my truck. A speeding driver tried to run Nowslimmer down, but I foiled his evil plan by pulling Nowslimmer out of the way of the oncoming juggernaut. I gave the offending cur a Bronx cheer, and we continued to my truck.

On the way back, Nowslimmer and I took a driving tour of the old Elkmont village, including one of the cemeteries. Since a lot of my family is from the same general area, I thought I might find a few family names in it, but I didn't recognize any. I would probably have better luck on the other side of the park, since I know there is a cemetery with one of my family names on it.

When we got back to the campsite, I changed into my hiking clothes, and we drove up to Clingman's Dome. I had been planning on hiking to the top, but since there are no views except from the tower, and since the tower is currently closed, and since it was frickin' cold and the wind was blowing hard, I decided against it, and satisfied myself by taking pictures from the parking lot. There is a really good view from there, and even though it was a little cloudy, I could see range after range of the Smokies in the distance.

On the way down, I stopped at Newfound Gap and took a few more pictures there. There were tremendous numbers of bikers in the park this weekend. We hardly took a single drive in the park where we didn't see at least a few.

I stepped onto the AT so I could at least say that I had been on it this year, then we went down and back to our campsite, stopping at another cemetery on the way. We ate lunch, then after talking some more, we decided to collect wood for that evening's campfire. Nowslimmer led me over to the Old Greenbrier School, where he had noticed a lot of downed wood.

As we arrived, an older lady came up to us, asking if anyone knew anything about digital cameras. She wanted to take a picture of her mother at the school, but her memory card was full, and she didn't know how to change them. I helped her out, and she was able to get her picture.

We collected some wood, and went back to our campsite and sawed it up. After a little while, we went back into Gatlinburg and had dinner at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. I'll have to go back some time when I'm not driving and sample their beers. The sandwich I got was pretty good, and the waitress was pretty too.

We went back to the campsite and started up the fire. I had another cigar while Nowslimmer and I discussed the fate of the universe and other mundane matters. We retired a little earlier that night. Even though no hiking had been done, we were still worn out from everything that we had done.

Sunday, April 30, 2006

We woke up at about 8ish. I was wanting to get home, and Nowslimmer promised to show me a few things, as well as a way around Knoxville through the park. We broke camp swiftly, and headed out in separate cars. Along the way we stopped and saw the Sinks, and I got out to take pictures. We also stopped to see another waterfall along the way. Shortly thereafter, we turned onto the road to Townsend, and we stopped at a swimming hole that Nowslimmer likes to visit. We did not go swimming, but there were people there who looked like they were about to.

We continued on towards Townsend, and stopped at a gas station where We got coffee and talked for a little while again. Then Nowslimmer led all the way to Alcoa, where we stopped and said our goodbyes. I continued to I140, and took it towards I40, and Chattanooga.

A mild headache had been brewing that morning, and only worsened as the trip wore on. I stopped to take some Advil, but it did not seem to help the growing pressure in my head and sinuses. The pain was intense to the point of causing nausea. I pulled off the interstate into the parking lot of a Shoney's and tried to rest, but it was just too bright to help ease the pain. I decided to see how far I could go, and got back onto the interstate, only to find that I could barely drive. I was weaving like a drunk and going only about 50 miles an hour. I decided that the situation had become too dangerous, so I got off at the exit just after Chattanooga, pulled into the first hotel I saw, and got a room for the night. The bad thing was that I slept about three hours and awoke feeling good enough to drive, but since I had already paid for the room, I decided to stay the night.

Sunday, May 1, 2006

I woke up to the sound of someone's favorite rap tune beating through the window of my hotel room. I felt pretty good after a full night's sleep, and I got up and took a shower. I then availed myself of the hotel's free breakfast, waited around a little bit until I felt ready to go, and then I checked out and drove home.


My first trip to the Smokies was pretty good. I felt like I checked out Elkmont fairly well, as sort of a scouting trip for a possible return with the family. However, the lack of showers and trailer hookups there means that it's unlikely my wife will have anything to do with staying there. I bet I could take my kids up though, and they'd have a blast. The one thing that I noticed most in the Smokies was the huge number of pullovers so one could stop and enjoy scenic views of the beauty of the area. There's always something new to see there. I'm sure I'll be back soon.

Pics to come soon!”

“dang bit, I didn't realize this was your first time to go to the Smokies. You need to go backpacking up there.”

“Good report Mr Pusher. I never realized that the "burning ear syndrome" could cover the distance between Tennessee and Wisconsin.”

“Bitpusher, your use of the word does could be construed as you demonstrating your male chauvinist pig idea of sexually conquering a woman. As a father of daughters, I am offended.”

“Nice report. I'm most impressed that you conjured an extra Sunday to your weekend. Teach me how to do that.”

“LOL @ dayhiker! I thought the same thing ;-)

Sounds like super-duper fun...'cept for the blinding headache part!”

“Tell the wife that she don't need no shower hookup, thats what the creeks is for.”

“Car Camper! LOL

Kewl Beans, glad y'all had a good time!”

“Oops. Oh well, my head hurt bad. That's it.”

“Soooooooooooooo......what'd ya say about us? Huh? Huh? Huh?


Great TR. Thanks!”

“Man, your wife is a wuss. We're family camping 3 nights at Cades Cove in early June. My wife will be 27 weeks pregnant while there. Showers are for wimps. (we're actually going to visit the chili hacienda again this year to get clean one night. When in East TN you have to have a Sat night bath whether you need it or not)”

“Tell me about it. Flushing toilets, showers, water and electricity, what the hell does she want?”

“good report bit...wait till ya get a chance to back pack the park...it's pretty sweet and this time of year is a great time to do it...i know what ya mean about the trafic in pigion forge, i always avoid it at all costs”

“bit, did coming down out of clingmans dome aggravate your sinus condition?...that happened to me once, i had fluid in my ears from having a cold and my ears couldn't pop...i had the worst head ache i've ever had, i had to pull over and let someone else drive”

“No, I was fine on Saturday, and on Sunday morning. I think it was a combination of a lot of things, like I didn't really eat enough Sunday morning, and I had been out in the forest for two days. I get headaches like that from time to time, usually sinus-related.”

“I think it was Return to Civilization Syndrome that cause your headache.”

“Could therebe a causative relationship with Nowslimmers sea stories?”

“Maybe they are addictive somehow? The headache didn't start until after we parted company.”

“thriftyhiker - You posed an interesting question. While we were driving down, one of my ears was stopped-up until suddenly it popped. This has never happened to me previously, even though I have backpacked over 14,000 feet numerous times. However, I did have a cold, which may have been the real cause.

We did talk a lot and discussed numerous thins as he mentioned. He did order them correctly; we started with the most important subjects first and worked our way down to the world's problems.

Actually, I guided him out as far as the Knoxville Airport. It was a good weekend.

Now I'm wondering if he really had a headache or a date with that cute waitress! He was in a hurry to get away that morning.”