I Wimped Out

12 May 2016

Hammock sleeping is interesting.  You keep slipping down where your feet are higher than your head.  It could be the slickness of the fabric.  How the fabric withstands the pressures amazes me.  The hammock and fly is 2 lbs lighter than my tent but yet seems as strong. I also realized the sleeping bag in the hammock was not enough. There’s the old rule of camping of having more under you than on top of you.  The temperature dipped into the 50’s and my back got cold because I compressed the down.  Next time, I’ll use the air mattress with the sleeping bag to give a little more insulation. However, I got a good nights sleep.

Around 4:30 am, it started lightning and thundering.  I counted the time between lightning and thunder and divided by 5 (gives you the distance in miles) and fortunately, it was moving away.  I got up around 6:30 am and packed up, had a breakfast bar, did my ablutions, and hit the trail.  I had planned to go back to the Deeplow Trail junction (0.4 miles) and got a little confused with the trail signs.  I needed to hike another mile to get to the trail to Martin’s Gap where I would rejoin the Deep Creek Trail for a camp at site 58.  The total distance would be another 4.3 miles.  I got to the trail head and whimped out.

The day before had drained me.  Eight miles for this old body, all uphill, is too tough.  I can give a lot of excuses: rain forecast, poor trail signage, an all uphill day, running out of water, etc. but the reality is 6 miles a day is about my limit.  I hiked back down the Indian Creek Trail.  That was approximately four miles downhill, and I could tell I was dragging even with the downhill. It was a good decision.  Later in the day, it probably got a huge downpour, even though I was prepared for rain.

I got to the jeep, loaded up and headed to Gatlinburg.  When I go to the Smokies, I like to stop at Clingman’s Dome (highest point) then Newfound Gap, and then Gatlinburg.  The way is via Cherokee, NC and the last time I was through Cherokee, it was very run down.  Gambling seems to have made a difference.  It looks better, and even the old tourist stops have improved their look. The play Unto These Hills is still playing  I think I saw it when I was 8 years old.

I have backpacked with Charlie Cooper out of Clingman’s Dome, so it’s always a little nostalgic.  We hiked a ridge from there that was a sheer drop on either side and would get your blood pressure elevated.

Whenever I took students to the Smokies, we would always stop at Newfound Gap for a photo op, particularly at the memorial for the Civilian Conservation Corps.

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The one place I didn’t stop was at Chimney Tops, my favorite hike in the Smokies.  Cars were parked all along the road to the trail and the parking lot was full. There must have been 50 people on that trail.

Crag Knox and I hiked it one winter where we took two steps forward and slipped one back because of the iced trail. Two young teenagers passed us and we asked them if they had hiked the trail before.  They said they were Chimney Tops virgins but grandma, just down the trail, hikes it several times a year.  We were much chagrined with our slipping and sliding.

Another year, Charlie Cooper and I did something really stupid.  The Chimney tops are called chimneys because they form two perfect chimneys or flues.  We decided to repel down using just our hands and legs to brace us against the sides.  Unfortunately, they widen as you go down and if you drop, it’s about a 100 foot fall.  We made it, but we’re lucky.  It’s also illegal which we found out later.  About halfway down I dropped my walking stick and it fell the 100 feet and I thought it was gone forever.  Amazingly, I found it at the bottom.

Gatlinburg looks a lot like it used to.  It’s a little more touristy, but it always has been.  It is still that way but is still neat.  I always think of taffy here.  As a kid, my parents always bought salt water taffy. The store is still in business!

I found a decent rate at the Park Vista, a DoubleTree by Hilton.  It’s at the top of a mountain and I’m on the tenth floor with a mountain view.  The hotel is old and not particularly well run, but the view is to die for.

I head out for home tomorrow with a stop in Tifton, GA for the night.

What I’ve learned on this trip is that I’m best with day hikes and two nights in a tent or hammock is my limit.  Personal hygiene suffers, particularly when there are no showers at Deep Creek.   This was ok in my 20’s but less so in my 60’s. Six miles is a long day, not to mention 8.3. I drink water like a salt water fish.  I almost emptied a three liter water source in one day and had a sparse amount to last two more days.  I could always boil the stream water and I did have a filter, but that was for emergencies.  After all that water, I peed constantly after setting up camp.  The deer was happy.