Another stretch of the AT

Yesterday Jerry and I hiked from Clingman's Dome to Indian Gap. We left our camper at the KOA at Cherokee, drove to the Indian Gap parking lot and hitched a ride to Clingman's Dome with a young couple from Ohio. We decided to hike from Clingman's in the northerly direction, since it would be mostly DOWN, not UP. Well, that may be true, but there were Mt. Love and Mt. Collins in between, with lots of UPS! It took us about 5 hours, half of it in a misty drizzle. But the trail is beautiful no matter what! And Jerry had the foresight to include 2 large black garbage bags in our pack, so we poked 3 holes in each one and at least our torsos stayed dry. Plus we were wearing hats with brims, and that kept our heads dry.

We encountered 15 other hikers during the trip at various points, all of who were going the other way. We pitied them for more UPS they certainly suffered. What did we see? Beautiful views of rainy Smoky Mountains, wild blooming rhododendron, ferns in their brilliant early green. We inhaled balsam and thought of Christmas!

Now we are planning our July hike...we hope to do Mt. Katahdin summit in Maine! No, we are not through hiking, just picking the spots closest to where we are, and with only a day's hike. We do not have time or possibly stamina for a 6 month hike. Too bad we started so late in life! But better late than never!