Blowing in the Wind

Day 22 - The wind continued throughout the night. It was too windy to start the stove so we had cold granola for breakfast on what is to be our longest day yet. We hiked a mile or so before eating trying to find a place out of the wind. BJ said at one point that the wind this strong was like Chinese water torture. We ran into a Ridge Runner that counts the thru hikers and keeps track of the campers in the park. So we have been officially counted at a 2011 thru hiker. After lunch it turned into a race to beat the WX...again. We hit Clingmans Dome around 1:30. As we emerged from the trail at the top of the outlook tower, the tourists began take photos of us and wanting more info about our travels. It's the first time I have ever felt like a zoo animal! We hiked the last 4.5 miles as fast as we could to Mt. Collins Shelter. Its amazing how fast you can hike when you hear thunder. Our last half mile was in the rain, but we made it before the worst hit. BJ was filtering water when the hail started. He decided to use iodine drops instead. Well, we were all snuggled up in the shelter when two hikers showed up with reservations. Unfortunately the last couple of thru hikers didn't leave so we got up and put our tent in the porch and had a nice chat with the group of non-thru hikers having a guys weekend. The Smokies is like an amusement park. You get a reservation/pass and generally you hike with the group you enter with. So far we have been hiking with a guy from Maine (Walking Wallie), a girl from NY (Tippy Toes), a guy from Orlando (Bearbag), and a couple from Colorado (Coaster and Warbler). Looks like we will be losing Bearbag and Tippy tomorrow for Gatlinburg. We are due a zero day (once a week), but we may push it another 71 miles to Hot Springs. It will be hard to pass up the road into Gatlinburg tomorrow, but the WX is suppose to be good the rest of the week.

Nice signage

Location:Clingmans Dome