Through the Smokies in 4.5 days, a hiking primer, Part III

It was supposed to rain starting after midnight. Nonetheless, the rain waited until the very moment I started packing up my tent at Icewater Spring Shelter. I crammed everything into my pack and hauled it to the shelter. Though there had been more than 20 people altogether staying there last night, the place was mostly deserted at 9:30 a.m. on April 8.

The wind-blown rain soaked the dirt floor under the roof of the shelter as new hikers arrived.

We hit Charlie's Bunion, a spectacular rock formation that positions you over the middle of a deep valley with a regal view of the surrounding mountains, when the rain was still weak.

Just past the bunion we ran into Ridgerunner Scott. Ridgerunners patrol sections of the trail, back and forth, making sure people are leaving no trace and generally serving as guides to hikers and stewards of the land.

He strongly advised us not to go to Tri-Corner Knob Shelter, our intended destination for the day, because of a "habituated" bear. The bear had stolen a hiker's pack a couple of days before. Scott himself had chased the bear up a hill. "He knows what he's doing," Scott said of the bear. We had a great chat on the trail while the rain dripped off our shells and pack covers.

"Keep fighting the good fight," EB told him in parting.

After that I immediately lost Early Bear, who was hiking slower than usual because of a blister problem, because I was hiking in a manner to generate enough body heat to fight off the ill effects of the cold rain. At the next shelter, Peck's Corner Shelter, I wanted to take a lunch break. When I saw the sign saying that the shelter was .4 miles off the trail I changed my mind. I knew that if I stopped moving for much more than five minutes I'd want to be in my sleeping bag to stay warm, and that I would take off my boots and wet clothes to do that, and that once all that happened it would be very hard indeed to start hiking again.

I reached into my pack and plucked out a Trail Mix bar and a packet of Pop tarts and ate them right there.

The rest of the day was a blur of hiking. I met new hikers at Tri-Corner Knob Shelter - Shortay, High Noon, Cheeseburger - while I did camp tasks. The rain continued. When I drew out my sleeping bag the stuff sack was wet, and a little bit of dirty water fell out of the bottom of my pack when I hung in the rafters.

The hours passed, I got in my sleeping bag and still no sign of Early Bear. After dark he and another hiker, Bojangles, showed up in the shelter in their headlamps. They'd been kicked out of a packed Peck's Corner Shelter when section hikers with reservations showed up. Luckily there was just enough space on the bottom level of the shelter for two people. Barely. Neither of us got hardly any sleep in the tight conditions, with the nasty weather and some loud snorers.

The bear never showed up, though.

To be continued...