{"id":296,"date":"2014-05-03T11:31:53","date_gmt":"2014-05-03T15:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hnatow.com\/wordpress-happytrails\/?p=296"},"modified":"2014-05-03T11:31:53","modified_gmt":"2014-05-03T15:31:53","slug":"day-17-mount-collins-shelter-to-tri-corner-knob-shelter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hnatow.com\/happytrails\/?p=296","title":{"rendered":"Day 17 – Mount Collins Shelter to Tri-Corner Knob Shelter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Had a very cold night last night, probably the coldest since we started (also the shelter is at over 6000 ft. elevation and in a damp forest). My little REI key chain thermometer read about 34 in the morning. I slept in shorts like a fool! Anyway, we got moving and hiked down into Newfound Gap, where there was a large parking lot with a lot of people taking pictures of the scenic mountains. We were immediately shouted over by some folks with a nice table and griddle and we knew we scored some serious trail magic. These folks from Georgia (their daughter is a thru-hiker named Dandelion) had a full breakfast spread. Pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon… Amazing!!!!!! <\/p>\n

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I almost crapped my pants with joy<\/p><\/div>\n

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So nice<\/p><\/div>\n

They kept feeding us!<\/p>\n

We reluctantly left and kept on hiking. We were not disappointed though, today had stunning view after view. I’m trying to limit myself to a couple pictures a day so I don’t end up with a thousand pics at the end, but today was just impossible to not keep taking them. The Smokies are really and truly beautiful. <\/p>\n

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The trail snaked along between Tennessee and North Carolina and the views went forever in both directions. The trail at times winds along some vertigo – inducing cliffs, with several thousand foot nearly sheer drops to both sides. Simply Awesome.<\/p>\n

We ended up hiking almost exactly 20 miles again today to the shelter. This one is quite full with both day\/section hikers and thru-hikers. Some of the guys are military and making a bad-ass bonfire right now. <\/p>\n

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Smokies shelter<\/p><\/div>\n

Tomorrow we hike out of the Smokies. Despite some minor annoyances like muddy trails and mandatory shelters, it’s been well worth it.<\/p>\n

Vital stats :<\/strong>
\nMood – awesome
\nPhysical state – feeling gooood
\nSmell – weird old man smell
\nSong stuck in my head – Wild Horses (hogs) by The Rolling Stones (there are wild hogs here so I kept singing Wild Hogs all day to the tune of Wild Horses)<\/p>\n

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