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| April 5 Thirsty for some hops Paul has made his way through The Smokies, and called from Mountain Mammas, a store about a mile off the trail in North Carolina on Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, Paul did not get to see too much of the Smokies due to fog, snow, ice, rain, hail, and lightning. The weather did not cooperate for this stretch of the AT, although there were times when Paul found mother nature displaying astounding beauty from the atmosphere when he was walking through clouds and fog. I know what he means, I found the fog in San Francisco to be amazing to look at sometimes. From the pay phone where Paul was calling from, the weather was 80 degrees and Paul was sweating, and thirsty. Paul has learned what a difference a couple thousand feet in elevation can make in climate. Paul has yet to have any "zero days", and was about 30 miles from Hot Springs when he called. He has travelled about 235 miles. He spent Saturday night (March 31) at Spence Field Shelter, Sunday night at Double Springs Gap Shelter, Monday at Ice Water Spring Shelter, and Tuesday night he slept at Tri Corner Nob Shelter. Paul called me at around 4:30pm yesterday, and had trekked some 15 miles between 9am to 3pm. It was mostly downhill, which explains the weather variation. He told me that he spotted a salamander that was the size of his hand. Paul was thinking he was going to spend Wednesday night at a campground about two miles away. Paul has been hiking with Eric from Florida (aka "Leftovers"), as they have been moving about the same pace since Fontana. Leftovers started a few days before Paul, but he was going slower in the beginning of his bid due to blisters. Paul has not had any blisters open yet, but he said he has some in pretty strange places, like the tops of his toes. Paul shared with me his craving for a beer, but has not had one since St. Patricks Day. This is not by design however, it's just that every town he has stopped in happens to be dry. I told him it could be a while, there are some dry counties in the south. He is doing well, it seems like he just left, but he said it has been a long 3 weeks. He is now in good cardiovascular shape, but feels new muscle aches everyday. He is eating well, and expressed a desire to revisit the Smokies sometime in better weather. Our conversation was brief as there was a line forming for the payphone, but he plans to call again from Hot Springs. The film Paul sent is now being developed. I'll get them here soon. Nomo no no, Todd |
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