Windblown Tree Roots along the AT
Starting mile 203.1
Today is a nice easy 4.4 mile day to get to Newfound Gap and a shuttle into Gatlinburg. I got going by 7 am so that I had plenty of time to catch the shuttle at 10. am The trail continued to be the Fir-Spruce forest that I had the second half of yesterday. This was a very enjoyable part of the trail, I’ll miss it.
I made great time and got to the Gap by 9 am when the shuttle was making its first drop off. I was able to jump on the shuttle and rode it up to Clingman’s Dome where we dropped off a couple of other hikers and picked up a couple of hikers heading into town. Then it was back down to Newfound Gap. When we got to the Gap a church group had set up Trail Magic. We got out to talk with them and had a banana. I felt bad taking their food while I was heading into town, but they were very insistent. No one else joined us for the ride into town.
We got dropped off at the NOC in Gatlinburg and I headed out to find some food. I found Five Guys and headed in for a burger and fries. It really hit the spot. I hung out at Five Guys while I waited to check into my hotel. I headed over about 1 pm to see if I could check in early, but alas I couldn’t.
I dropped my bag behind the desk and headed out to explore the town. When I left my hotel I looked across the street and saw “Neptune” by the pool at his hotel so I headed over. I relaxed with “Neptune” at his pool for a couple hours before heading to the bar to watch the Caps game. This might be Ovi’s last home game as well as the last Ovi-Crosby hockey game, so it was fun to watch. To top it off the Caps won and kept their playoff chances alive.
When my room was ready I headed over there to finish watching the game and shower. I spent the rest of the night doing nothing. It was great. All in I did 4.7 miles of hiking with about 500 feet of elevation gain.
Ending mile 207.8