Newfound Gap

4/25 – 207 miles
Today was a short day from Clingmans Dome to Icewater Spring Shelter. The weather was foggy in the morning but soon burned off to a nice clear sky with many spectacular views.

I passed through Newfound Gap about noon. The parking lot was full of people, taking pictures and enjoying the weather. It’s always funny when tourists come up to us and start asking questions. They can’t believe what we are doing when we tell them how far we have walked and where we are headed. Sometimes they will feed us like starving wild animals. I met a man from Quebec that had hiked the AT in 2004 and he gave me a candy bar and an orange.

Three miles further on I came to the shelter where I would stay for the night. In the Smokys it’s always good to arrive at the shelter early. Many weekend hikers fill the shelters early and late arriving thruhikers are forced to tent outside. I never minded tenting but it rains a lot in the Smokys. There was a good chance you would have to pack up a wet tent in the morning.

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