Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Clingman's Dome to Newfound Gap and a Night Off

We left Mount Collins Shelter at 9 a.m. this morning and headed to Newfound Gap (about 4 miles). What a pretty hike. Newfound Gap is a popular starting spot for day hikes to Clingman's Dome, so there were other folks there resting or waiting for shuttles when we arrived. We had been pushing through the Smokies so well since Saturday, that I decided that both Forest and I could use a good night's sleep. So, we took a shuttle (thanks to Jerry from Elite Taxi who was able to squeeze Forest and me into his schedule, without a single complaint about putting a dirty me and a dirty service dog into his beautiful vehicle!) to Johnson's Inn in Gatlinburg, TN.


We were lucky to get the last room available at Johnson's Inn. They offer a hiker's rate, which makes it a popular overnight spot. When we got to the room, I was about to get Forest some water, when I saw this. Guess I wasn't fast enough.


I didn't need to run a full load of laundry, so I put a pair of socks, a pair of shorts, and a T-shirt in the tub to soak. You can see from the following photo just how dirty a few clothes can get in a short time on the Trail.


Pizza in the room for dinner tonight. A full belly, a dark room, a soft bed, warm covers and a dog...a little slice of heaven for a night. We only have 32 miles to hike before we exit the Smoky Mountains and head to Standing Bear Farm, where our next resupply box will be waiting. Forest still has four days of food, so we are good to go!

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Just one photo from yesterday to add. This is a screen grab from a panoramic shot I took at Rocky Top for my son. Sometimes I struggle with stopping to take time to photograph, but in the end this was just too pretty to pass up.

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How It All Began

In August 2017 Canines for Service Inc. in Wilmington, NC, provided Service Dog Forest to me (U.S. Army Veteran "Fisher"). It was ...