According to the weatherman Sat. Oct.16 was supposed to be sunny and clear and around 65 degrees.  So I planned on hiking from Low Gap at Cosby up to Newfound Gap.

We awoke at 5:30 and drove out to Cosby campground and got there at around 7:15. It was still too dark for me to start out, but at 7:30 I was ready.  I told my father-in-law to meet me at Newfound at around 6:30 and we both went our separate ways.

I was really excited about this hike so much so that the night before I had trouble falling asleep.  I think it was a combination of the four pieces of pizza at 11:30 and the anticipation of the hike the next morning.  I saw midnite one and two o'clock roll over on the clock before I turned it around so I couldn't it.  I had serious thoughts about not doing the hike in the morning , but am glad I did it.

Low Gap trail is 2.5 miles and climbs from 3000 ft to 4200 ft before it meets the App.  This trail goes through the woods so it offers little in the way of mountain vistas.  Well about 1.5 miles in it starts to sprinkle and the temp is dropping into the 40's.  The farther I go the worse it gets and the wind starts picking up to boot.  I'm thinking big mistake , maybe I should have driven myself to the trailhead so I would have a way back to Gatlinburg.  I keep pressing on and reach the App. and only 24.5 miles to go.  From here to the junction of Snake Den Ridge trail it is 4.7 miles with a climb from 4200 ft to 5700 ft.  Along this part the trail opens up a little and offers partial views of the mountains.  At Cosby shelter I met three overniters getting ready to leave for Big Creek.

As I pressed onward and upward the wind really started picking up and sleet began to fall intermittently, this beats rain.  As I approached Snake Den Ridge trail junction I had a decision to make; press on to the gap or cut down Snake Den and call for a ride.  The reason being was that I was approaching the cloud line the wind was whipping and I was a little cold.  I ate a sandwich and thought about it and decided to go left.  From this point to Tricorner Knob was 3.7 miles with about 500 ft of climb to Guyot.  About a half later I was in the clouds and there was ice on the trees and the wind was blowing ice from the trees onto me and no visibility and........ I could go on.

It was a long miserable hike to Tricorner but I made it at 11:30.  There were four guys getting ready to leave when I got there.  I ate a banana and snapped a couple pix of them and then headed out.  No sooner did I get on the trail and the sun started shining thru and within a mile the clouds were starting to lift allowing for great visibility.  My spirits were lifting too and it was a whole new hike.

From Tricorner to Hughes Ridge trail junction is 5.3 miles and I have to ascend 500 ft to Mt Chapman the first mile and a half.  From Chapman to Hughes trail I descend about 1000 ft.  Along the way I passed several backpackers on their way to Tricorner for the night.  I talked to one hiker from Ohio, an Ohioan myself, he was from Dayton area and was going from Cosby to LeConte by Tuesday.  I got my first glimpse of LeConte about three miles from Hughes and it sure looks different from the east.  I passed by some rock outcroppings about a mile before Hughes trail junc. and was able to see LeConte and Pigeon Forge and Douglas lake.

I reached Hughes Ridge junc. at 1:45 and enjoyed my lunch and then stretched a little before pushing on.  From here to Charlies Bunion is about 6.5 miles with little elevation change.  To me this was the most scenic part of the hike.  It offered views of LeConte, Guyot, Chapman, Pigeon Forge, and the mountains to the south in N.C.  I passed half a dozen hikers headed to Pecks Corner for the night.  This part of the trail passed over many narrow ridges offering views both north and south, it was spectacular!  I took several small breaks along the way to enjoy the scenery and to time my arrival to 6:30ish at Newfound.

By the time I reached Charleys Bunion my 40 yr old knees were starting to get a little sore, but I pressed on up to Icewater which was pretty crowded.  I was 24 miles into my hike at this time and was ready to get in a warm van but still had 2.7 miles to go.  This seemed liked the longest 2.7 miles I have ever hiked.  At 6:15 I arrived at Newfound and the temps were near freezing.  I waited 25 mins. before my father-in-law picked me up.  The total mileage was 27 miles and well worth it.  I found out the hard way that two 16.9 oz bottles of water is not enough.  My next endeavor is to hike Anthony Creek to Russell Field to Clingmans Dome.