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Day 28 – Going Commando in Gatlinburg
It was laundry day, and my clean pair of underwear smelled like I had smoked them in a smoker with smoke from a campfire. Maybe because I had dried them in the shelter the other night after a creek-wash and the shelter was beyond smokey from the fire warming the shelter-dwellers.
Well, I didn’t care for smelling like a smoked ham (or turkey), so it was time to go commando while the laundry ran.
I killed some time at the hotel, discussing with hikers the sudden but inevitable betrayal of the weather closing the road up to Newfound Gap, delaying half the hikers in town with another unplanned and unwanted day off. Eventually, after the hotel breakfast of waffles and hardboiled eggs wore off, it was time to hit the town and look for cheap eats.
I had not wanted to visit Gatlinburg, and had spoken against being lured into the tourist trap while on trail. But here I was, may as well see what there was to see.
Turns out, like similar tourist town Niagara Falls, Ripley’s believe it or not seemed to own the place. With Dollywood at the neighboring Pigeon Forge, and mountain roller coasters and ski lifts taking tourists up the side of the mountain without the need for legs, the town was packed with people.
I quickly avoided the main strip (where the Ripley’s was), and found a nicer, quieter walk along the river that runs through the town. I still had hot dogs on the mind from my dreams of trail magic yesterday, and I thought I might do myself a favor and find a nice cheap dawg for sale.
As I was strolling along in my distinctive poncho (maybe a rain coat is more stylish, but I still think the poncho has better airflow and better coverage), who should text me but Alex, the section hiker who was still hanging out in town before going home on Saturday. He had realized that $60 for the Ripley’s aquarium was a rip off, and he deigned to join me on my quest for cheap dogs.
We walked all the way through the touristy section of town and found ourselves at the edge of what seemed to be “old Gatlinburg”. A small deli in an old building called itself “Parton’s Deli”, and apparently sold sandwiches and hot dogs. We gave it a shot, and low and behold, they were selling $2 hot dogs !!! Did they know where they were? They could easily charge $6 or more given the rest of the town’s pricing. I believe this was one of those shops where the owner owns the building, as the deli counter lady confirmed the business has been around for more than 50 years and hasn’t had more than a few owners over its time.
This place really hit the spot of both amazing prices, and amazing personality. Finally, sitting in the wood-paneled walls and surrounded by old Pepsi signs, watching the rain outside with the mountains beyond, it felt like we had found Gatlinburg. I love a good little mountain town, and I had dismissed Gatlinburg for nothing more than a tourist trap. Instead, I had found that small town with good vibes and cheap hot dogs.
(Image of hot dog not found, hiker ate too fast again. This is a recurring theme around hot dogs.)
After the satisfying meat and bread meal, we set out for our next stop in search of old Gatlinburg (and avoiding the hyper touristy downtown): the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum !!
That’s right. Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum.
Oh, you haven’t heard of the gem of Gatlinburg, home to over 20,000 salt and pepper shakers? Well, get ready for the world’s only salt and pepper shaker museum.
Yes, I bought a set of salt and pepper shakers from the gift shop and sent them home as a surprise gift for my husband. I hope he gets a laugh and enjoys them as much as I did.
Aside from the S&P museum, we enjoyed a neighboring art gallery of chainsaw carvings, which were also surprisingly cool, and not just bear shaped.
On the walk back from our side quests, Alex learned about the infamous bear that supposedly lives near the river that goes through town, and through musings of where the bear lived, we discovered Alex’s trail name – Sewer Bear! 🐻 I swear sewer bear is real and the locals talk about him. Don’t feed the sewer bear.
Overall it was a great day in Gatlinburg despite my early judgement. It’s also been nice being warm and dry while we hear updates about snow on the mountains. Having underwear that no longer smells like smoke is another wonderful perk of being in town.
If all goes well, the road will be open and we will be back on the trail tomorrow. Fancy Pants and I have been going back and forth between complaining and encouraging each other to “embrace the suck” when we think about hiking in possible snow, ice, and rain tomorrow.
One way or another, I’ll be through the Smokies in just a few more days, and hopefully on to warmer weather, longer hiking miles, and maybe even a lighter pack! Boy, I can’t wait !!
Bonus picture: Fancy Pants has a thing for picking up rocks she likes. She didn’t even realize until she was cleaning out her pack tonight in the hotel room that she’s been carrying a whole handful of rocks in her pack !!! We both laughed so hard at her “ultralight set up” and her fistful of quartz.
Final thoughts – last night I couldn’t sleep and decided to reply to some comments on my blog (bad idea to do this in the middle of the night). I really appreciate the positive comments and knowing there’s people reading along every day besides my mom! (Love you, Mom!)
Last night though, I was really upset and discouraged by some comments on the blog about using my Garmin SOS and getting taken to the ER, and may have done some replying at 3am which is never a good thing… But anyway, I’m grateful for others pitching in and letting me know they think I did the right thing. I will not do everything perfectly, but I try my best to be smart and not do stupid dangerous things. Just stupid fun things, like hiking the AT – with a GPS/SOS device. I almost didn’t bring one on this trip because I found it to be cost prohibitive, but I’m glad I invested in it, I’m glad I had it on me, and I’m glad I used it. Maybe I didn’t “need” the ER visit because I wasn’t actively dying (nor did I need the bill), but it is what it is, and I’m glad I got help down the mountain.
Alright, that’s enough of that. Time to log off and get back to the woods where I can be notification-free and oblivious to the news cycle too. It may be cold and wet out there, but at least I don’t have to read hate comments or hear about reciprocal tarrifs! 🥴
Thank you again specifically to those of you who read my blogs regularly and post positive, encouraging comments. They mean a lot when I’m catching up on notifications in town, and I really do read them. I can’t believe it’s already been a month on trail! I hope my stories of the trail and the towns, good days and bad, can bring some levity and interest to your days.
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Comments 14
Ignore negative people. No matter what you do, there will always be some negative comments. You did the right thing in my mind to get emergency help. Dehydration is dangerous. Focus on what is right for you and tune out the negative. In anything I ever posted in a forum or on social media, there was always at least one negative comment. Please don’t let them bring you down. You have a lot of us out here pulling for you.
You’ve made me crave a hot dog! Your $2 hot dog sounded so satisfying. Also I’m glad you have the technology to call for help when you need it and the common sense to use it! Not sure what else you should have done when you couldn’t walk 🤔
Stay positive and hike on. Don’t let the haters decide what your hike should be like. Be safe!
Yeah, I’m kinda hooked on your writings. And you can spell which makes it all the more enjoyable.
Remember Punchinello the Wemmick. <3
Haters gonna hate, so shake it off. Only you can do you.
I’m sorry you’re getting negative comments. You 100% need to trust your gut and hike your hike.
Sending you good energy, vibes, and wishes of more trail magic hot dogs! You’re doing amazing & I have enjoyed following along 🙂 Be glad you don’t have to worry about tariffs, I’m envious you can blissfully ignore them!
To Go,
I am glad you made it to Gatlinburg!! Remember at this point you are basically a bad ass hiker!! Don’t worry about what others think!! You got sick and you dealt with it in a way that allowed you to keep hiking!! I hope for the remainder of your hike you will remember how far you have come and all the adversity you have successfully dealt with to get to where you are! Those haters are probably sitting in their living room and have never hiked a single day in their life!! What do they know about embracing the suck? Happy hiking!!
Glad you had a little fun in Gaitlinburg. It’s a trip! I missed that deli by literal feet – got distracted by the mini-golf next door. Sorry you got some guff for your rescue. Stuff can go sideways easily out there so you did the right thing. FWIW, picking up rocks after agonizing every ounce is exactly what I’d do too. 😂 Enjoy the rest of the smokies!
I think that you are doing great. I am very proud of you and I look forward to reading your posts every morning as I sit at my desk in material Control at Achilles
Elayna, I love reading your posts sharing your day, observations, surprises, accomplishments, set backs…it’s full of learnings useful for all of us. Gatllinburg was already a tourist trap 35 years ago , we always tried hard to find a different angle. Keep on going ! You are doing great!
Roberto
Thats nuts. Nobody was in your shoes but you. I once attended a Conch fedtival on Bimini while bareboat chartering a small saliboat from Ft Lauderdale on spring break. Next mirning feelung real funny but shoved off for next island. Never made it. Three out of the four of us ate the conch chowder and got severe food poisoning. We tried a coast guard rescue but there were 100 people scattered on sailboats callibg for help. We pulled up to a very small deserted island and I crawled on my hands and knees for eight hours til I passed out from pain and dehydration. We still had six quessy days of vacation on that small 44ft boat. Nope. You definetely did the right thing calling for help. Lots of trail and hot dogs in your future. Enjoy all the possibilities.
Love you, Elayna!
Stay positive and hike on. Don’t let the haters decide what your hike should be like. Be safe!
I loved the Salt and Pepper museum too! I spent hours studying the details.