What a nightmare night. It is morning and sleep has been elusive. The backpacker with the car camping equipment and 50-60lbs of extra personal weight has been snoring for the last 14 hours. Not just a little but enough to shake the shelter and keep everyone both top and bottom bunks awake all night! Poor fellow showed up last night and was so inept and had so much stuff that he decided to lift his entire pack up onto the bear lines, we were sure they would collapse. 

We are out early, our last afternoon in the Smokey Mountains and mandatory night in a shelter (can't wait to be back in our tents). There is a crazy long downhill to Green Corner Road to resupply, our spirits are high, it is beautiful weather. We start off in snow and a miraculous metamorphosis into spring as we descend. Flowers are beginning to poke through the otherwise dead-leaf carpet of the forest floor. We are passing the northern border of the Smoky Mountain National Park and it feels a bit sad. What an experience. Today we are walking through all the seasons snow, mud, incredible views, spring flowers, feels again like walking through a movie set with someone constantly changing the weather. 

And finally we arrive at the funny little out of the way place at Green Corner Road. Priorities, a beer is our first purchase. We are looking at their larder and picking out what has become our staple food, a pasta or rice side (just add hot water), instant noodles and a foil packet of tuna. All prepared in one pot and tastes relatively bland. But we have lucked out and found wild chives growing everywhere and realise that everything tastes better with lots of chives!

Now we are camped by a stream. So lovely, the gang from the shelter has showed. All is good.