A Night at Kephart Shelter and a Walk Down Kephart Prong Trail Dec 17/08

Yesterday I went to Kephart Shelter with some friends from UT who have never been there before. It may not have seemed like a great day for an overnighter in the Smokies, but I think a rainy day in the mountains beats a dry day down here, so we were off ona rainy adventure. The walk was easy enough in a drizzling rain at about 50 deg. My main worry was a fire. I had the pocket rocket for cooking, but a fire sure picks up your spirits when the rain is coming down. I hadn't been to the shelter since 2004, so this is the first time I have seen the renovated building,. The last time I was there, the mice ran the joint. That was something my friends were not thrilled to hear and I was glad I hadn't mentioned the mice until we arrived.

Fortunately there was big log in the fireplace already and with some dryer lint and a few sticks of fatwood the dead branches , soaked as they were, began to dry and catch. We had our fire the entire time we were there and left that log and some fatwood chips for the next one to sojourn through. We sat around the crackling warmth and talked about past trips in the mountains, the ups and downs of the first semester in college and a little of what life is all about.
I had about the best night's sleep I have had in a shelter, with nary a mouse in sight or sound. Truly not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse trying to eat through my coat pockets. I think we were out from 9 to 9 and then it was breakfast and back down the trail.

I have used the shelter several times but always arrived from Sweat Heifer Trail. This was the first time I had come in through the old CCC camp side. I noted the CCC remains along the way as the "Brown Book" points out. One of a my friends, a college freshman asked about the CCC and it's purpose so I explained the effects of the depression and then the coming war. He was quick to note that current conditions reminded him of that and it was interesting to think about all that had happened through the years as the camp was reduced to foundation stones. I wonder if I would have done better in economics class if my professor had taken us on a field trip to a CCC camp? Well, rain or no rain it was a great time. I can't speak for my friends but I enjoyed the trip through time past chimneys and old railroad ties, and I think they did too.