What a day. I started by taking the shuttle from the Budget Inn back to the gap where I had left off yesterday. I intended to hike 15-20 miles depending on how I felt. I climbed up to the top of Siler Bald. I am not sure if the terrain of these mountains have changed since their naming, but I have been to several "balds" that have yet to be treeless. Siler had a large clearing but it was clearly tree lined. I pressed on without many breaks, and reached a shelter for dinner around 4:30. I ate some not-so-tasty rice and tuna quickly, and spoke with a few of the other hikers who were there. Animal is an older gentleman, seemingly not bothered by the hoard of flies who congregate around him. I have heard about him several times since my start, as he is the only hiker that carries a five-gallon plastic bucket with him. He is panning for gems in this area. I am not sure if he intends to thru-hike, but forward progress is not high on his list. I ask if he has found anything good, and he is quick to assure me he is not looking for items of value but items of interest. My question did not ask anything about striking it rich, so I take his defensiveness to mean he has been prodded on this topic many times before.
I also meet Coffee Bean(?) who has brought a very pretty Vizsla along with him. A good looking dog and well tempered, I consider all of the pros and cons of bringing a dog on a thru hike. The cons seem to outweigh the pros during logical thought, but right now he sure seems like a bunch of fun. He carries his own backpack, but I'm assured he only carries a few pounds of food and his owner carries the rest. I feel a little better, and hope to make it to Wesser Bald Shelter, many more miles and climbs later. I try not to think about it. As I press to the top of Wesser Bald I see a firetower that appears to have open access to the top. It does, and I enjoy the views and make a few calls with the good cell service. I meet another hiker who came up the firetower about ten minutes after me. He has come to take a few pictures of the pending sunset and meet with some friends who have not yet arrived. I get the impression he is a former thru hiker from the conversation he is trying to strike up, but I am too tired to oblige the words necessary to give him the opportunity to speak about it. I can't take my eyes off the Mountain Dew peeking out of his backpack. Again, I don't even like Mountain Dew. He does let me know that I only have a short distance to the next shelter and a short day tomorrow to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. I'd already traveled about twenty miles today, so the upcoming shelter was welcome news.
In planning this leg I had planned to press on to Fontana Dam directly, and had not considered the NOC as a stop. This meant that I had again brought too much food, fast becoming a perpetual sin for me on this trip. As I reached the next shelter I saw quite a few people. Loophole, Sleeping Beauty, and Squatch were all there. I had stayed with all of them in Hiawassee. It was good to catch up with them since they hadn't gone into Franklin. I relaxed by the fire and chatted for a while, but it became apparent the shelter was full and all of the decent tent sites were already taken. I figured I deserved at least some level ground after such a long day, so I decided to press on in an attempt to find a site just off trail without having to go too far. The sun had just set, so I donned my headlamp and set off. About 6 miles and two hours later I had not found anything, and had traveled much farther than I had anticipated. The next shelter was only a mile before the NOC, and I figured if I attempted to set up there I would just succeed in waking everyone. Another mile had me down on pavement at 10:30. A thirteen hour day I had not at all anticipated. My previous long day was about 17 miles, and that had about killed my feet. I had finally gotten my "trail legs" underneath me, and while I was certainly tired, I felt reasonable. I'm sure I was running on adrenaline for the last 7 miles, with the realization that I had completed my first marathon, with the slowest finishing time in history.
I grabbed a soda from a nearby machine whose mesmerizing glowing light could not be ignored. I found someone who worked for the center as she was leaving in her vehicle. Asking for a room for the night, she explained that they were closed for the night. Asking for any ideas on what I could do for lodging in the area, she simply suggested camping by the river. Knowing I wasn't in the woods anymore, and that small town police have a distaste for squatters, I decided to attempt to hitchhike the twenty miles into Bryson City and the nearest hotel. In the dark. In the middle of nowhere. With minimal vehicle traffic. With an odor the drivers could probably smell on approach. Not the easiest task. Finally a van stopped with a barefoot man exiting to take a look at the river which runs right through the various buildings of the Center. I asked for a ride, and after a quick interview as to my possible possession of drugs or weapons my stuff was in the back and I was in the passenger seat. Pink was his name, and he is an aircraft mechanic for Cessna. My backpack shared the back with two jet engine shrouds. We spoke about demanding clients who own jets and his children as I made my way to the Sleep Inn. After some forms were filled out and the box for a king bed checked, I was quickly in a room and more quickly in the shower. Sleep was not difficult.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Day 10-3/20-Glassmine Gap to Winding Stair Gap-7.3 miles
I woke earlier than usual and hit the trail by 8 AM. The upsides to an early start are an early finish, more time without bugs, and cooler temperatures. The downsides are being the kind soul that clears the night's spider webs from the trail. I hiked with a trekking pole in front of my face for a good bit. I hit the next shelter still fairly early and some of its occupants were still cooking breakfast. One of them, You Again, was a familiar face. He had stayed in my room at Hiawassee and had been with us for several days. His name comes from the fact that he hikes fast and stops often. He will often come up from behind after he's already passed you once or twice earlier in the day. He let me know that Switchback, another common face, had already hit the trail, and that they would be pushing through the stop at Franklin, NC. I could not, as Rhiannon had sent me a package containing some gear that I needed and some homemade beef jerky. I also saw two girls whom I had seen two days earlier at the shelter we had passed up to reach Standing Indian. That means they put in an approximately 25 mile day, big business.
The contraption you see here is some more trail magic, not the Wile E. Coyote booby trap it appears to be. It was hung like this by a ranger to avoid bears stealing all the goodies. It contained two or three different types of cake, and lots of it. Still, Gingersnap had to refill it often. I talked to one or two hikers who had run out of food at this point, and the cake was just the calories they needed.
Another few hours on the trail had me out to Winding Stair Gap early, and it was about a mile walk along the road before my thumb proved its usefulness. The kind souls that picked me up were happy to take me into the Budget Inn where my mail drop waited. The passenger was a thru hiker class of '98, Huff and Puff, and he related some stories from his hike. The driver was a retired nurse who had just received a grant for making a goat cheese factory on her farm. My arrival at the Budget Inn had me staying alone, a nice change of pace from the last town stop, and I went about my usual resupply tasks. I gathered food and fuel with various other sundry item (Vitamin I being a crucial component) and made a special effort to not bring double the food I needed. My appetite still hasn't matched my output, and the postal scale has me approximately 6 pounds lighter in 10 days. I feel fine, so I can't really complain, but I need to put in more effort to getting some more food in me. At this rate I'll make Maine at the weight of a small child.
I also stopped by the barber, as the length of my beard was bothersome and I wanted a trim up top as well. Apparently a number 1 guard on the clippers is different in North Carolina than it is elsewhere in the country, as when she turned me around to the mirror I was almost hairless. The red beard isn't completely gone, but it would take a razor to get it any closer. I'm sure it'll be too long again in no time. I'm off to dinner at the steakhouse and then to bed. Shuttle is at nine in the morning, and I've got another 2100 miles and 13 states to go.
The contraption you see here is some more trail magic, not the Wile E. Coyote booby trap it appears to be. It was hung like this by a ranger to avoid bears stealing all the goodies. It contained two or three different types of cake, and lots of it. Still, Gingersnap had to refill it often. I talked to one or two hikers who had run out of food at this point, and the cake was just the calories they needed. Another few hours on the trail had me out to Winding Stair Gap early, and it was about a mile walk along the road before my thumb proved its usefulness. The kind souls that picked me up were happy to take me into the Budget Inn where my mail drop waited. The passenger was a thru hiker class of '98, Huff and Puff, and he related some stories from his hike. The driver was a retired nurse who had just received a grant for making a goat cheese factory on her farm. My arrival at the Budget Inn had me staying alone, a nice change of pace from the last town stop, and I went about my usual resupply tasks. I gathered food and fuel with various other sundry item (Vitamin I being a crucial component) and made a special effort to not bring double the food I needed. My appetite still hasn't matched my output, and the postal scale has me approximately 6 pounds lighter in 10 days. I feel fine, so I can't really complain, but I need to put in more effort to getting some more food in me. At this rate I'll make Maine at the weight of a small child.
I also stopped by the barber, as the length of my beard was bothersome and I wanted a trim up top as well. Apparently a number 1 guard on the clippers is different in North Carolina than it is elsewhere in the country, as when she turned me around to the mirror I was almost hairless. The red beard isn't completely gone, but it would take a razor to get it any closer. I'm sure it'll be too long again in no time. I'm off to dinner at the steakhouse and then to bed. Shuttle is at nine in the morning, and I've got another 2100 miles and 13 states to go.
Day 9-3/19-Standing Indian Shelter to Glassmine Gap-16.2 miles
My feet felt fine as I set off and I was hoping they would stay that way. Some oatmeal for breakfast and we were off, a few leaving before me and still more behind. The day was easy for about the first 10 miles, with a climb right out of the gate mitigated by some wonderful trail grading and switchbacks. I wanted to thank the fellow who implemented that section. The big event of the day was Albert Mountain, and another milestone, 100 miles. The climb was the toughest yet, with sections that the trekking poles had to be stowed and hands used to traverse the rocks. It only consisted of about 700 feet elevation change, but my seat of the pants estimate put that over about 700 horizontal feet. Tough stuff.
The top of Albert Mountain rewarded with a firetower, which I climbed with my pack on out of spite.
As you can see the views were great, even without being able to actually enter the tower. With some cell coverage I was able to make a few calls and rehydrate, then it was off toward Long Branch Shelter, only about two miles away. When I had hit Glassmine Gap I knew I had gone too far but hadn't seen the shelter. I went down a side trail for a bit and found a nice quiet campsite with a strong creek nearby for some feet soaking. No one else joined me the rest of the night. Speaking with several people the next day, the general consensus was Long Branch Shelter has not yet been constructed. Good to know I'm not blind.
The top of Albert Mountain rewarded with a firetower, which I climbed with my pack on out of spite.
As you can see the views were great, even without being able to actually enter the tower. With some cell coverage I was able to make a few calls and rehydrate, then it was off toward Long Branch Shelter, only about two miles away. When I had hit Glassmine Gap I knew I had gone too far but hadn't seen the shelter. I went down a side trail for a bit and found a nice quiet campsite with a strong creek nearby for some feet soaking. No one else joined me the rest of the night. Speaking with several people the next day, the general consensus was Long Branch Shelter has not yet been constructed. Good to know I'm not blind.
Day 8-3/18-Dick's Creek Gap to Standing Indian Shelter-16.7 miles
Today was the first big milestone of the trip, the Georgia/North Carolina border. These are of a few of my friends taking a break at the spot. Who knew a little wooden sign could make people so happy.
Just after the border was a big climb up to Courthouse Bald. A good "Welcome to North Carolina, don't come back," kind of climb. The day was a long one, and the rest day didn't do as much for my feet muscles as I had hoped. I met two National Guardsmen who were out for an extended trek (but not thru hiking). One was having backpack trouble, which I tried to help with a quick adjustment, and the others boots began to fall apart on him. Bad luck for sure on some crucial gear, so it was off the trail for a trip to the outfitter for them. At about mile 11 I started to feel the pain again, but a few others and I pushed past Muskrat Creek Shelter at 11.8 miles in to continue on to Standing Indian Shelter another 5 miles. The running joke was it was all downhill. It wasn't.
There was a strong creek next to the shelter, so I quickly cooked my dinner and went down to soak my feet in the icy water. Between that and some Vitamin I (ibuprofen) my feet actually began to feel better. The pain was manageable, but I worried about the swelling. Still no blisters or anything other than muscle soreness though, so I feel lucky. We got the first chance to hang a bear bag without cables at this shelter, which was an adventure in itself. After about 25 minutes and some good laughs we had our food bags hung well enough that a it was perfectly safe from any bears without the use of their arms. It made us feel better anyway. This was my first night sleeping in a shelter (up until this point I had always used my tent at the sites) and it was an enjoyable experience. The two most common complaints of shelter sleeping were absent, mice and snoring, so I guess I lucked out.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Day 5-3/15-Low Gap Shelter to Tray Mountain Shelter-15.4 miles
This was to be my biggest mileage so far in one day, and I was looking forward to the challenge. We had a series of pretty large climbs, which ended in a climb of 1300 feet to the top of Tray Mountain. The shelter would be just on the other side. The day was uneventful, but I carried extra water as the lesson from the day before. About halfway through the day I met up with Sasquatch again and we hiked together for the remainder. As we were entering the gap and about to begin our climb of Tray Mountain I verbalized to him that I hoped for some rain to knock the bugs down and cool us off. Approximately 1.75 seconds later the first raindrop hit my head. As we started to climb the thunder picked up along with the rain. Fifteen minutes later we had hail. The rain was so strong that we were quickly soaked and as the hail increased it began to hit so hard it was physically painful.
We reached a false summit and had hoped a side trail would take us to the shelter. The lightning was still striking with practically no delay between flash and roar, and the hail had not let up. The trail ended up being a side trail to water (which we certainly did not need at this point) so we returned to the main trail and pushed on. We were walking in a river by this point and my feet were beginning to chill. My muscles were tightening up and we still had not reached the top. I suspected the shelter would be full by the time we arrived at the campsite, meaning I would have to attempt to erect my tent in these conditions. I was not the happiest of campers at that moment. As we rounded a bend in the trail I thought I saw a pop-up sunshade erected to the left. I told Sasquatch it must be a mirage, but when I saw the grill and smelled the meat I knew I was wrong, it was Trail Magic.
Trail Magic is the term given to any acts of kindness given to thru hikers by others. Most of the time it comes in the form of a former hiker who has come to a point on the trail bearing gifts of food or drink. This time it was Bill and Steve(?) cooking what looked to be half pound plus burgers and handing out Mountain Dew. IN THE MIDDLE OF A FREAKING HAIL STORM. After consuming three burgers and two Mountain Dews ( I don't even like Mountain Dew) the storm had passed somewhat and the sun was trying to shine. A fire had been made by another dear soul who had his camper at that location and I was warming and drying myself. It took every ounce of strnegth I had to get myself out of that lawnchair and put my pack back on for the rest of the trip to the shelter. I arrived to beautiful views and a great campsite to pitch my tent.
Easily the best day on the trail so far, despite the monster elevation change, the long distance, and mother nature. Probably moreso because of it.
We reached a false summit and had hoped a side trail would take us to the shelter. The lightning was still striking with practically no delay between flash and roar, and the hail had not let up. The trail ended up being a side trail to water (which we certainly did not need at this point) so we returned to the main trail and pushed on. We were walking in a river by this point and my feet were beginning to chill. My muscles were tightening up and we still had not reached the top. I suspected the shelter would be full by the time we arrived at the campsite, meaning I would have to attempt to erect my tent in these conditions. I was not the happiest of campers at that moment. As we rounded a bend in the trail I thought I saw a pop-up sunshade erected to the left. I told Sasquatch it must be a mirage, but when I saw the grill and smelled the meat I knew I was wrong, it was Trail Magic.
Trail Magic is the term given to any acts of kindness given to thru hikers by others. Most of the time it comes in the form of a former hiker who has come to a point on the trail bearing gifts of food or drink. This time it was Bill and Steve(?) cooking what looked to be half pound plus burgers and handing out Mountain Dew. IN THE MIDDLE OF A FREAKING HAIL STORM. After consuming three burgers and two Mountain Dews ( I don't even like Mountain Dew) the storm had passed somewhat and the sun was trying to shine. A fire had been made by another dear soul who had his camper at that location and I was warming and drying myself. It took every ounce of strnegth I had to get myself out of that lawnchair and put my pack back on for the rest of the trip to the shelter. I arrived to beautiful views and a great campsite to pitch my tent.
Easily the best day on the trail so far, despite the monster elevation change, the long distance, and mother nature. Probably moreso because of it.
Day 4-3/14-Neels Gap to Low Gap Shelter-11.5 miles
There was a strong climb immediately out of Mountain Crossings, which gave way to a day of ups and downs that was by this point becoming familiar. I had left with about a liter and a half of water, but this being a clear day unlike the previous one I had neglected to account for the heat. I ran out of water right at a stream, but the flow was not strong enough for me to be able to refill without debris. Since I am not using a mechanical filter the debis will remain even though my chemical filtration will mean the water is clean. It is not a big deal, and it can be worked around by using a bandana to filter out the debris, but being four miles from the shelter I elected to push on.
I arrived a Low Gap Shelter fairly early, another common theme from my previous days of hiking. While I seem to have one speed that is higher than average for most of my fellow hikers, I am not yet in shape enough to put in the really long days. Hiking at 2-2.5 miles per hour allows me to cover this day's hike in 4-5 hours, for example. This is obviously a short day that could be extended easily, except for my muscles. While I have been without blisters or any other real injury, my feet and calf muscles have been letting me know all the work they have been doing. I am looking forward to the 7-8 hour days when I can cover some real ground, but I'm not there yet.
We had a good group of people at the shelter. I cooked some dinner and made some new introductions (I still did not have a trail name) and decided to sleep in my tent instead of the shelter. I could not find a campsite I was very fond of, but eventually settled on one that was less than level. I would slide around all night, but managed reasonable sleep. When I awoke for breakfast we found a mouse had chewed through Sasquatch's food bag overnight and (ironically) ate his cheese. It was designer cheese from the outfitter, which I think would have cost approximately $20 per pound if it were sold in those quantities, so the mouse at least had good taste. One of my purchases had been a food bag that is made from the same material as prison guards' vests (stabproof) so that small rodents cannot chew through it. I found my food unperturbed. I was also informed that the shelter had a pair of visitors overnight, and that several people had pictures of the bat with whom they slept. Some dried soup mixed with too little water was a very warm and tasty way to start the day, and I was off by about 9 AM.
I arrived a Low Gap Shelter fairly early, another common theme from my previous days of hiking. While I seem to have one speed that is higher than average for most of my fellow hikers, I am not yet in shape enough to put in the really long days. Hiking at 2-2.5 miles per hour allows me to cover this day's hike in 4-5 hours, for example. This is obviously a short day that could be extended easily, except for my muscles. While I have been without blisters or any other real injury, my feet and calf muscles have been letting me know all the work they have been doing. I am looking forward to the 7-8 hour days when I can cover some real ground, but I'm not there yet.
We had a good group of people at the shelter. I cooked some dinner and made some new introductions (I still did not have a trail name) and decided to sleep in my tent instead of the shelter. I could not find a campsite I was very fond of, but eventually settled on one that was less than level. I would slide around all night, but managed reasonable sleep. When I awoke for breakfast we found a mouse had chewed through Sasquatch's food bag overnight and (ironically) ate his cheese. It was designer cheese from the outfitter, which I think would have cost approximately $20 per pound if it were sold in those quantities, so the mouse at least had good taste. One of my purchases had been a food bag that is made from the same material as prison guards' vests (stabproof) so that small rodents cannot chew through it. I found my food unperturbed. I was also informed that the shelter had a pair of visitors overnight, and that several people had pictures of the bat with whom they slept. Some dried soup mixed with too little water was a very warm and tasty way to start the day, and I was off by about 9 AM.
Day 3-3/13-Woody Gap to Neels Gap-10.5 miles
The Hiker Hostel staff was kind enough to pick both David and I up from the Super 8 while Bryan stayed behind to sort gear and ship items home that he no longer wanted to carry. This was my first chance to see the Hiker Hostel while we stopped to pick up other hikers on the way back to the trail. A very nice place for sure if anyone is looking to stay in the North Georgia mountains for a few nights. It took three vehicles to get everyone where they needed to go, and as ours climbed toward the trail head the rain started again, heavier as our altitude climbed. Once we were on our way down the trail the rain was light enough to keep me cool and not be bothersome.
Blood Mountain had a reputation for being very difficult,
but I was at the top before I knew it. The view was wonderful. I stopped at the beautiful shelter at the summit for a bit of reading, but the bugs wer already out in full force due to the unseasonable heat.
Decending Blood Mountain was more challenging for me, each step seeming to beat me up more and more. The payoff at the end was Mountain Crossings. The structure was built in the thirties by the CCC as far as I understand, and the trail actually crossing through a breezeway in the building. It is the only point along the trail that passes under a roof. The breezeway separates what it now an outfitters on one side and a hostel on the other.
The outfitters is famous for "pack shakedowns," where they will disassemble everything in your pack and tell you where you can save some weight. They are in the perfect location for this, catching hikers after several days on the trail and a relatively large climb, people are known to spend a thousand dollars to reduce their load. Though I did not do a lot of trip planning, my pack weight was where I spent most of time doing research. I was very happy with what I had and did not opt for the shakedown, already being about 10 pounds lighter than most people. I did resupply on some food and picked up a few items. My favorite piece that I got was a Buff (apparently of Survivor fame). It is basically a cylindrical synthetic bandana, but it is so versatile I've really fallen in love with it. I believe Bates owns one and had mentioned it to me before, but I am really sold on it now. Especially with the amount of sun we have been getting it allows me to cover my forehead, ears, and neck and prevent sunburn.
A stay at their hostel totalled $20 including a dinner for donations and breakfast. I did laundry again and got some stuff sorted. I determined that I had a leak in my inflatable sleeping pad but couldn't find it so it was replaced the next morning. This was my first hostel stay and others were really seeming to come together as a group. More and more trail names and less and less real names were being passed around. It really was a diverse group of people, a lot young but some older, with names like Wrongway UK, Dirty Girl, and Misplaced Moose. Sleep was not easy that night but early the next morning I shipped a few cold weather items I no longer need to McDugle and hit the trail.
but I was at the top before I knew it. The view was wonderful. I stopped at the beautiful shelter at the summit for a bit of reading, but the bugs wer already out in full force due to the unseasonable heat.
Decending Blood Mountain was more challenging for me, each step seeming to beat me up more and more. The payoff at the end was Mountain Crossings. The structure was built in the thirties by the CCC as far as I understand, and the trail actually crossing through a breezeway in the building. It is the only point along the trail that passes under a roof. The breezeway separates what it now an outfitters on one side and a hostel on the other.
The outfitters is famous for "pack shakedowns," where they will disassemble everything in your pack and tell you where you can save some weight. They are in the perfect location for this, catching hikers after several days on the trail and a relatively large climb, people are known to spend a thousand dollars to reduce their load. Though I did not do a lot of trip planning, my pack weight was where I spent most of time doing research. I was very happy with what I had and did not opt for the shakedown, already being about 10 pounds lighter than most people. I did resupply on some food and picked up a few items. My favorite piece that I got was a Buff (apparently of Survivor fame). It is basically a cylindrical synthetic bandana, but it is so versatile I've really fallen in love with it. I believe Bates owns one and had mentioned it to me before, but I am really sold on it now. Especially with the amount of sun we have been getting it allows me to cover my forehead, ears, and neck and prevent sunburn.
A stay at their hostel totalled $20 including a dinner for donations and breakfast. I did laundry again and got some stuff sorted. I determined that I had a leak in my inflatable sleeping pad but couldn't find it so it was replaced the next morning. This was my first hostel stay and others were really seeming to come together as a group. More and more trail names and less and less real names were being passed around. It really was a diverse group of people, a lot young but some older, with names like Wrongway UK, Dirty Girl, and Misplaced Moose. Sleep was not easy that night but early the next morning I shipped a few cold weather items I no longer need to McDugle and hit the trail.
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