Three States Down

On the 17th I did a short day out of Erwin doing 4.7 miles to Curley Maple Gap shelter. On the 18th I did 21.9 miles and stayed at Clyde Smith shelter. On the 19th I did 15 miles and stayed at Overmountain Shelter. On the 20th 8.7 miles and camped in the town of Roan Mtn. On the 21st I did 18.9 miles and stayed at Moreland Gap shelter. On the 22nd I did 6.3 miles and stayed at Kincora Hiking Hostel at Dennis Cove Rd. On the 23rd I did 21.3 miles and camped at a spring a few miles after Vandeventer shelter. On the 24th I did 27 miles and camped at a spring a few miles before Damascus. On the 25th I did 2.3 miles and stayed at The Place (a hostel on Damascus).

So it's been a while since my last update. Most evenings that I am actually on the trail I can't get myself to write for various reasons. Usually it just slips my mind and the next day I regret not doing it. Since Damascus is such a milestone I need to write one though. Because it has been so many days and miles since my last one, I find it difficult to truly recount things so I will just try and touch on things that I got good, or at least okay, photos of. I think they are in chronological order but the gaps between these event vary greatly. 

Not a lot to say about this one. This is a beautiful spruce forest on top of a mountain outside Erwin that struck me last time as a great spot. This time around it reinforced that feeling. Serene and peaceful is about all that can be said about places like these. You can either relate to a similar experience of your own or not. If not, get in the woods it is fantastic.

This is a shot that I took from laying in bed. This is at Overmountain shelter while Big Spoon and Toast played bango and fiddle once again. It is quite rare that I see a double rainbow, especially with one as remarkably clear as the one on the left. Great night, a weekend hiker had extra marshmallows and shared them around the fire. Hard to beat it.

The following two photos are my attempt to portray the uniqueness that is the North Carolina balds. These are interesting mountains that are basically higher elevation then any mountains in Maine but have enormous grassy peaks. These are really one of the unique areas of the trail that many people remember fondly, unless the weather is bad and then the memories are far less fond. 

So the following photo shows a large failure but the photo after it is the slight redemption of this particular excursion. My plan was to plan my mileage to be in a town Sunday night and go in early to get discount Easter candy on Monday. To make this work I did a short 8 mile day into Roan Mtn and stealth camped in the weeds next to the Dollar General on "main street." On Sunday afternoon I ate the burger below in addition to the 32oz milkshake next to it. The menu said, "We bet you can't eat the whole thing." Awfully silly thing to say next to the AT. It did make me sit outside and digest for a while but the consumption of said food was not a large problem. That was the success, the failure was on Monday we learned that the Dollar General sold out of Easter candy in March. Such poor inventory management is a bit annoying.

Just a neat tree with a cool view. It is a photo that shows a decent example of what the trail looks like.

I was hoping to hit some trail magic next to this lake but alas, none to be had. Nice spot nonetheless though. I tried not to hold the lack of free good against the lake itself.

Well three states down. Last time getting to Virginia felt amazing. It have me a sense of awe that I had done roughly 1/4th of the trail and been okay. It provided the reassurance that I can do the next 3/4's. This time it felt odd knowing that the section I have done this year is longer then the total miles I have not hiked on the trail. The enjoyment I get from the trail reaffirmes my decision to start in Georgia but it is a very different feeling thinking about the trail from this perspective.

Lastly, Damascus is a great town. One of the best trail towns on the trail and a huge milestone. There are also milkshakes, which makes it even better. Hopefully I will post another update sooner then this one. In the next couple days I will be going through magical pony land. Let's see if I can make another friend!

A Bit More "Fun"

On the 12th I left Hot Springs late in the afternoon and did 8.3 miles to camp near the Rich Mountain lookout tower. On the 13th I did 18.1 miles and camped at Jerry Cabin shelter. On the 14th I did 14.7 miles and stayed at Hogback Ridge shelter. On the 15th I did 10.1 miles and stayed at Bald Mountain shelter. On the 16th I did 16.4 miles and stayed in Erwin, TN.

This last section of the trail provided me with perhaps the most extreme weather I have ever hiked through. It rained heavily the night before, as well as all day, then it got cold and started to have frozen precipitation. It seemed like a mix of snow and ice. This in and of itself is not overly bad, I kind of enjoy it to be honest. The real downside was the intense winds. For the most part even with winds it wasn't that bad until the middle of the afternoon when I got to the top of Big Bald Mountain. Big Bald features a nice grassy top for about a mile of trail. Here are a few photos that do not do it justice. 

What these photos fail to truly capture is the fact that the wind was quite strong. At least the photo with me shows the ice on one side of my face giving you some idea what direction the wind was coming from. When I got the shelter I had to crack all the ice off my jacket before I could even take it off. That night many people in the shelter were uncomfortably cold but I slept great. Sleeping warm is quite the advantage this year on the trail. The next was gorgeous and made for a nice walk into town.

I think I am mostly past the snow but I still have to go over Roan mountain which is where I got snowed on last time. Many people are looking toward to the warmer weather but I am enjoying the diversity of temperatures. One day it snows the next its 65 and sunny. It is a little less repetitive walking through the woods when the weather could be just about anything. Soon enough it will just be hot all the time and I will be dreaming of ice and snow.

The Smokies Come Through With Some Cold

Leaving Fontana I did 14.9 miles and stayed at Russell Field shelter on 4/5. On 4/6 I did 16.4 miles and stayed at Double Spring Gap shelter. On 4/7 I did 13.8 miles and stayed at Icewater Spring shelter. On 4/8 I did 12.6 miles and stayed at Tri-Corner Knob shelter. On 4/9 I did 25.3 miles and stayed at Groundhog Creek shelter. On 4/10 I did 6.4 miles and stayed on top of Max Patch. On 4/11 I did 19.8 miles and am staying in a hostel in Hot Springs, NC.

So it's been a while since my last blog update. Unfortunately the Smokies are not good for having cell signal and I had to wait until I hit town after that so I had a combination of signal and battery. When last I wrote I was looking toward to the Smokies to bring in some colder weather. The weather was fantastic for the crossing of the dam and the climb up into the mountains, as you can see. This post is going to have a lot more photos then normal.

After that lovely, cool day things got rather wet. Some people complained a lot but it only rained at night so I didn't think it was that bad. The trail was a constant stream and basically all of my hiking clothes were soaked but hikers live in the woods, what can we expect? The day after the torrential downpour the temperatures dropped significantly. For the following two and a half days I was hiking in a below freezing cloud. As you can see my spirits were really getting down.

What this did was allow my to hike in a temperature that I enjoy, low 30's, and it made the scenery beautiful. Most other people were annoyed by the complete lack of views but I have seen an amazing number of mountain top views in the last two years. I have seen far fewer amazing frozen mountaintops. Here is a small collection of the photos I took.

As soon as I hiked down from the Smokies it was warm and sunny. Some people were just elated to get the cold and ice of the Smokies over with. I think I would like a bit more of it. All too soon I will be sweaty from the first step in the morning until I finish the day. Having to put on my hat to hike is a great change of page. I understand I like cold weather more then most people and I have the appropriate gear to sleep in it but cold temperatures are far superior to hot temperatures. Lastly, I slept on top of Max Patch again this time on the trail and I convinced basically everyone I had talked to in the last two days to do so as well. It did not disappoint. It remains in my list of most amazing places on the trail. We had quite the hobo gathering on top, complete with bango and fiddle music. Here are some photos of that great night.

Lastly, my mom is leaving this weekend for an adventure of her own. She thinks she is fancy and is using something called wheels, new tech if you ask me, to go from the south to the north. She will be biking from the Gulf of Mexico to Niagra Falls along a path of the Underground Railroad. I hope her journey is as amazing as my trail journeys have been and continue to be. She is blogging at http://bikehomeugrr.blogspot.com/?m=1

Be Careful What You Wish For

The day I went into Franklin to dry out and then left I did 9.4 miles and camped at Wayah Gap. The next day I did 15.8 miles camping at Wesser Bald shelter. Then I started taking it easy into Fontana and did 7.8 miles camping a mile or more past the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Then I did 8.4 miles and camped at Locust Cove Gap. Then I did 11.6 miles and camped at Cable Gap shelter. Today I did 5.5 miles into Fontana and will be staying here.

When last I blogged it was snowy and my socks were stiff with ice. I was hoping for warmer weather and some sun. For three or four days after that it was bright sun and warm. So warm. One could say it was hot. This time of year there isn't any foliage so when it's sunny you hike in the blazing sun all day. Now I am looking forward to Tuesday when the weather will drop below freezing again and I might get some snow.

Besides me sweating like crazy there isn't a lot to report. When I got to the top of Wayah Bald I was thrilled to see that I was two for two in getting some trail magic at the top of that mountain. Free food really hits the spot.

Also, at the top of that mountain is a great lookout tower with amazing views. I could see the snow capped Smokies that heralded a future with temperatures that were more in line with my preference. It makes me try and remember how I handled the mid-Atlantic states.

Tomorrow I head off into the Smokies. Hopefully it is a nice hike and I hope everything works out so I can skip Gatlinburg again. For anyone who hasn't hiked in the south I figured I should include a photo of what the trail looks like. This is a typical southern section, steep up on one side and steep down on the other.

 

Here is another photo, because why not?