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| Taken from the top of Siler Bald in N.C. |
Thursday, October 30, 2014
AT Journal Day 14
March 18th - Day 14 - Brown Fork Gap to Fontana Hilton
Still foggy. An early get out an 13 miles walk to Fontana Hilton. The downhill into Fontana Dam takes forever. This is compounded by the rumor that Leap Frog Cafe is set up at the Hilton. When you reach the road going northbound there is still another 1.1 to go before reaching the shelter, but there is an immediate clean bathroom, so we have that going for us. Fittingly the sun comes out just as we get to the shelter. The rumors are true. Fresh Grounds whips up seemingly endless batches of beans, hot dogs, and chessy eggs. This is one of the early large gatherings of hikers that I really enjoyed. There is something about Fresh Grounds that brings the best out of hiker culture, it accentuates the vibe of this crowd a lot I feel. We've made it to the Great Smoky Mountains. This is where the hike moves into the small child stage. Most at this point are comfortable with the idea of a thru-hike, but there is still a lot to learn. One more day and this will be the longest backpacking trip I have ever been on. I am breaking new ground. I meet Sunbear, Grease, Canary, Joules, Haiku, Blink, Dorothy, Rambles, Wrong Leg, and TurtleFish. All young people. Turns out the older contingent stayed at the resort down the road. It is a perfect afternoon to sit around and arrange resupply and eat as much as possible. Sunbear immediately makes an impression on me. He is very quick witted and tries to make a joke out of everything even when he knows it may fail, but it rarely does, or at least I don't think it does.
One if the things I forget about this early stage is that it is still very cold. So this rare sunny, slightly warm day is very welcomed.
Still foggy. An early get out an 13 miles walk to Fontana Hilton. The downhill into Fontana Dam takes forever. This is compounded by the rumor that Leap Frog Cafe is set up at the Hilton. When you reach the road going northbound there is still another 1.1 to go before reaching the shelter, but there is an immediate clean bathroom, so we have that going for us. Fittingly the sun comes out just as we get to the shelter. The rumors are true. Fresh Grounds whips up seemingly endless batches of beans, hot dogs, and chessy eggs. This is one of the early large gatherings of hikers that I really enjoyed. There is something about Fresh Grounds that brings the best out of hiker culture, it accentuates the vibe of this crowd a lot I feel. We've made it to the Great Smoky Mountains. This is where the hike moves into the small child stage. Most at this point are comfortable with the idea of a thru-hike, but there is still a lot to learn. One more day and this will be the longest backpacking trip I have ever been on. I am breaking new ground. I meet Sunbear, Grease, Canary, Joules, Haiku, Blink, Dorothy, Rambles, Wrong Leg, and TurtleFish. All young people. Turns out the older contingent stayed at the resort down the road. It is a perfect afternoon to sit around and arrange resupply and eat as much as possible. Sunbear immediately makes an impression on me. He is very quick witted and tries to make a joke out of everything even when he knows it may fail, but it rarely does, or at least I don't think it does.
One if the things I forget about this early stage is that it is still very cold. So this rare sunny, slightly warm day is very welcomed.
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| Hikers take advantage of the sun to dry their brightly colored belongings |
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
AT Journal Day 13
March 17th - Day 13 - NOC to Brown Fork Gap Shelter
The uphill out of the NOC is one of the hardest on the trail. Whether its the terrain or the relative inexperience of the person hiking it, its eight miles up and its raining today.
I meet Handsome Dan and Happy Feller at Stecoah Gap. Someone left some fresh fruit on a picnic table here and I help myself. Right after Stecoah Gap there is a section of trail called Jacob's Ladder which is just very steep, steeper than anything I've encountered so far. At the shelter we meet a group of hikers from Moorehead State University. The student s from Moorehead share their leftover pad thai and make s'mores for us. As a thru I can't turn down any of it. This interaction is also nice because neither Live or I would have taken the time to build a fire tonight, we are both exhausted. To sit around an effort-free fire and converse with people I've just met is great. Meeting new people everyday, and meeting people you wouldn't talk to in "normal" life is a really rewarding part of the trail. Travelling in general opens you up to a new way of approaching and interacting with people. This helps me a lot, it kind of forces me into new social interaction, which is never a bad thing.
The uphill out of the NOC is one of the hardest on the trail. Whether its the terrain or the relative inexperience of the person hiking it, its eight miles up and its raining today.
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| Live - n - Learn resting atop Cheoah Bald |
Monday, October 27, 2014
AT Journal Day 12
March 16th - Day 12 - Wesser Bald Shelter to Nantahala Outdoor Center
Set off hiking really early, around 6am, its still dark out. Chowder is a cool dude to hike with. Its raining but spirits are high. Hiking can go from the last thing you want to be doing to the most fun you'll ever have, and I experienced the full spectrum on the 5 months I spent hiking. This hike is cool because I have a chill hiking partner and the sunrise comes up and we watch the fog come through the valley. By 9am we reach the NOC and its pouring rain. We meet up with Live who spent the night somewhere around the NOC, we post up in the pavilion and charge our devices. We can't get into the hostel until 11 and the beer store doesn't open til 10. The hostel here is slightly disappointing, with design cues from a chicken coop, but I feel oddly at home surrounded by the OSB walls. At least the showers are hot. I hitchhike for the first time in my life down to a gas station to buy spaghetti and sauce for dinner. Facts whom I first encountered near Rock Gap gets a bunk in the hostel as well. I meet Spaghetti and Motor(who gets renamed Papa Squats at some later point) sleep in the cafeteria, I should have thought of this.
Set off hiking really early, around 6am, its still dark out. Chowder is a cool dude to hike with. Its raining but spirits are high. Hiking can go from the last thing you want to be doing to the most fun you'll ever have, and I experienced the full spectrum on the 5 months I spent hiking. This hike is cool because I have a chill hiking partner and the sunrise comes up and we watch the fog come through the valley. By 9am we reach the NOC and its pouring rain. We meet up with Live who spent the night somewhere around the NOC, we post up in the pavilion and charge our devices. We can't get into the hostel until 11 and the beer store doesn't open til 10. The hostel here is slightly disappointing, with design cues from a chicken coop, but I feel oddly at home surrounded by the OSB walls. At least the showers are hot. I hitchhike for the first time in my life down to a gas station to buy spaghetti and sauce for dinner. Facts whom I first encountered near Rock Gap gets a bunk in the hostel as well. I meet Spaghetti and Motor(who gets renamed Papa Squats at some later point) sleep in the cafeteria, I should have thought of this.
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| A rainy sign at the NOC |
Thursday, October 23, 2014
AT Journal Day 11
March 15th - Day 11 - Wayah Bald to Wesser Bald
Something like 13 miles. Less interesting day of hiking. From the shelter logs we learn that One Day, Professor T, and Two Forks are only a day ahead. At this point these are the only people I know on trail. I would still consider this part of the infancy stage of my hike. Live and I relate on a lot of topics, or just as much as two men really have to to hang out with each other, and its good to have a hiking buddy. around mid-day we meet up with Chowder, whom we met back at Standing Indian, and hike with him the rest of the way. At the shelter its about 4, I am beat, my knees hurt mostly on the downhill and it is 6 more miles of downhill to the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). live decides to go on. Columbus and Queen show up and tent out, showing some disgust that chowder is here, smoking cigs in the shelter and supposedly he snores. I care about neither and am just happy to have a laid back person to kick it with. Wrong Leg from Surrey shows up for the night as well. I am initially impressed with Wrong Leg as he is one of the few thrus so far who seems to really have his gear sorted. He also has a British accent which lends him some sort of imaginary credibility. A handful of young kids roll up to the shelter very poorly outfitted looking to camp. I admire their sense of adventure, mostly clad in skate or basketball shoes and one is carrying a crossbow and some arrows. After surveying us they decide to move further up the trail. The forecast is rain in the morning so chowder and I decide to get out early and make it to the NOC before we get too soaked.
Something like 13 miles. Less interesting day of hiking. From the shelter logs we learn that One Day, Professor T, and Two Forks are only a day ahead. At this point these are the only people I know on trail. I would still consider this part of the infancy stage of my hike. Live and I relate on a lot of topics, or just as much as two men really have to to hang out with each other, and its good to have a hiking buddy. around mid-day we meet up with Chowder, whom we met back at Standing Indian, and hike with him the rest of the way. At the shelter its about 4, I am beat, my knees hurt mostly on the downhill and it is 6 more miles of downhill to the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). live decides to go on. Columbus and Queen show up and tent out, showing some disgust that chowder is here, smoking cigs in the shelter and supposedly he snores. I care about neither and am just happy to have a laid back person to kick it with. Wrong Leg from Surrey shows up for the night as well. I am initially impressed with Wrong Leg as he is one of the few thrus so far who seems to really have his gear sorted. He also has a British accent which lends him some sort of imaginary credibility. A handful of young kids roll up to the shelter very poorly outfitted looking to camp. I admire their sense of adventure, mostly clad in skate or basketball shoes and one is carrying a crossbow and some arrows. After surveying us they decide to move further up the trail. The forecast is rain in the morning so chowder and I decide to get out early and make it to the NOC before we get too soaked.
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| My rig as of March 15th, at the Wesser Bald Fire Tower |
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
AT Journal Day 10
March 14th - Day 10 - Rock Gap to Wayah Bald
Ron Havens delivers us to Rock Gap around 11am. A couple doing trail magic is here, Fred and Sharon Stephenson are trail angels. After 3 miles of hiking I, discussing the intricacies of dating, Live and get to Winding Stair Gap and Fred and Sharon have moved up here and we get round two on donuts and magic. The woman how we saw at rock gap yesterday morning is now camped out by the road at Winding Stair. Live and I get our first taste of the southern balds and I'm impressed. The weather is perfect, North Carolina has been great. We hike on nine more miles to a camp spot just before Wayah Bald. A couple Columbus and Queen camp here, as well as father-son team from England.
Ron Havens delivers us to Rock Gap around 11am. A couple doing trail magic is here, Fred and Sharon Stephenson are trail angels. After 3 miles of hiking I, discussing the intricacies of dating, Live and get to Winding Stair Gap and Fred and Sharon have moved up here and we get round two on donuts and magic. The woman how we saw at rock gap yesterday morning is now camped out by the road at Winding Stair. Live and I get our first taste of the southern balds and I'm impressed. The weather is perfect, North Carolina has been great. We hike on nine more miles to a camp spot just before Wayah Bald. A couple Columbus and Queen camp here, as well as father-son team from England.
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| Live-n-Learn hiking up Siler Bald, first of the southern balds. |
Monday, October 20, 2014
AT Journal Day 9
March 13th -Day 9 - Long Branch Shelter to Franklin, NC
Cold morning, there is a dusting of snow about and the moisture in the ground has frozen into tiny vertical columns jutting through the leaves. This creates a very crunchy sound to the hike. It's only 3.5 miles to rock gap where an advertised shuttle should be at 9am. Live and I got to rock gap and there was another hiker there. After striking up conversation we found that she was just a denizen of the trail had been on for nine years or so. She had two packs on, camo head to toe, smoking a cigarette, and she spoke in a half cry half angry yell. Ron Havens shows up in a bus to shuttle us to town. Ron Havens is the most intelligent man in this part of the south, owns multiple motels, has been in government, yet still he reminds me of the stereotype fat segregationist southern mayor. He is a lovely man. his prize quote of the encounter, speaking of his home town in the summer, "Hotter than the blue blazes through purgatory in the summer." In town Live and I resupply, find lunch, and get a motel room. March madness is in full swing and we spend the afternoon watching basketball. sitting around doing nothing is just what I need right now.
Cold morning, there is a dusting of snow about and the moisture in the ground has frozen into tiny vertical columns jutting through the leaves. This creates a very crunchy sound to the hike. It's only 3.5 miles to rock gap where an advertised shuttle should be at 9am. Live and I got to rock gap and there was another hiker there. After striking up conversation we found that she was just a denizen of the trail had been on for nine years or so. She had two packs on, camo head to toe, smoking a cigarette, and she spoke in a half cry half angry yell. Ron Havens shows up in a bus to shuttle us to town. Ron Havens is the most intelligent man in this part of the south, owns multiple motels, has been in government, yet still he reminds me of the stereotype fat segregationist southern mayor. He is a lovely man. his prize quote of the encounter, speaking of his home town in the summer, "Hotter than the blue blazes through purgatory in the summer." In town Live and I resupply, find lunch, and get a motel room. March madness is in full swing and we spend the afternoon watching basketball. sitting around doing nothing is just what I need right now.
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