Day thirteen

Saturday March 11, 2017

I was dropped back at Dicks Creek Gap this morning and was back on the trail by 9:00 A.M.  My goal for the day was to reach North Carolina and leave Georgia behind. There was a campsite just over the state line at Bly Gap about nine miles away. That was my destination for the day. The day started out an uphill slog, but don’t they all. The day was overcast and still, the forest quite, except for a few small birds, and the occasional rustle of some small creature in the leaves. Throughout the day I would meet day hikers. Invariably they would say “you know snow is forecast for tonight” and I would respond “yes I know”. There had been intermittent snow showers all day. The day had been cold but without the wind not unpleasant. 

I reached North Carolina by 2:00 P.M. and Bly Gap shortly thereafter. I stood at the campsite and weighed my options. I could stop here for the night as I had planned. But if I did that, and we did get significant snow during the night, that would mean that I would have to hike up and over 4708 ft. Courthouse Bald the next morning, when it was covered in snow. The last thing I wanted to do was tackle that mountain this late in the day but I decided that that was the prudent thing to do. So I trekked on. I huffed and puffed up and over the Bald and the additional three miles to the next shelter.

I reached Muskrat Creek shelter late in the day just as heavy wet snow began to fall. There were three other hikers in the shelter already. One of which was a thru-hike, named Teach that a have been running into since day one. He asked if I didn’t want to sleep in the shelter that night. I responded “no thank you, I’ll just pitch my tent”. It took me maybe three minutes to pitch my tent but by the time I was done it was already covered in snow. The landscape was already turning white. After my tent and sleeping bag were ready for the night, I had a cup of hot chocolate, and a bite to eat, then settled into my sleeping bag for the night, ready for the warmth I knew it would bring.

As I lay there in my warm cozy sleeping bag I could hear late arriving hikes at the shelter. It would be a crowded night in the shelter. I was glad that I had decided on my tent. I don’t know if you have ever heard the sound of snow on a tent? It is the most delicate of sounds, almost in perceptible, like I would imagine the sound of fairies running across your tent.

81.1 miles down      2108.7 miles to go

Day fourteen

Sunday March 12, 2017

It’s one thing to go to sleep in a fairyland. It’s quite another when that fairyland comes crashing down on top of you in the middle of the night. Sometime during the night, the weight of all that wet snow pulled out one of the tent stakes that holds up a trekking pole. This caused the tent and all the snow on top of it to come down on top of me. Quite shocking when you are or were sound asleep. I managed to get most of the snow off the tent and the trekking pole righted without ever getting out of the tent. But it was a saggy, droopy thing for the rest of the night. And it wasn’t a very cozy rest of the night.

And the next morning when I finally crawled out of my tent. Holy moly! I expected snow, but not SNOW! It was a winter Wonderland. The wet snow clung to everything. The tiniest little twig and branch had a layer of snow. It was at least six inches deep. It was beautiful but this was a serious situation. This was going to be treacherous hiking. I would not be able to see the rocks and roots. At least I had made the right decision and had hiked over Courthouse Bald the day before. That would not have been possible in this snow. Not by me anyway.

The next shelter was five miles away and I was on my way early. At first it was beautiful, even spellbinding, as I trudged along, all alone in this wonderland of quiet, white. The trail was through a grove of rhododendron. The limbs from the plants on either side arching over the trail creating a green tunnel. This green tunnel was laden with snow this morning. The snow would fall off the foliage in big clumps. Beautiful until one of those clumps fell on the back of your neck. 

The trail started the day fairly level but soon began its usual ups and downs. It was also rocky and root strewn. It was difficult to see the obstacles in the deep snow. I almost went down several times. I was slipping and sliding. This was slow going and definitely not fun.

I made it to Standing Indian shelter by 1:00 P.M. And I was beat. I knew I needed to stop and assess the situation. It was another 7.6 miles to the next shelter. This 7.6 miles including going up and over 5435 ft. Standing Indian Mountain. In these conditions, with the temperature dropping, I knew I didn’t have it in me. I made the prudent decision, even though it was early, to remain at this shelter for the night.

I was alone at the shelter. There was six inches of snow on the ground. With the snow I couldn’t see rocks and roots. I wasn’t even sure I could get a tent stake into the ground. I decided that I would spend my first night in a shelter. I laid out my sleeping bag in what I thought was the best corner of the shelter, took off my boots, slid into my bag up to my waist and leaned back into the corner to get warm.

Shortly after I had made myself comfortable in the corner, up the trail comes four males. Turns out it was a father and three sons from Plant City, Florida out for a family bonding three day section hike. They say “you’re here alone? Good we’ll camp here with you”. That’s a whole long story that I won’t go into at this time, but it didn’t take me long to decide that it was anything but family bonding. Late in the day other thru-hikers began arriving. The hikers quickly surpassed the capacity of the shelter. Late arrivals were forced to pitch their tents in the snow.

There are eight of us packed into this shelter like sardines. It looks to be a cozy night.

86.0 miles down      2103.8 miles to go

Day fifteen

Monday March 13, 2017

Well it was a night of coughing, snoring, farting. Oh and freezing, it was 22° F. last night. I did manage to get a little sleep. I had a dream about chicken gumbo. I don’t recall ever having a dream about food before. But now chicken gumbo is fixed in my head.

While I was tossing and turning in the night, I decided that I needed to take a long hard look at this entire endeavor in the morning.

It is twenty three miles from Standing Indian shelter, where I am now, to Winding Stair Gap, where I can get a ride into Franklin. 5435 ft. Standing Indian Mountain is still here right at the start and 5250 ft. Albert Mountain is towards the end of that stretch. There is still snow on the trail and more is forecast for tonight. Temperatures are forecast to be in the low teens to even single digits in these mountains over the next few days. There are no take out point between Standing Indian shelter and Winding Stair Gap. Once I cross this mountain I’m committed.

BUT! If I backtrack one mile down to Deep Gap, there is a Forest Service road that will take me to Hwy US 64 where I can hitch into Franklin.

Now I like an adventure as much as the next guy…well, maybe more than most, but I’m no idiot. I feel that it would be foolhardy to cross this mountain in these conditions.

So it’s back the way I came. I hiked back down to Deep Gap and started down the Forest Service road. I hiked for a couple of hours when it dawned on me. I hope I’m going in the right direction. Naw I have to be, I’m a navigator. I walked and debated with myself, until finally I stopped, took off my pack and dug out this table that I’m writing on now. It has on it a program called Backcountry Navigator that I had yet to use. If fired it up and it told me that I was right where I thought I was. See I am a navigator. It was nice to have the confirmation though. It was about seven miles down this service road to the highway. It was easy going though compared to the A.T. I eventually made it to Hwy 64 where I stuck out my thumb for a ride. It took maybe thirty cold minutes to get a ride into Franklin. They dropped me right on the doorstep of where I hoped to stay. There were no vacancies at the zero star motel where most thru-hike stay. But they did have a bunk in the bunk room of the hostel in back. After my night in the shelter last night, I said thanks but no thanks. The manager of this place said that he would call another place down the way, only a short half mile walk down the street. I said sure, please. He dialed, I talked, and sure enough they did have a room. So I walked that last half mile and I am now in a beautiful one star motel on the outskirts of town. But the room is warm, the sheets clean, and the water hot. And that is all that I require.

That brings me to the end of another long day. These have been brutal days for me. I will look at my situation tomorrow and see if I go on.
86.0 miles down      ???? miles to go