Day 38, Tuesday April 6, 2021

  

Proverbs 1 - 31

Mountaineer Falls campsite to Laurel Fork river campsite - 18.2 miles today - 422.1 total AT miles hiked.

What a spectacular day.  Such varied trail topography and amazing sights.  Started out at 7:30, passing the falls first thing and then following the ridge line all morning.  Gradual ups and meandering downs, along with temperatures in the 70s and a refreshing breeze, made for a perfect morning of hiking.  Ran into half a half dozen hikers I knew, and stopped for lunch at a shelter to take advantage of the picnic table.

The afternoon was completely different.  A new set of challenges presented themselves as the terrain completed changed.  After passing some crumbling ruins, park like paths, and serene meadows, we were suddenly in the midst of crevasses, granite cliffs and stone steps, navigating through narrow spaces, steep drops, and harrowing rock scrambles.  Exhilarating but exhausting.  

By the time we reached the designated stopping point for the day, I was exhausted.  We found a great site right next to the river, and set up around 5:30.  With the river flowing right next to us, I took the opportunity to wash all of my dirty clothes, and hang them out to dry.  A quick supper and on to bed.  

Tomorrow we head into Hampton TN, which is about 2 miles away.  We’ll (hopefully) collect our packages at the post office, do a quick resupply, and head back out onto the trail.  We have to cover at least 12 miles on the trail tomorrow after our town stop, as no camping is allowed right now in the section of trail just north of Hampton due to significant bear activity.

Until next time...

Day 37, Monday April 5, 2021

 

Psalms 121 - 150

Little Hump Mountain campsite to Mountaineer Falls campsite- 16.3 miles hiked - 403.9 AT miles hiked to date.

The day broke clear and cool again today with temps in the mid 30s at sun up.  I got up early today, just before sunrise, and enjoyed another stunning dawn.  Pictures just can’t convey the real life beauty of God’s creation, viewed live.

I did notice right away that my left knee was conveying it’s displeasure at my putting it to work so early.  Apparently my impromptu IceCapades audition yesterday left me with some temporary consequences to deal with today.  After dosing with a multi vitamin and some vitamin I, I packed up early and was hiking by 7:15, my earliest start yet.  With the climb up Big Hump mountain looming, I wanted to get a head start on Rick, with his significantly faster pace.

What incredible views as I crested Big Hump, with the lack of trees at that altitude offering sweeping vistas for miles in all directions. Again, mere words or pictures don’t do justice to the incredible beauty of this part of the country.

By mid morning, the climbing was done and the rolling ridge line and gradual descents took me to the final crossing into Tennessee. No more cross crossing the NC/TN line, as we’d only be hiking through Tennessee until we reached the Virginia border in several more days.  Rick caught up with me there and headed on, planning to meet up at the hwy 19 road crossing, where we’d head to the Mountain Harbour Hostel in search of potential replacement equipment.  By then, my knee pain had evaporated.

We reached the road by 11 and hiked the 3/10 of a mile to the hostel.  A beautiful spot, also equipped as a B&B for those high falooten city slickers too snooty to stay in a hostel. Unfortunately, their store was bare bones as far as a true outfitter and we were unable to secure any new gear. I did grab a few sodas and some candy at the store.  We ate lunch at the thru hiker picnic area, which also included outlets to recharge electronics.  After stamping our passports, we moved on.

The afternoon included some of the best hiking yet through meadows, beside rivers and streams, and even by waterfalls. Stopping to admire the Jones Falls, I replenished my water, while taking some shots of the falls.

We also passed another milestone in the afternoon, hitting the 400 mile mark late in the afternoon.  Only 1789 miles left.

We arrived at our destination around 5, a campsite just short of Mountaineer Falls, and set up for the night.  No cell service here, so this likely won’t post for another day or two. Tomorrow we are shooting for 18 miles, which will put us in striking distance of Hampton TN on Wednesday morning, where there should be some packages awaiting us at the post office.

Until next time...

Day 36, Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021

 

Psalms 42 - 120

Happy Easter.  He is risen indeed!

Hughes Gap campsite to a stealth site near the crest of Little Hump Mountain on a bald - 14.2 miles hiked today - 387.6 total AT miles hiked to date.

Easter morning broke clear and cold, although measurably warmer than yesterday.  I had my own private sunrise service, thanking God for family, friends, safety, and for Jesus, the “reason for this season”.  

Our plan was to hike 18 miles today. What followed that morning was arguably the most difficult hiking conditions thus far, at least for me.  Leaving camp about 7:45, the first two miles were a steep climb up Beartown mountain that consumed most of the morning.  Once cresting Beartown, we continued over the crest to the lee (shady) side and started down.  

Unfortunately, without direct sunlight, the water running down the trail from the rains several days ago had frozen into thick sheets of ice all down the 3 mile descent.  It was as treacherous as any section yet hiked.  I had three falls on the ice and dozens of near falls.  Fortunately only my ego was bruised as my last fall was right in front of a family on a day hike.  They offered to help the poor old man up, but I was able to struggle to my feet on my own.  Overall, that 5 mile stretch took over 4 hours, essentially eliminating the possibility of an 18 mile day.

Once down off the mountain, we crossed a busy road with dozens of cars with day hiking families out for a pleasant day trip up to Little Rock Knob, a local picnic spot.  We had lunch up there (along with several dozen day hikers) and continued on.

The afternoon was much more navigable, with only moderate ascents and descents.  By about 5:30, Rick had found us a site near some rock outcroppings close to the summit of Little Hump mountain.  Beautiful views but not extremely sheltered, as we are above the tree line.  Planning for another cold night near 30.

Tomorrow we have one more mountain to climb (Big) Hump Mountain, and then mostly downhill for the next 5 miles to highway 19.  That’s where we’ll head over to the Mountain Harbour Hostel and outfitter, which is 0.3 miles off the trail.  Hopefully there will be able to replace my pad.  I need to replace my shoes as well, but that will have to wait until we hit Hampton, TN in another 3 days or so.

Set up camp, had dinner on the rock outcropping looking over the valley and then hit the sack.

Until next time...

Day 35, Saturday April 3, 2021

Psalms 1 - 41

Unaka mountain campsite to Hughes Gap campsite - 15.8 miles hiked today - 373.4 total AT miles hiked.

Today I started Psalms in my daily Bible reading.  After listening to all of David’s praises, laments, and calls for protection (and vengeance), it was such a blessing to get to Psalm 23, arguably one of the best known passages.  Out here on the trail, it’s easy to relate to, as He truly does have me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. He does restore my soul.

The morning broke clear and very cold.  At 7 am as the sun was rising, it was a chilly 18 degrees.  Fortunately I was prepared this time for these type of conditions and secured my water filter, electronics, and my shoes where they wouldn’t freeze.  I slept well except that my patch job on my pad didn’t hold.  Fortunately I had the backup foam pad which will suffice for the short term.  I’ll be picking up a new pad at the next outfitter we come across.  Other than that I was toasty warm until I had to crawl out of my sleeping bag to break camp.  

Packing all my belongings into my pack, and heading out around 8, it was like entering a frozen wonderland straight out of Frozen.  I expected to see Anna, Elsa, and Olaf pass by any time.  The snow that had fallen day before yesterday was now a sparkling crust covering the forest.  As the sun rose in the sky, at times it was hard to see the ground as the sun reflected off of the snow covered hillsides.  Formerly muddy paths were now hard crusted trails, easy to hike over.  

The morning passed quickly as the day continued to warm up, eventually getting into the low 50’s.  There were a few steep climbs, but for the most part, the trail followed a winding course along the ridge lines, with more gradual ups and downs.  We stopped for lunch about 6 miles in and had our sandwiches on a fallen log.  We saw several other thru hikers we knew as the day progressed, including Firewalker who had camped with us the night we slept in the controlled burn.

By 3:30 we had reached our initial destination at Clyde Smith Shelter.  We’d done 13 miles, but since it was early and the day was so nice, we decided to hike on for another hour and a half.  We hiked up and over Little Rock Knob (4918 ft), were there were some spectacular views of the valley below and the mountains beyond. From there, we hiked down into Hughes Gap and found a campsite by around 5. Set up, dinner, and bed followed after updating this blog.  Tomorrow we inch closer to Elk Park (20 miles or so away) where rumor has it there is an outfitter who can replace some of the worn out equipment we are lugging with us.  The AT is definitely tough on gear and shoes. 

Until next time...

 

Day 34, Friday April 2, 2021

Job 21 - 42

Uncle Johnny’s Hostel to campsite near the top of Unaka Mountain - 13.5 miles today - 357.6 total AT miles hiked to date.

Checked out of Uncle Johnny’s about 8:30 and hit the trail shortly thereafter.  It was clear, cold and sunny, with a temperature around 28.  Although it was very cold, we were dressed for the occasion, with multiple layers, gloves and buffs.  Our plan was to hike to a campsite designated on the Guthook app, 13.5 miles away.  We were aware that most of the day would be spent climbing.

The morning went by fast, as the ascents were moderate, and we made good time.  We were joined by a French Canadian woman who hiked with us most of the day.  By the time we stopped for lunch around 12:00, we’d already covered over 6 miles.  The afternoon wouldn’t be as accommodating, and included multiple steep climbs. In all, we climbed over 4000 feet of ascent today, with another 1600 feet or so to do in the first mile and a half tomorrow. From there we have some downhills for a while to recuperate before heading up again.

I came across a sign in one of the river crossings that identified it as a Eagle project.  I’ve seen at least 10 Eagle projects at various points along the trail.  Obviously the AT offers a lot of opportunities for Scouts to get projects completed.

We did get some Easter trail magic by guy who met us at the top of Beauty Spot, a bald that has road access and is popular for it’s scenic views.  He gave us a bag of Easter candy. By late afternoon we approached our destination campsite to find most of the suitable campsites were still covered by snow.  Rick elected to hike back down for 1/2 mile to a flat spot without snow.  I wasn’t backtracking, so I cleared a spot and set up my tent.

Once set, I crawled into my sleeping bag and ate a quick dinner, as the temperatures were dropping again. After eating I hung my bear bag and crawled back into my sleeping bag.  It’s supposed to drop down close to 20 tonight, so I’m  snug in my bag and staying in it til morning.  Right now I’m warm and comfortable and hope to stay that way all night.

Until next time...

 

Day 33, Thursday April 1, 2021

 Job 5 - 20

Zero day in Erwin - no miles hiked.

After listening to Job again today, It seems petty to complain about any obstacles I might face on this journey.

As anticipated, today was bitterly cold, with blowing snow on and off all day.  Several hikers struck out despite the conditions, planning to hike up the the next shelter at 4.3 miles from here.  They were planning to cram into the shelter to combat the mid teen temperatures.  We are content with spending another night in our cabin.

We took the shuttle into town this morning to visit the local outfitter and also to pick up a few more food items.  I bought a cheap closed foam sleeping pad, as a backup if my inflatable pad patch job gives out.  I don’t want to try to sleep without a barrier between me and the frozen ground.  Unfortunately, the outfitter didn’t have any lightweight tent stakes, as I’ve broken a couple trying to pound them into a hard packed ground. I’ll have to pick some up in the next town.

Spent the afternoon at the hostel, repacking everything yet again, and making sure I have all I need for the next seven days.  That’s the time it will take to hike to our next resupply.  The next section we hike has a 5800 ft ascent over 15 miles.  I’m not sure how long that will take, but the next several days will be slow going.  We got a heater from the office to heat up our little cabin, as it got cold in here last night.

Took the evening shuttle back to town for dinner at the local Mexican restaurant, which is next door to the Italian restaurant we ate at last night.  I thought it was good, but Rick says you can’t get real Mexican food as good as the that served in west Texas.

Back to the hostel for the night after dinner.  Heading out in the morning.

Until next time...