It rained pretty hard overnight but the old Spring Mountain shelter did not leak. Like many of the shelters on the Tennesee/North Carolina border it was built in 1937/1938 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. These were typically small, with rock or log walls and a Tin Roof. The trail clubs try hard but sometimes have difficulty maintaining them.
We got on the trail at 8:30 am and made the six and a half miles to Log Cabin Drive by 11. We debated a little about going off the trail for 3/4 of a mile to Hemlock Hallow Inn and Cafe for a late breakfast but resisted the temptation and decided to ascend the 3 1/2 miles to Little Laurel Shelter for lunch. Major Tom and Hellcat went ahead while I was lagging in the light rain. On the way up I ran out of energy with my legs cramping up. I have lost 20 lbs since I started on the trail and by now am having a hard time finding additional fat to burn for energy. I need to eat more spread out during the day but am trying to temper that with the need to carry more food and more weight.
I finally arrived at Little Laurel Shelter as Major Tom and Hellcat were finishing their lunch. I decided to have a large lunch including some ramen, jerky, a tuna pack, tortillas and coffee. The guys left before I finished. I felt better on the trail after the large lunch but about half way up a 1500 foot climb to Bald Mountain it started to thunderstorm again. I push on over bald mountain until about 4 pm until I arrived at the bad weather trail bypass for Big Firescald Knob. The official Appalachian trail went over an exposed rocky ridge but the trail crews built a blue marked trail that allowed hikers to bypass the difficult part. There was still a light rain but no thunder and lightning so in a moment of recklessness I decided to take the official exposed ridge trail. It was a pretty hard 1/2 mile climb up the rocks where I often had to use my hands and feed to get past some of the rocks. Finally I got to the top of the ridge and was rewarded with spectacular views. Despite the rain there was a view of the Tennessee Valley to the west and endless mountains of North Carolina to the east. After taking in the views I was ready to get off of the exposed ridge but the trail did not cooperate. I descended down some steep rocks only to ascend to the top of the ridge again. This repeated several times and I was getting tired. Finally the trail did descend and I found a rock overhang that offered a small dry space that I crawled into for a rest. I checked my guidebook and saw that I needed to hike 2 1/2 more miles to get to Jerry Cabin Shelter. I ate a Snickers Bar and restarted my hike. I shortly arrived at the other side of the bypass trail, it had taken me one and a half hours to go one and a half miles over that rock scramble.
At 7 pm I arrived at the shelter, that place was crowded. It looked like a tent city and there were a dozen people around the shelter. There was a boy scout troop with 10 boys and 4 escorts, a men's hiking group of 6 and probably another 6 or 8 people. Hellcat had tented near the shelter and Major Tom found a spot in the shelter. I searched around and found a small spot up the trail where I set up my tent. I filtered some water and cooked my dinner. From where I was I could hear the voices from the shelter and felt sorry for Major Tom who probably wanted to sleep. He told me the next day that the commotion went on until 11 pm. At least we went over the 300 mile mark on the trail that day.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Sunday June 24, Miles today 11, miles from Springer 285.5
Hellcat and Major Tom left the Holiday Inn at 8 am in order to turn the car in early at Asheville and save a day on the rental. Rodney and Carmen picked me up at 9 am and we followed them. I was able to catch up on things going on at work, which I did not miss. We also talked about their daughters dance career in New York City we well with updates on family and friends. We picked up Hellcat and Major Tom in Asheville and made the windy drive up to Hot Springs where we had lunch at the Iron Horse Restaurant. While eating the rain started coming down pretty good and we dawdled around until it ended.
At about 1:30 the rain ended and a very hot sun came out and dried things up pretty good but in the process it became pretty humid. Rodney and Carmen saw us off as we donned our backpacks and continued on. The trail crossed the French Broad River then followed it for about a half mile. Then we started the first 1500 foot climb. The head and humidity was pretty oppressive and we had to stop a couple times in shade to rest. At about 3 pm another thunder storm came in to cool things off. It really rained hard and the trail was starting to flood. We stopped and considered setting up a tent to get some shelter, we were actually shivering from cold even though I doubt the temperature dipped below 70 F. In a matter of two hours we went from over heating to cold. Instead we put on our rain gear and started up another climb. That climb was easier despite the flooding because it was cooler.
We finally arrived at Spring Mountain Shelter at about 7 pm where we met a couple local backpackers. They had started a small smoky fire to smoke out the mosquitoes and Major Tom snapped at them reminding me of Igor a few weeks earlier coming in wet and tired after a day's hiking. We patched things up and set up. Another man came in named "Crossing America for Wounded Veterans". He was a 32 year old that left the Marine Corps a few years earlier that was trekking and bicycling around America raising money. He had hike the Pacific Crest Trail, ridden his bicycle from New England to Washington and California to Georgia and now he was hiking the Appalachian trail. He had acquired some sponsors but was still on a pretty meager budget. He was planning on hiking the Continental Divide Trail next year.
At about 1:30 the rain ended and a very hot sun came out and dried things up pretty good but in the process it became pretty humid. Rodney and Carmen saw us off as we donned our backpacks and continued on. The trail crossed the French Broad River then followed it for about a half mile. Then we started the first 1500 foot climb. The head and humidity was pretty oppressive and we had to stop a couple times in shade to rest. At about 3 pm another thunder storm came in to cool things off. It really rained hard and the trail was starting to flood. We stopped and considered setting up a tent to get some shelter, we were actually shivering from cold even though I doubt the temperature dipped below 70 F. In a matter of two hours we went from over heating to cold. Instead we put on our rain gear and started up another climb. That climb was easier despite the flooding because it was cooler.
We finally arrived at Spring Mountain Shelter at about 7 pm where we met a couple local backpackers. They had started a small smoky fire to smoke out the mosquitoes and Major Tom snapped at them reminding me of Igor a few weeks earlier coming in wet and tired after a day's hiking. We patched things up and set up. Another man came in named "Crossing America for Wounded Veterans". He was a 32 year old that left the Marine Corps a few years earlier that was trekking and bicycling around America raising money. He had hike the Pacific Crest Trail, ridden his bicycle from New England to Washington and California to Georgia and now he was hiking the Appalachian trail. He had acquired some sponsors but was still on a pretty meager budget. He was planning on hiking the Continental Divide Trail next year.
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