October 8 and 9

I met Ryan at the Atlanta airport a llittle after 16:00. I would have arrived earlier but I was mis-directed to Frontier Airline's old location on Concourse C instead of its current location in Concourse D (where Northwest is). We then spent an hour trying to locate Ryan's duffle. Frontier Airlines is a bit understaffed, but they tried to be helpful and the duffel was eventually located.

We drove to the Hampton Inn, had a pizza delivered, and enjoyed the Oakland A's v. New York Yankees play game five of their wild card series. It's too bad the A's lost, but it was a good game.

All in all the day went quickly and Ryan and I hit it off pretty well.

We got up and moving at a rather liesurely pace this morning. The hotel has a pretty good continental style breakfast. After finishing our meal we packed up and began our day of shopping. We had decided to go to Galyans to do some gear shopping. Getting to this large gear store took a bit longer than either of us would have liked. We weren't exactly lost, but we were certainly having trouble finding the store. Once we did get there we picked up some items we needed and moved on to the shopping highlight of the day (I had told Ryan I¹d not been in a Galyan¹s before, but the moe I think about it the more certain I am that Damian and I went in one after the KT section hike last April ­ to view the fireworks in Louiville that open the Kentucky Derby season).

The Patagonia store is incredible. They stock Patagonia's complete clothing line (d¹uh). I didn't realize Patagonia made quite that much stuff. We must have spent two hours there trying on various pieces of clothing. I was particularaly taken with the Guide pants which probably would make superb cold weather gear. I purchased a R1 vest which looks like it'll add quite a bit of warmth when worn under my Paramo Mountain Shirt. The Essen Shell also looks like a great rain jacket and I'll have to think about this item of apperal for cooler weather wear.

We started heading towards Amicalola State Park around 15:00 and arrived at the lodge a little over two hours later (we had lunch on the way). The lodge has a lovely lobby area. We entered it to find the sun streaming through the west facing windows and really livening the whole space up.

It looks like the lodge is in a very nice area of the park. We drove up a mountain to get here and as Ryan noted we passed through extensive dicidous forests that are still quite green. The water fall the park is named for is nearby and I think we're both looking forward to seeing it while we spend a day in the park before John and Ron arrive.

We learned, via email from John, that it had been quite cold in West Virginia with a bit of snow thrown into the mix. I am actually a bit worried now that I don't have warm enough clothing with me. I think I will be fine when sleeping since I have my Western Mountaineering Iroquois, a silk bag liner, Feathered Friends bag cover, and Sil Shelter, but I am wondering about my time in camp early in the morning and evening. I suppose if worst comes to worst I'll just have to purchase some gear at Walasi-Yi center when we arrive on the 15th.

I'll try to keep a positive outlook and remind myself that what I have is what I have and I've always agonized about clothing and never been unhappy with what I have chosen to take on a trip yet.

October 10

I woke up just before 07:00 and knew I wasn't going to fall back to sleep so I decided to run an impromtu gear test. Although the sky was lightening it was still pre-dawn. I put on my pants, capilene t-shirt, Paramon Mountain Shirt with the fuzzy side facing in, hat, Patagonia R1 vest, fleece gloves, Stephenson poncho, socks and boots so I could go forth and face the new day. There was a still some wind and I expect the temperature was around freezing (more likely above than below): a perfect morning to run this test. The poncho blocked the wind, the hat kept my head warm, the gloves worked well, and my torso and legs were toasty. I wandered around utside for 15 to 20 minutes and was fine. The gear test was a success and I no longer needed to agonize about my clothing choices. When I returned Ryan was laying in bed watching TV. A typical American in a hotel room (just like me).

We headed down to breakfast around 08:00 and found that the place was virtually empty. There was remarkably little traffic during the hour we spent enjoying the buffet and figuring out what our day should include. We had already decided that the main goal of the day would be to hike to the Len Foote Hike Inn. That decision was re-enforced as we read park literature about the inn and we determined that we would go there no matter what John and Ron ended up doing (we knew they were planning on staying at a shelter just a few dozen yards from the visitor center). We were in no hurry to leave the visitor center ourselves so we hung around the gift shop, the phone to make calls home and check email, and use the all important pack scale. We learned that Ryan's pack with water came in at 35 pounds (32 without) and mine registered 32 pounds with water and 29 pounds without. Those weights without water included everything else that would hang off our shoulder. For Ryan that included his belly bag and for me the 2 pound camera pouch. Considering I am carrying a solid week of food and Ryan is carrying more gear than he normally would so he can better test his pack we came in quite well.

We did not go to the falls. The trail to the bottom of the falls was closed and neither of us was interested in bothering with a top-down view of the waterfall. I¹ll just note that the name "Amicalola" is Cherokee and means "tumbling water." That rather makes "Amicalola Falls" redudant, doesn¹t it?

We left the visitor center at 13:10 and began our hike to the Hike Inn which is about 6 miles away. To reach the inn we had to climb up to the top of the Amicalola Falls. This climb is on the Springer Mtn. Approach Trail and we ascended some 800 feet over a mile. The hike certainly got the juices flowing on this clear, bright, yet cool day. I expect the temperature was around 58 degrees when we left. Part of the climb followed what must be a fire road. The road is composed of gravel and I know I really felt that as I plodded along. We reached the Amicalola Falls parking lot just over a half hour after we departed the visitor center and a half hour later we were at our lunch spot. We were managing a 2.0MPH pace and I was feeling pretty good.

The trees have only just begun to show some fall colors. The vast majority are still green, but now and then you can spot a brilliant red, orange, or yellow leaved specimen. For Ryan the sheer number of deciduous trees was awe inspiriring. There is, I gather , nothing comparable in Montana. Our lunch spot looked out west over the forests of the Chatahoochee National Forest . It was a fine view. And I now have a vauge idea of what a sassafrass tree looks like since there was a grove of them at our location (some were showing fall color).

Ryan decided to hike on ahead while I finished my lunch so we decided to meet at the Hike Inn. I left the lunch spot around 14:45 and continued along the well maintained and fairly gentle trail. The hardest part of the trail had been the first mile. As I hiked I kept hearing little rustling sounds near by. I stopped and tried to figure out what was making them. It sounded tantilizingly close and of modest size, but I could not see it. I even aimed my camera in the general direction of the sound in the hope that I would capture the animal on silicon, but I doubt that will pan out.

I caught up with the father of two kids a few minutes after trying to track down my mysterious animal. This small family had left the visitor center not long after we did. He was a nice fellow to talk to and he was taking his kids on an overnight trip since they are out of school for the week (fall break I suppose). I soon realized that I was maintaining a pace substantially over 2.3MPH and I decided to slow down. There was no reason to hurry. Besides, after one of the few 300 or so foot climbs I was feeling a bit tired and my left leg was cramping up a bit. I still pulled away from the father and his kids as I wandered through the trees I could not identify though knew had to be poplar, chestnut, and other deciduous trees.

With just a couple tenths of a mile to go as I strolled through the forest the kids caught up to me and zipped on by. The father said they thought I was moving fast, but they really flew by me. Perhaps they were just very eager to reach this incredible complex that is the Hike Inn. I arrived around 16:20. This means I spent at most 2 and a half hours hiking.

The Hike Inn is made up of several buildings. The first building contains the lobby and twenty rooms they have to rent. Next comes the shower house and worm-hole technology bathrooms (i.e., worms help the with the decomposition process). The kitchen and dining room are reached by descending to ground level and crossing a small pathway and are followed immediately by a reading/gaming room which is where I am right now sitting by an incredibly efficient wood burning stove typing this journal. There is going to be a facilities tour in a few minutes and from what I can tell they really do try to keep their impact low. After the tour the staff will serve dinner and then there will be some educational programs and Ryan and I will likely show off some of our lightweight gear during that time since it is already clear there is some interest (at least from the staff).

It has been a very good day and it is still just possible that John and Ron will surprise us and arrive in the near future. If they don't we'll meet them either at Black Gap Shelter or Springer Mtn. ShelterŠ

Bill, a staff member here, gave us a brief tour of the facilities. The Len Foote Hike Inn opened in 1998. It was supposed to be built and opened several years before then but construction of the park lodge took longer and went considerably over budget so the walk-in Hike Inn project had to be delayed. The DNR asked Georgia Appalachian Trail Club if they would manage the inn. GATC declined, but did create a non-profit organization devoted to outdoor education to run and maintain the inn. Profits from the inn go to grants that focus on outdoor education topics such as conservation.

Len Foote was a noted outdoor photographer, writer, and conservationist in Georgia. His impact on Georgia and south-east conservation/environmental movements is, I gather, extensive and he is honored with this inn. They work very hard to be environmentally friendly. The lighting is provided by high efficiency flourescent (daylight spectrum mostly) lights; toilets are composting toilets that use red wriggler worms to compost waste; the same worms also ocmpost other organic wastes such as kitchen scraps; disposable products like paper napkins and plates are not used to reduce trash. Cloth or china is used instead. Rooms are heated with high effiiency wood stoves or propane heaters. The showers use reduced flow shower heads though you would never know it when standing underneat one. Bill mentioned several other things too.

The inn even has its own celestial calander known as the "star base." On the vernal and automal equinox the sun shines through a triangle shaped obolisk into the back of a small constructed cave. It actually turned out that when they built the structure that they mis-aligned it by about a degree, but it would have been too costly to re-position the stones. Of course, I am here some 20 days too late to see how well the clock actually works, but it is supposed to be a site for lovely sunrises and tomorrow morning I shall find out.

There are 12 guests here tonight and we were served a fine dinner of biscuits, salad, potato chowder, chicken, rice, stuffed tomatoes, brocoli, and strawberry shortcake ala mode. It was delicious (I did not have every dish). The staff do a good job. They have some help from GATC volunteers but I bet they're exceedingly busy when the inn fills up.

After dinner a GATC volunteer presented a short program on Cumberland Island. This is a barrier island near the Georgia/Florida border. I had actually heard of it and know at least one person who has backpacked on it. The presenter spends considerable time on the island helping the park service run various programs such as monitoring loggerhead (?) tutrles or counting wild horses. The island has been home to indians, then briefly spaniards, french, and english. It had cotton plantations in the 19th century before becoming a place for the very rich to build mansions. After people like the Carnegie's deeded property to the park service the bulk of the island became part of the national park services domain. Today there is a $400/night hotel , some vacation residences, and park service land.

October 11

Nearly simultnaiously Ryan's watch alarm sounded and the Hike Inn played there drums. It was 07:00 and we wanted to be sure we got up with sufficient time to spare so we could enjoy the sunrise at the Star Base. The day was clear and brisk. People began trickling out towards the kitchen to fetch hot drinks and watch the sun rise over the horizon. Perhaps half of the guests greeted the day this way and I personally think that those of us who watched the sunrise had a better time than those that did not. It wasn't the most glorious one I have seen, but it was nice and you could see that the sun would shine through the keyhole of the Star Base when it was meant too (twice a year).. We sat in the adirondack chairs, chatted a bit, and generally just relaxed in the marvelous setting right until the breakfast bell was sounded.

The Hike Inn serves a hearty breakfast. We had grits, scrambled eggs, bacon, apple corn bread, and hot drinks. Quite a meal and certainly superior to what Ryan and I had at the Amicalola Lodge the day before. People finished thier meals and began to pack up and leave. Check out time was at 10:00 but that did not mean you had to leave the complex by then; just clear out of the guest rooms. Ryan and I were certainly in no hurry to depart.

We spent the rest of the morning talking with the staff (mostly Penny, the manger of the inn, and Bill) as well as with the couple from Columbus, Ga. Gene and his wife Christine. Topics naturaly included Ryan's prototype pack, but ranged as far afield as scuba diving in the Great Lakes. It was a fine languid morning that I completely enjoyed.

We left the inn just after noon and began our hike to Black Gap shelter where we were going to meet Ron and John. The shelter is perhaps 3.5 miles from the inn and we made excellent time arriving just before 14:00. Just after we reached the shelter Ron showed up. Our party was now only missing John. We talked, schmoozed, and waited for John. Re-tread (Steve) who had completed his through hike a few weeks back and met John and Ron at the Gathering came in several minutes later. He was going to summit Springer again just to complete a circle as it were. He's a nice friendly fellow with a santa clause beard. Around 15:30 John arrived and we left the shelter perhaps 20 minutes later. We finished climbing the Approach Trail , which is harder than the HIke Inn trail, and arrived at the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail around 16:45 I think.

Springer Mtn. does not leap out at you in grand fashion. It is , in fact, unassuming. There are a couple plaques announcing the fact tat this is an end point of a trail that stretches 2,160 miles up the east coast, but that is all. However, the view to the west is quite fine and we lounged on the summit for quite a while before taking our leave to go to the Springer Mtn. Shelter some 0.4 miles distant.

I arrivd at Springer Mtn. Shelter around 17:45. I should have gotten there sooner, but what is an AT hike without some mis-adventure thrown in at the start? I walked right past the shelter side trail and saw the sign for the Benton MacKaye Trail. I went a bit further down the AT, turned around, and decided to actually walk the BMT a bit thinking maybe the shelter is up that trail. I then headed back towards Springer and in just a few feet of the BMT sign I saw the shelter side trail and shortly thereafter I arrrived at the shelter.

This shelter is really quite something. It is more substantial than many I have seen. It was certainly a fine place to end our day.

October 12

I slept pretty well throughout the night. The occassional snoring serenades did not bother me. I got up just after 07:00. I had just slept more than enough and it ws time to get up. I was among the first to get up and I began to get my breakfast going as the sun was coming up over the horizon. The morning temperature was in the mid 40s I suspect. It looked like it would be a very good day for hiking.

As I was getting things ready other people were getting up. It wasn't long after the sun had risen that pretty much everyone else was up and about too. Everyone else included our little group of John, Ron, myself, and Ryan; Jenny and Brooster who met on their AT through hikes in 1997 and subsequently beame a married couple; and a few others whose names I am not sure of. Jenny is perhaps the person with the most interesting story. She is originally from South Africa and her thoughts on her AT hike were certainly different since she had no real knowledge of the trail until she did it (even less than many American rookie backpackers at least as far as culture and geography are concerned). We spent the better portion of the morning talking about all sorts of things. There was, after all, no reason to hurry since our destination was Hawk Mtn. Shelter which is about 7.8 miles away.

I finally left the shelter around 10:40 perhaps an hour after Ron had departed. Ryan, John, and I all left about the same time. The day had begun to warm up and I imagine the temperature had risen into the upper 50s on this clear sunny day.

The hiking out from the shelter to the first forest road ws perhaps the hardest of the day. The trail was moderately rocky and generally descending so it took me a little longer than I would have liked to travel the 0.7 miles. John and Ryan had moved well ahead of me and I was hiking alone.

After crossing the road things got easier and I was able to really enjoy the trail. Just after the road I entered a grove of evergreen trees that I later learned were Hemlock trees. It was a lovely change from the deciduous trees that are so much more common.

I reached Strover Creek Shelter, about 2.8 miles of hiking, just after noon. Naturally, everyone was already there but hey that is how it usually works out. We had our midday snacks and spent a bit of time at this very shady shelter before heading north again.

As Ron and I hiked together we came upon something that will eventually devour the trail: a black hole. It was a sink hole. Not terribly big yet, but more than large enough for a person to trip into and hurt themselves. John had put a log over part of it when he passed by and we noticed that water was flowing (or seemed to be) through it. We did not linger at the hole. We had one shared thought: let¹s leave before the ground gives way. We did just that.

We stopped for lunch at Lost Creek Falls. It was really a fine little falls. It wasn't a very tall waterfall but it was among the prettiest I have seen on the trail this year. At the falls we talked a bit with two men and the daughter of one of them. The girl, all of 12 years old and on her first trip, has a lovely personality. I think John is right she will through hike the AT one day. She already knows one of the most common questions hikers ask each other: how much does that weigh?

At the falls in the shade it actually felt somewhat cooler than it had been. Once we left the falls though temperature rose again. I suppose that the shade combined with the spray from the waterfalls lowered the temperature a bit.

We had arrived at Lost Creek around 14:15 and left about a half hour later. Ryan took off and flew ahead. John, Ron, and I trailed behind. Eventually I pulled ahed of them since I hike the uphills better than they do. The trail was generally pretty easy and I found it quite pleassant hiking. There was one long-ish ascent and I made pretty good time.

I reached Hawk Mtn. Shelter at 16:00. I had been wondering where the shelter was. It seemed like I should have arrived several minutes ago, but I suppose I was arriving pretty much when I should have. Ryan had been there for some time already and Ron and John arrived not long after I did.

The hiking day had come to an end and I was quite happy. There are many other people here besides our group including the girl's group (she has been given her trail name, Sunshine) plus a south bound through hiker whose name I do not know and a couple other section hikers.

I am sitting here now at 20:00 looking at the rising moon feeling the remains of a cook fire burn down. People are getting ready for bed and I shall soon follow. A very good day in most respects. I just wish my SWA wasn't being tempormental (maybe I can blame the silt in the water).

October 13

I did not sleep quite as well last night as I had before. The combination of a mouse that seemed to be chewing constantly in the loft of the shelter, snores from my shelter mates, and some rather peculiar dreams just were not conducive to a good night's slumber.

I started waking up around 07:00, but I did not start doing anything until more like 07:35. I suppose the shelter chit-chat and listening to Roy's air mattress (not a Therm-a-rest, but it had lasted him for 3,000 miles) de-laminate that took place before then counts as doing something. Of course, at the time we did not know that rustling sound was Roy¹s mattress loosing it. Roy and I both thought it was either a wierd rain though it was dry out or some odd new sound coming from the Dryloft sleeping bags Ron and John have. It was a bit harder for everyone to get up because it was a bit colder this morning than the previous day. I would guess the temperature at sun-up was around 37 degrees.

I slowly got myself ready as the sun rose over the mountains. That means I got water boiling for coffee, pulled out some pop tarts, started water fitlering, oh so slowly, for the day, and so on. Of course, I had to talk with others while doing all this so I was not in any great hurry. I left camp around 09:20. I was the last of our group to depart. Ryan left a few minutes before I did and so I said goodbye to him then. Ryan had to get moving so he could reach Neels Gap on the fourteenth so he could catch his flight to Switzerland. I believe he had a great time hiking with us. I hope he did.

By then the temperature had risen to the low fifties and the skies were perfectly clear. I reached Hightower gap just after 10:00. I found Sunshine (Lacy, 12) , her Dad, and their friend (James) there waiting for Sunshine's Mom to come pick her up. She was cutting her trip short since she was feeling a bit ill and her pack was making her feel uncomfortable (maybe the trip was always planned to end then). She tried hard and I think she enjoyed herself but if you are not feeling great your hike certainly suffers and that is not a good thing. I chatted with them for a while and when the Mom showed up they offered me a Coke which I accepted with thanks. I hope Sunshine continues to try hiking.

The trail was not too bad during this section. It wasn't really interesting, but it was nice to just be out in the warming fall weather. I felt good and was having fun. When I got to the next gap (Horseshoe?) I found Dorothy and Don there just finishing a break. I was going have a snack and they waited while I did that. They had decided to take the fire road that curves around Mt. Sassafras instead of climbing up and over. The distances were comparable but the road avoided the 500 or so feet up and somewhat less coming down the far side to Copper Gap. Dorothy and Don are out for a few nights and hope to be at Blood Mtn. tomorrow where the night sky views are reputed to be quite fine indeed.

I took the road walk with them. It was a nice change of pace and I enjoyed talking with them both. Don had spent some time as a surveyor so knew what went into making the topo maps we use. We wandered around the mountain in about 25-30 minutes and at Copper Gap John and Ron hailed me from there comffortable resting position just off the road. They had only arrived 10 minutes ago. I supppose they were not as far ahead of me as I had thought they were (part of the reason I took the road in the first place ws to catch up). We had lunch at Copper Gap which really is a decent little rest area although it doesn't have any water nearby.

The rest was so good that we did not leave until 13:40. As we were leaving, and just after Duane had given us some of his excess water since he would be reaching a source before we did, Ron realized that this spot was in fact the very one where he and John had cached 3 gallons of water 3 days ago.

We took USFS 42 which turned out to be hillier than we thought it would be. It also had fewer views than we had hoped for, but it was easier than the hike over the mountain that seperated Copper and Gooch Gap. It was an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. Along the way we did see some wildlife. A Garter snake was crossing the road and was doing it slowly enough that we had time to take pictures. Once it got to the brush though it vanished: very effective camoflauge.

We actually did not walk the whole road, some 6.1 miles, to the gap. Two guys in a pickup truck stopped to ask us for directions to some cemetary down by a gap just after Stover Creek Shelter (Three Forks I think) and they in turn gave us a lift the last fraction of a mile to Gooch Gap.

Karen (Pog) was waiting for us. I think she had only just arrived and seeing us pile out of the truck bed must have brought a grin to her face. It was 16:30 (maybe a bit ealier) and the world was good.

We set up camp at Gooch Gap where there is a lovely area, a bit near the road (USFS 42 I suppose), has a good spring just a few hundred yards away. Karen brought all sorts of good food for us to consume. We had cheese and crackers for snacks before our dinner which was a lovely jambalaya with anduolee sausage and peel and eat shrimp. It was great fun talking with Karen, who is a very active AT-L list member, hiker, and trail angel, about people we all knew to one degree or another. As we were finishing our meal Duane, a fellow from Sarasota who is out for a few days hiking the trail, and Sean who is through hiking the trail in a rather unusual yo-yo fashion (Ma-middle; Ga-middle) came down from the Gooch Gap Shelter. Duane had a bit of the jambalaya that was left and decided to stay with us at the campsite. I guess he really did not want to stay in the shelter even though it meant going back up to retrieve his gear in the dark so he could pitch a tent here. I suppose he has a strong aversion to shelter mice even though we told him that if he slept in the middle he would be alright.

Even though we had a good group of socialable people we did not stay up much past 20:00. The moon had risen and it was just time to go to sleep.

October 14

I slept pretty well although I found myself in an odd position each time I woke up (maybe I would do better with a slightly rommier bag that would let me sleep on my side more easily). This was the first night I slept in my Sil Shelter somewhere other than my backyard. I was very happy with my first backwoods experience. The night was pretty quiet except for a few nearby dogs (must be a home or two fairly close by) that barked once in a while. When the moon shone into my shelter things got pretty bright, but that did not bother me either. At 06:40 or so I woke up to the sound of a hoot (Bard?) owl. That is a sound I always enjoy hearing. I did not stay up though. After all, it was still quite dark out and I just saw no good reason to crawl out of my warm sleeping bag to greet a dark chilly day. I went back to sleep and did not get up until after the sky had really lightened, though the sun was not visible from our campsite, at 07:40. The day was quite chilly and the air was very damp with a considerable amount of hanging fog. My thermometer was registering around 36-38 degrees and it felt cooler with the moisture in the air.

Karen was going to make hash browns for us and when they were completed I considered them one of my favorite backwoods breakfasts. I think everyone else who had them agreed with me. Thanks again, Karen.

As we ate breakfast the sun broke through and began to burn the mist away. As the moisture lessened and the sun rose the temperature rose considerably. It was going to be a fine fall day after all.

We said goodbye to Duane and drove out to Neels Gap and the Walasi-Yi Center. The AT actually passes through the building via a breezeway. I can say, with oh so much pride, that I walked that little section of trail even though everything from Gooch Gap to it was skipped. The staff at the gear shop there, run by Jeff and Dorothy Hansen, really know what they are doing. This becomes especially apparent when they fit you for shoes. They don't just take one of those shoe fitting devices found in shoe stores the world over and give you a shoe of that size (in fact they don't even have those devices); instead they start with a question: "what is your street shoe size?" SInce shoes from differnt manufacturers vary in size even if they ahve the same size number they spend more time checking where your foot is inside the shoe. I don't think I have had such attentive service before. We'll see if the Soloman Reid Winds do on the rest of the trip.

We spent a good three or so hours there and everyone came away with some new gear. John and Ron were on their second visit for this trip and still managed to buy new items for themselves (mainly boots). I imagine the picnic table we had our stuff spread out on has seen thousands of people spreda there gear and food on it before. It was a neat place to visit and during the through hiker season it must be terribly crowded.

We had lunch at some small chinese restaurant in Dahlannga (sp?) I think before heading to Amicalola Falls State Park to put stuff we did not want to carry to Franklin in John's truck. From there it was on to Helen where an Octoberfest weekend was in full debauch. We saw quite a few people ambling down th sidewalk and street shoulder in various states of drunkeness. The beer and sprits clearly flow quickly during this time of year. People were defintely having a good time and I imagine it could be a fun way to spend a few hours , but we had other plans.

We intended to camp at Hogpen Gap and continue our hike north from there. But, instead our fortunes were truly dictated by our chinese fortune cookies and we had an adventure. Karen zigged when she should have zagged and we found outselves driving up a USFS road in the Chattahoochee National Forest as the sun was getting ready to set. We searched for a flat area to park the truck and pitch our tents. We pitched our tents as the sun went down and discovered that our flat spot wasn't as flat as we thought. In fact, Ron decided to sleep under the stars which were quite visible and numerous before the moon rose. John also slept under the stars, but set up his tarp just in case. Pog and I both slept under the cover our our shelters though she had to sleep with her head and shoulders out of her tent to avoid rolling down the hill. Ron had a similar problem and ended up using the cooler to prevent himself from rolling into my SIl Shelter. It was an interesting campsite and the modestly frequent traffic that did not subside until a bit after 21:00 added some spice to the area. Our dinner or crackers, cheese and soda was certainly more than enough considering we had spent the day driving around the backroads of this region of northern Georgia. I must say the area is pretty, but of course I could not live in it since I do not drive.

October 15

I woke up a little before 08:00. The morning was definitely warmer than the morning before, but it was still cool. We pulled our camp down, completed our camp chores, and then and only then did we open up the cinamon buns and orange juice for breakfast. After breakfsat we continued on down the USFS road in an attempt to find what had attracted so much traffic. We found afew more campsites and later learned that there are several water falls and such like in the back ocuntry as we drove on out to the main road. We stopped at a little overlook that was in some sort of state park (neat toilets that you pump to flush). The view was rather expansive and you could see some good spot color from trees that were beginning to change. We then went to the Vogel campground to shower some of the tril dirt off of ourselves.

From Vogel we began the trip back to Unicoi Gap but first we had to stop for lunch. We ate at a Western Sizzler and I was pleassantly surprised with the quality of the buffet lunch I had. By the time we finished our meal and drove back to Unicoi Gap it was 13:30 We said goodbye to Karen, what a lovely couple of day we had with her, and headed up and south towards Blue Mtn. Shelter 2.2 miles away.

The first 1.2 miles or so was among the toughest hiking I've done so far on this trip. Granted we've only done about 18 miles of hiking.so far, but it was still tough. We climbed a bit over 1,000 feet over that distance and the trail was full of roots and rocks. However, once the major ascent was completed the hiking got a good deal easier. We did not have many views but the couple we had were nice and since we are a bit higher in the mountains their is a bit more color to be seen. We reached the Blue Mtn. Shelter about 90 minutes after leaving so I guess I was making pretty good time and Ron and John were not far behind.

It's now 17:23 and we're listening to the Yankees and Mariners play game five of the ALCS (with flip overs to football games during commercials). And we have been relaxing during this nice fall afternoon. Sean has just arrived, and immeidately darn it, lit a cigarette. We had to make a food hanging hook for the shelter since it was devoid of any, but that chore didn¹t spoil this night evening.

October 16

Basketball Jones (Sean) was up and out of the shelter before 07:45. Maybe the triple snoring machine drove him away, but snoreing can't be anything he hasn't encountered before so who knows why he rushed off. Personally, I didn't mind his early departure since it ensured he wasn't going to smoke in the shelter. While he might not have slept well the rest of us did. I doubt the temperature dipped below 40 degrees. I turned my sleeping bag into a quilt and slept under it in my silk liner quite comfortably. Ron and John were shedding layers of clothing to prevent themselves from overheating.

We left camp at 09:00 on this clear pleassant fall day. We were heading north twoards Unicoi Gap, retracing the hike we did the day before, and I was not looking forward to the descent. As we descended the rocky trail of Blue Mtn. we came upon Flounder heading south towards Springer Mtn. Flounder is the area ridge-runner and he confirmed what we had heard about the availabbility of water further north. Water did not exist, according to him, anywhere before Adis Gap which is a good 10 miles from Unicoi Gap. We had 2 gallons of water cached at the gap so we were not too concerned. We might not have cooked meals at Deep Gap Shelter, but we would have enough water. As we approached the road we came upon a note addressed to us from Coosa letting us know that 4 gallons of water were cached just behind a tree. We were going to get to handle Coosa's jugs (water that is) after all.

We reached the gap at 10:20 or so. I was surprised that it only took us about 90 minutes to make the descent from the shelter to the gap. I had been sure it would take longer since we were descending a rocky trail. We spent a good hour at the gap, drinking Coosa's water, filling our water bladders with water, and deciding whether we would take a side trail to a woods road where water was not far away (Ron had a small snit at that point as we wondered about the distances involved). I was surprised we spent so much time at Unicoi Gap, but time flies when you are doing things and avoiding the start of a steep climb.

The day had wamred up considerably and we had a 1,000 foot ascent of Rocky Mtn. ahead of us. We started our climb, let a fast moving lady day hiker pass us, and plodded up the mountain. I actually pulled ahead of John and Ron moving steadily up the trail. The treadway was pretty good and I felt strong. At 12:10 I reached the summit of the mountain and settled down to wait for the others to arrive. The summit was toasty warm, a bit buggy, but had some good views. Eventually Ron ambled into my campsite and John followed a few minutes later on. All in all, I was able tp spend 90 minutes there having lunch and relaxing before we all decided it was time to descending the southwestern slopes of Rocky Mtn.

Those slopes had some really good views and the trail was not too bad. It was rocky in places and my paced slowed, but it was still a bit easier descent than Blue Mtn. had been.

Even though we had been taking breaks we were getting tired. After all, each of us was carrying 6 pounds of extra water. My G4 pack is not meant to carry so much weight and my 4 liter Platypus was leaking a little bit. When we reached Indian Grave Gap we discovered why I had a small leak. The top on the platypus was not the right type of top (later we found that the bladder itself had a leak too, so maybe that was the real culprit). We poured my water into Ron's Big Zip Platy (instead of just switching tops like we should have) an that solved the problem. It was now time to start climbing Tray Mtn.

I must say the beginning ascent of this mountain was tiring. Maybe I had taken too many breaks or the extra weight was gtting to me, or I had not drunk enough water, but I was feeling it. When I reached the first crossing of Tray Mtn. Road I stopped to deal with a hot spot and the others caught up with me. I then began asending again and soon came to the Cheese Factory. This was once, a very long time ago, a dairy farm run by some tranplanted northerners. Today you can't see any signs that something was there. At least I saw no signs that anything was there. I continued to climb up the mountain. At 15:35 I reached Tray Gap (?) and that was a view that was well worth the effort. In the distance you can see, facing easterly, the peak of Tray Mtn. resplended in color. As you cast you eye towards the setting sun you could see over mountains fading into the dstance. It really was a good view. Ron caught up with me perhaps 5 or so minutes after I arrived and John was on his heels. This was an ideal spot for a snack break and we sat there for about 30 minutes (well I got 30 minutes). But, the shelter still beckoned and we pushed on.

There were about 1.5 miles to go including the side trail to the shelter. About 0.8 miles of that was the final ascent of Tray Mtn. We first had to walk to Tray Gap (I think I have my locations slightly mixed up, but the view I mentioned in the previous paragraph was 0.2 miles south of the road crossing prior to the 0.8 mile climb) and then make our final climb. I actually felt quite strong as I made that final climb to the summit of the mountain. The trail was moderately steep, but the footing was pretty good and I just was moving well. When I got to the summit I let out a good yell, neglected to take a photograph, and then continued on down the slightly rocky descent towards the shelter. I had covered the mile to the summit in just 35 minutes. It took another 20 minutes to walk the last 0.5 miles to the shelter which I first saw at 17:17. Ron showed up some 15-20 minuts later and John came in several minutes after that.

This has been a tough hiking day. It isn't the toughest day I have ever had. But, having to carry all that extra water was not enjoyable. However, I feel confident that if I had had to go further I could have done so (especially if I had taken fewer breaks and we must have taken 4 hours of breaks).

John, Ron, and I are here with two other people who are hiking for a few days (Mitch and Verlie). We were actually a bit surprised to see them mosey into the shelter around 18:45 since they seemed to be having a tough time of it when we last saw them at Indian Grave Gap.

October 17

More shelter to shelter hiking is the plan for the day. This means that our destination would be the Deep Gap Shelter in Deep Gap. People started rising just after 07:00. The night had been quite warm after a little wind that had been blowing into the shelter died away. I think my thermometer never dipped below the low 40s. Just after the sunrise it was reading around 50 degrees. The sunrise, as it came into view around 07:30, revealed wispy clouds and a fair amount of haze. The colors though were still pretty good and I think some of my photos will turn out pretty well especially the ones I took from a small rock outcropping near where a few people had set up tents.

The clouds did look a bit threatening even though according to Ron's watch the pressure had been rising over the past twelve hours so we hurried our departure from the shelter. That process was aided by the fact that we were not cooking any meals since our water supply was low and we couldn't count on water until we reached Addis Gap some 6 miles away.

We were striding down the side trail to the AT around 08:45. The trail immediately started to descend. Perhaps an eighth of mile down the trail I stepped over a tiny spring. If John had not pointed it out to me I doubt I would have seen it myself. I saw a darker spot but did not realize it was a small dripping spring.

The trail continued to descend but eventually it flattened out and I knew we were entering the "Swag of the Blue Ridge." The "Swag of the Blue Ridge" is a 3 mile stretch of trail that gently undulates over the knolls and gaps in the region. I really enjoyed the section. The footing was superb and the views of the forest were pretty good. It is clear that in this area fall has most definitely come of age. Many many trees have dropped quite a few leaves, causing the trail to be rather leaf covered, and it is equally clear that it has been dry for quite some time since a lot of foliage is dead.

The Swag ended with a climb of Round Top. I'm not sure how much of a climb was involved but it did get the blood flowing and it was a fine way to end the Swag of the Blue Ridge.

At Sassafras Gap I put my pack down and waited for John and Ron to catch up. I handle the ascents much better than either of them. I only had to wait for about 10-15 minutes before they came into view. I suppose I got to take a good half hour break at that gap. If water was available there it would make a nice campsite, but it was dry.

We had a gentle descent into Addis Gap. I arrived just a couple minutes ahead of John and Ron and we struck out on the old woods road to the site of a former AT shelter where a stream was known to be flowing. We arrived at the stream around 12:15 and spent about two hours there filtering water, having lunch, and just relaxing. The day had warmed up and when the sun was shining down on us it was really quite warm. We were making very good time even with the breaks we had taken. I know I was doing a bit more than 2MPH and the others, dispite their protestations of being slow were not terribly far behind me.

Just as we were getting ready to go we were treated to a very short fall shower. The sun was still visible and it was really just a sprinkling of rain, but I would not have minded if it had continued to sprinkle as we had to climb up the major mountain of the day: Kelly Knob.

We arrived at the base of the knob around 14:25 and found Mitch and Verlie there deciding whether they should camp at the campsite at Addis Gap or get water and join us at the shelter. We told them it was an easy 0.5 mile walk to the stream, barely 10 minutes.

SInce I handle ascents better than the others, partly because I just keep going and going, I knew I'd reach the summit long before they would. I arrived at the top of the knob, which really is not the summit (that is reached via a side trail which I followed part way to take some pictures of the mountains in the distance) at 14:55. I had covered the 1.1 miles and 970 feet of ascent in about 30 minutes. I was tired, but not overly so, and I was damned pleased with myself. I spent about 15 minutes soaking in the view and then began the final 0.6 miles of descent to the shelter.

That descent took almost as long as the ascent had. At least it seemed that way though in reality it was not. I reached the shelter just after 15:30 and that included strolling down the 0.3 mile side trail (total distance from the peak of Kelly Knob was 0.9 miles).

This is a really nice shelter. There is a small loft, a front porch with a bench, and picnic table. The shelter also has a privy, something the last couple have not had, which was a nice change of pace (I have yet to find a privy in Georgia that has a door). Unfortunately the spring here is also dry, but we had carried extra water just in case so that should not be an issue.

It was nice getting to the shelter so early. John and Ron arrived 25 or so minutes after I did, started calling my "young bull," for how I plug up the trail, and we settled in to do our setup chores while we wondered if Verlie and Mitch would come up to the shelter or not.

As we finished our meals, around 18:00, they strode down the trail having finished their shelter to shelter hike for the day too.

It's now 18:55 and I'm all done with my day except for the sleeping. We're chatting with each other as we get ready for bed. I am hoping I'll be able to catch a bit of the baseball game tonight, but since we're in a gap I have my doubts. In a way, I wish I had not gotten here quite so early since it seems so terribly early and I'm not ready for the day to end. Of course, if I were doing this trip be myself I probably would have just continued to hike the remaining 3.5 miles into Hiawassee, but that is not what our schedule dictates . It has been a very good day and I am certainly not complaining.

October 18

Today we hiked into Hiawassee, Georgia. Including the 0.3 mile side trail we had a hike of 3.8 miles in length much of which was going to be downhill. Of course, before the hiking could begin we had to have a good night's sleep. I didn't quite manage that although as things turned out it was good enough.

I fell asleep trying to find the Yankees v. Mariners baseball game. The radio station I found eventually faded out with the Mariners leading the Yankees 2-0 in the thrid inning. I went to bed hoping they would win and there would be a game 7 to decide the American League Championship. When I went to sleep around 21:00 it was obvious we were in for another warm night. I tossed and turned and in time went to sleep, but around 01:15 I woke up and could not get back to sleep. At least I could not get into a deep sleep. I was in the nether land between wakefulness and sleep when Ron suddenly exploded out of his sleeping bag to answer nature's call.I was more than startled when he did that and I bolted upright in my silk liner looking Ron later told me like a ghost. It took quite some time for me to return to sleep after that.

The shelter began to wake up in earnest around 07:15 to a morning that seemed again cooler than it had been four or five hours earlier. The sunrise was nice, but not as good as the one at Tray Mtn. Shelter. I suppose the trees obscured more of it this time. Ron, John, and I packed up pretty quickly and said goodbye to Mitch and Verlie who were in no rush to get to the trailhead at U.S. 76 where they had a ride meeting them at 16:00. We had nothing arranged and since the trailhead is 11 miles outside of town we wanted to get to the road early to ensure we could get into town with plenty of light left. We were on the trail around 08:45.

The day was shaping up to be another fine day for hiking. It was actually a bit cooler than it had been. I think the morning temperatures were in the low 60s at best. Fine weather for climbing up to places like Wolf Stake Knob or down into McClure Gap. I pulled ahead of Ron and John as I chugged up Powell Mtn. looking for the side trail that was supposed to lead to a good viewpoint. Sadly, I missed the marker to the trail although in hindsight I think I actually saw the trail and dismissed it as nothing more than a water run off.

After the climb up Powell Mtn. the trail began to descend. Walking down Powell Mtn. and then gradually descendig into Moreland Gap was a lot of fun. The footing was good and as I descended I could see how the trees changed their colors. At the lower elevations I could find more trees that were still green or just beginning to turn. But, I still think more trees in this region are turning than down south. Perhaps the lack of water has something to do with that. The only place I found water was at a marker in Moreland gap where a piped spring was dripping. The "several small streams" we were supposed to cross in that are were all dry and looked like they had been for a while.

I waited for Ron and John to catch up to me at the piped spring in Moreland Gap. I had been traveling around 1.75MPH and they were not far behind at all especially when you consider that they did stop at the viewpoint on the side trail I missed. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and they are certainly stronger on descents than I am. We spent perhaps half an hour at the little spring before continueing down to the trailhead about a mile away. The trees continued to show more green and I heard a few birds calling to each other, but otherwise the forest was still. Eventually, only a bit before we started to hear sounds of traffic, I believe the trail came near a stream and the sound of rushing water was a welcome treat. I never did see the stream. We reached the road around 11:15. Our hike had taken just about 2 hours.

At the trailhead we met a group of middle-aged ladies who were preparing to hike to Franklin, NC. They had some pretty heftly packs on and I hope they do alright. There was also a guy out for a few days hiking by himself. Maybe we'll see them up the trail, but I doubt it since they'll have a day and a half head sstart on us.

We started walking down the road to Hiawassee and the fates were kind: a pickup truck slowed to pick us up. This was a very good thing. The road shoulder gets quite narrow in spots and it would not have been fun to walk along. Of course, all good things have a price tag attached. The price tag here was that the driver drove rather aggressively and the ride into town certainly raised all my hairs. It turns out he was a retired New York City cabbie and I guess that explain plenty. We were greateful for the ride right to the Holiday Inn Express where we are staying.

We spent the early part of the afternoon in the hotel room relaxing and making some phone calls. John learned that he almost lost his gear god status but was soon relieved to discover thatKahley had not revoked his position after all. We chatted with Pog on the phone and caught her up on our wanderings through the norther Georgia woods and confirmed that shee and Dee were still going to join us Thursday evening for dinner. In general, we just lazed around the room.

We did get up and out of the room in due time to explore Hiawassee. Most of what interested us could be found on the town's main road. We stopped at a local fly fishing gear shop where John and Ron indulged their gear buying lust with purchases of swimming trunks to use in the hotel pool and whirlpool. I resisted the purchase of yet another swimming suit once I saw the price was $13.50 and not $3.50 like I first thought. Then we stopped at a bank, the post office, and the real hiking gear shop in quick succession. The hiking gear shop had just moved to its new location and so the ALDHA Companion was a bit off, but since the field editor for this region had helped them move we can be sure the correct location will be cited in the 2001 edition. I purchased a new 4 liter Platypus Big Zip, and suffered some sticker shock when I bought it ($26); the caps to replace the drinking hose which is useless to me; and a pair of Bridgedale AT Light Walking socks which I have heard good things about and will try over the next three days. John got a couple ditties and Ron resisted all temptation and came away with nothing. To celebrate we went to Dairy Queen and had some ice cream before beginning our trek up the other side of the main drag stopping at a Rite Aid to get various and sundry other things for our hiking such as foot powder for Ron, Snickers bars for me, and lots of things for John. By the time we got back to the hotel it was creeping up on 19:00 and therefore time for dinner. We ate at Daniel's Steak House and while my particular cut of meat won't comapre in quality to what I could get at Knight's Steakhouse back home it was certainly the best steak I have had so far during an Appalachian Trail hike.

We came back to the room and channel surfed for a while eventually settling on Star Trek: Voyager and then a national sports show that was playing up the Subway Series. I imagine it is about 20:45 as I finish typing this and I expect to sleep pretty well in preparation for a lazy day of errands before we meet Karen and Dee for dinner.

October 19

It is hard getting up in a room when no light is coming in. We had the curtain drawn and even though I heard Ron's watch alarm ring I found it exceedingly easy to go back to sleep for a while longer. I think we trickled down to the hotel's pretty decent breakfast a bit past 08:30 and we lingered over our donuts, bagels, fruit, coffee and juice for quite some time before returning to our room to sort through our stuff and see what we needed to get. The morning passed, housekeeping knocked on our door and we told them we would be out of the room shortly so they could give it a cleaning, and then we were off on our errands. We visited a dollar store, pharmacy and grocery store in short order. Then, we went to the not-so-fast-food Hardees to get some lunch. I suppose it was a little after noon when we came back to the hotel with our spoils. We dropped them off and took our lunches to the back patio to munch upon and chat. Then we had a little excitement. Our hotel keycards refused to work. We had to come back in through the main entrance and go to our room. Of course, the keycards did not work there either. The hotel staff at the front desk fixed whatever needed fixing and we were able to return to our room satiated and ready for more errands.

The afternoon errands were really simple: go to the post office and mail stuff home. John and Ron really went to town and boxed up a good amount of gear that had not been used or they did not think would be used again. I sent a lot of extra food home along with a few pieces of clothing and the Feathered Friends sleeping bag cover. After all, the weather report seemed to suggest more of the same if not a bit warmer for the next couple of days, and more importantly, nights.

After sending the boxes out along with some post cards I went on my trek for Jack's Barbershop. I had an address and I found the right road, but I did not find the barber. Maybe I did not go far enough up the road, but I wasn't happy walking along the narrow shoulder so I came back into town and began searching for another place we thought we had seen the day before. I walked down the main drag to Dairy Queen, had a blizzard, and learned that the place I was seeking was almost exactly where I thought it was but on the other side of the road. When I finally got there they were not taking any more costumers that day. I could have gone first thing the following morning, but since I did not know what our plans were (i.e., when Karen or Dee wanted to drop us off at the trailhead) I did not make an appointment. When I got back to the hotel I snipped some of the longest hairs myself. I hope I don't look too goofy.

Dee arrived around 18:00. Among her other persuits she is a trail runner. She had just completed a trail run from Dick's Creek Gap (Hiawassee) to Addis Gap and back. That's a distance of about 12 miles and she did it in 3 hours. I managed to cover that same distance, over two days and just going one way instead of round-trip, in about 3 hours perhaps a little less. Wow! She went at a 4MPH pace. The best I've hiked with a day pack is probably the Big Sky Meadows to Manasas Gap Shelter down to that little road with the Wednesday PATC hikers. As I recall that was a hike of 11 miles and I think I finished in just under 5 hours. Even that is nearly twice as slow as Dee.

Karen arrived a little later and after they settled into their room we walked over to the Front Porch which is a new italian style resteraunt. When you have hungry people, especially a person who has just run about 12 tough trail miles in three hours, you want to get your food sooner rather than later. I think we were alll surprised that bread was not at the table. We were also getting impatient because the pizzas were taking a while: longer than we thought they should. I think our server was a bit put out by us. Maybe she just wasn't sure what to make of us: 4 (yankee, though Dee and Karen live down here) hikers talking about hiker things and events. When the waitress brought the pizzas out she still had not provided us with plates. Did that stop us from digging in? Nope. She came back in a couple minutes, seemed longer, with plates and I know she was surprised that we had not waited. We told her that she is in for a flood of people just like us when the southbound though hikers arrive in earnest a few weeks from now. We also mentioned that the special deal the resteraunt has going which bsically says, "eat a large pizza ; get a free one" is going to cost them a lot of pizzas when the hungry hordes arrive. I'm not sure she believed us.

We spent a couple or so very enjoyable hours talking about all sorts of things. I know we provided entertainment for a few other people out on the back porch. They were not talking to each other; they were listening to us. They were probably wondring what the hell we were talking about especially when Dee told us she was being called Mona by people. Her email address is monadenockdee. "Monadinock" refers to the mountain by the same name and "dee" is her name. But, if you don't know how to say the mountain's name you might come up with mona-da-knock-dee or said quickly "mona-da-knockknee" Now Dee's knees certainly do not knock. But, she got an email from a race organizer about her entry into the race and the salutation was "dear Mona" and she knows, after all she should, that she entered usingher real name of "Dee." A legend is being born. A very funny one.

I think we had a grand time. I sure enjoyed chatting with everyone and I hope I can do so more both virtually and in the flesh. When it was time for dessert I think John really managed to flumix our server when he asked if the canoli were real and made by a little old italian man. I'm not sure she even knew a canoli was an italian dessert. She was a tropper though and I think she'll enjoy the hikers that come through.

We went back to the hotel and the ladies hit the pool and whirlpool (John and Ron had done so earlier but I gave them a miss). We went off to our room, watched a bit of NFL football, and callled it a night as the second half of the game was just getting under way. What a nice day it was. Made so mostly because we had a good time with Dee and Karen. I'm glad I got to meet them.

October 20

It's 19:48 and I am sitting, a little hunched, under my SIl Shelter at Bly Gap. It has been a good day and it had a chance not to be at least for John. Early in the morning John's system decided he had had too much pizza and it rebelled. By the time breakfast came around he was feeling much better even though I don't think he actually ate much. Dee and Karen appeared at breakfast just after 08:00. I had actually been there for some time and John and Ron had only just arrived themselves. We were mildly chastized for not knocking on their door to let them know we were up and at 'em. But, that was soon forgotten as we shared a nice morning meal. I had predicted we would get to the trail by 10:00. I ended up being correct, but my guess for when we would leave the hotel was wrong. We left a lot later than I thought we would and got to the trailhead much quicker than I thought we would. I'm sure the ride in seemed much longer than it really was considering where I was sitting. It was certaily nice sitting inside Dee's car on the way back. We said goodbye to Karen in the parking lot, she'll do some work and then head home thus avoiding another horrible day of Atlanta traffic, and Dee drove us to the trailhead. We said our farewlls to her and she headed back to Spartenburg, NC where she had an appointment with a plasma vampire I suppose. The ladies left us in high spirits and ready to tackle the trail.

They left us on an overcast morning with temperatures that were hovering around 60 degrees and humidity at a trip all time high. The air was heavy with moisture, but none of us thought it was going to rain.

We set out upon the trail heading towards Plum Orchard Shelter some 4.5 miles (includes the 0.2 mile side trail) away. We were making good time and I caught John and Ron in full hiking splendor coming up a hill about a mile up from the trailhead. As we passed a dry water source I noticed a smell I had sensed before. It was fragrant and sweet. I think I first smelled it around Tray Mtn. It was alternating with the pungent stench of Galax then and I assumed some flower with a pleassanter smell was blooming too. But, this time I saw nothing blooming. I saw countless leaves on the ground, but no flowers. Throughout the day i detected the smell off and on and I still do not know what it is. Maybe some type of leaf decay releases a sweet, for a moment it made me think of honeysuckle, smell but that seems unlikely. I suppose the mystery of the smell will just have to remain unsolved.

Another mystery re-emerged today too. At about the same place, call it a mile and a bit north of the trailhead, that I smelled the odd odor I also heard the low frequency whop-whop that we all had heard at Hawk Mtn. Shelter several days before. Back then Ryan suggested it was a bird beating its wings. Maybe he was right then and is still right now. They seemd to sound the same. Maybe if Dee, who is a birder, had been there she could have told me what bird it was. Maybe I¹ll never know.

That was probably the most interesting sound I heard all day. The forest seemed very quiet today. I heard a few birds, the crow at the trailhead being the loudest though it sounded a bit odd somehow; virtually nothing buzzed by me; and the infrequent sound of small and once a not-so-small mammals. The one not-so-small mammal was a deer and I only know that because John said he saw it vanish into the forest. Maybe things get quieter on overcast, really more like a constant high fog, days. Of course, fall is in full force up here over 3,000 feet. It is now no longer simple spot color. The trees are releasing their leaves with every breath of air. You now see spot colors of green. This is a marked changed from what the foliage is doing below even the 2,500 foot level to say nothing of Hiawassee's 1,900 feet of elevation.

I arrived at Plum Orchard Shelter in about two and a third hours. Of course that includes some time for breaks so I am really happy with my overall pace. I must be getting stronger. I don't think I ever hiked this quickly this often in Virginia except in areas such as Salt Log Gap through Cold Moutain or between Catawba and Daleville (and a bit beyond). This shelter is lovely. It has two lofts at different hights though I'm not willing to call the shelter a multi-story affair like Bryant Ridge. It, like its neighbor to the south (and maybe many others) is a post and beam structure and it seems to be held together with pegs. I don't think nails were used anywhere. It even smells new although it is actually around 8 years old. A lot of hard work went into this shelter and I hope it can be kept up over the decades.

John and Ron arrived perhaps 20 minutes after I did. We decided to have our hot meals there. Hot meals are, after all, water intensive and we were sure water would be in scarce supply. We knew that everything was dry between the shelter and Bly Gap (inclusive). The shelter's water, from a piped spring with a very fast flow, was the best we have seen this entire trip. Having our high water usage meals at the shelter simply made sense. We stayed there for two hours leaving at about 14:20 to 14:25.

While we were at the shelter it felt as though the temperature had dropped. It probably had not done so but the moisture in the air made it feel cooler than it was. We all left wearing an extra layer of clothing. I think I had hiked 10 minutes, catching up with John and Ron on As Knob which is the first of many knobs north of the shelter, before I said enough is enough and removed my Paramo Mountain Shirt as they were pulling off their top layers. We continued in t-shirts from that point on. The hiking seemed to be mostly uphill. I soon passed Ron and caught up with John on a descent. It was here where he saw the deer. He paused for a break while I plodded on. I don't like to stop just to rest (with no good view) when feeling good and the opportunities for interesting pictures were not really presenting themselves. I just kept going. The trail rose and fell until it reached Blue Ridge Gap where I met the second (or third) set of people I'd seen backpaking south that day. I let them know what the water situation was like south and they told me what they knew of it to the north. It wasn't good, but it could have been much worse. At least there was water at Muskrat Shelter when they were there mere hours ago. Hearing that I wished that we were ending at Muskrat instead of Bly Gap. That way I could dump the 3 or so extra liters I was humping up and down the mountains with me.

John and Ron caught up moments after I spoke with the couple, including a good looking lady, at Blue Ridge Gap. We were about to enter the Nantahalas Wilderness Area and the trail had a treat in store for us. It rose, and fell a bit, then rose more, and fell a bit, and rose more. It seemed to always be rising as it worked its way through Rich Cove Gap and Rocky Knob. on our way up to Bly Gap which has an elevation almost the same as Springer Mtn at 3,840 feet. It turned out that I was actually making superb time even though it seemed like I was going slower on this half of the esection than I had the first half. I covered th 4.5 miles to the NC/GA wooden border sign in just about two hours! John and Ron were not far behind. And Bly Gap was a mere 0.2 miles away.

We made camp in a small hollow just below the gap around 16:50. I hope this is a dry night otherwise we're going to keep a lot of rain running off the hill to our north in our sleeping bags. Maybe we should have continued to Muskrat Shelter, but we are making our stand here.

Getting here so early seems odd, but we found plenty to do in setting up our camp and talking a little with the group of two fathers and their kids (all related I think) a bit. We gave them some of our extra water since they had run out. I suppose they did not know how dry things were around here. I got some pictures of the old gnarled tree that is really where the NC/GA border is supposed to be, as far as hikers are concernedd anyway, and the day is ending well. It is also ending moist. The high foggy cloud has descended some and we are certainly in for a damp, though I still don't think it will rain, night. The temperature has dropped to the 50s as I type this at 20:40 but I think I will be more than warm enough. Tomorrow we'll go to either Deep Gap or Standing Indean Shelter. The latter is a 0.9 mile overshoot of the side trail we'll take to get to the car, but we may just rather use the shelter and hike the extra 0.9 miles. I suppose the weather will decide. I¹m going to bed down now. I'll listen to the leaves fall as the wind blows and hope for a dry night.

October 21

It turned out that the spot I pitched my Sil Shelter was not nearly as level as I had thought it was. I was pitched near the edge of the bone dry stream that in good times is the water source for Bly Gap. I had not known I was setup near that stream bed. The problem with the site was that it sloped towards the edge of the miniscule bluff. I could not prevent myself from rolling towards the left until I put my pack on the left side of the shelter to act as a body break. The sleeping was not perfect, but it was adequate and even though I had several periods of time where I thought I was tossing and turning for a long time I woke up feeling pretty good at my usual pre-dawn time.

The night had never gotten very cold and I was, in fact, too warm in my liner and bag even when I had the sleeping bag in quilt form. It wasn't so much that I was hot but that I could not spread out as much as I wanted to disapate heat.

We could see the moon setting over our campsite which meant the hanging fog that we went to bed with had thinned out quite a bit. The air was still very damp, my Sil Shelter had quite a lot of dew on it, but it was nowhere near as damp as it had been. We could even see a little sunrise color in the eastern sky and it seemed like we would have a good day of weather to hike in.

We broke camp and were on the trail around 08:40. The people on the other side of the hill did not want our extra water which struck me as odd since they were essentially out the night before. Go figure.

North Carolina greeted us with a steep climb. As I crested the knob I startled, and was startled by, what I think was a grouse. I think the wing beating sounds I had heard before were grouse too. Of ocurse, since I never saw the bird I could be completely wrong.

The trail continued to ascend with some nice level areas and as I moved quickly through the Nantahalas Wilderness Area the sun rose and began the burn the fog that was hanging between the mountains away. I never did find the blue-blazed trail, 1.1 miles from Bly Gap, that was supposed to lead to a nice view but that is the way things go. I enjoyed my hiking towards Muskrat Shelter and made pretty good time. The ascents were not that bad and the descents were tolerable. I got to the shelter in a little less than two hours and John and Ron arrived only a few minutes ater I did.

The shelter is alright though not nearly as nice as shelters like Plum Orchard. One thing that struck us all as a bit peculiar was the use of a plywood and tin roof combination over the sleeping area, but just tin over the covered picnic table in front of the sleeping area.

We stayed there about an hour for a break and to filter water and then we struck out again towards Deep Gap. The hiking up to Whiteoak Gap was gloriously easy. The trail was wide, had good footing, and was generally level. The views of surrounding mountains were also nice and the fog had finally burned off exposing the valleys to our view. In this part of the Nantahalas we were travelling at over 4,000 feet above sea level and that certainly showed in how much foliage was on the trees versus the ground. Above 4,000 feet most of the leafy tress had shed their loads and the trail was swathed in a fairly deep coat of leaves. The only plants that still seemed to be green, besides the infrequent pine, were rhododendrons. We walked through some sections that must look spectacular in Apil and May when the plants are in bloom.

During much of this hike we were all noticing the same sweet smell I wrote about before. It actually seemed a bit more sickly sweet and I think it is a by-product of leaves fermenting so it really is a sweet smell of decay. We also smelled a fire as we approached the Chunky Gal side trail, but we never saw it.

At Whiteoak Gap (Stamp?) the trail began to ascend up a rocky pathway around a knob whose name I do not at this time recall (Yellow Mtn.?). The trail kept rising and rising and the rocks kept interfering with my progress. In fact, it was bad enough that Ron and John were generlaly right behind me much of the way. It was definitely hard work making the climb. The descent around the other side was also no cake walk. The trail had its share of rocks and some incredible switchbacks that were short and steep. The hike over this knob took about 80 minutes but it felt longer. It was certainly less enjoyable than the hike up to Whiteoak Gap had been even though I did see some nice views and managed to startle another grouse.

We arrived at Deep Gap just after 14:00 and had a relaxing lunch break there. Then we had to climb up the 0.9 or so miles to the shelter. Right where I thought the 0.9 mile mark was a side trail exists that leads to where a shelter used to be. You can see where it must have been, but it is no longer there. Standing Indian Shelter is perhaps an eighth of a mile further up the trail. I think we arrived about 15:30 and found the shelter hosting almost a dozen people. John, Ron, and I are the only ones using the shelter though. The majority of the peole here are part of the Florida Trail Association and are here for a trip of a few days. They were really interested in some of our lightweight gear and at least one of them was a backpackinglight member. I set up my SIl Shelter for people to see just before a brief sun shower took place. Clouds had been moving in as the afternoon wore on, but the shower was even lighter than the one we had at Addis Gap.

I think the day went quite well. The temperature rose into the upper 60s I think. It may have broke 70 but I am not sure. The hiking was fun even when tough and this has been a good last day of our trip. Tomorrow we'll hike back to Deep Gap and then out on either the woods road or the Kimsey Creek Trial to Standing Indian Campground.

October 22

I don't think I slept all that well last night. Besides the usual night noises of leaves falling all around us and the early morning hoot of an owl we were all in a superb position to hear some less welcome sounds. Perhaps the most noticable noises were those created by the mouse (mice?) in the shelter. It, or they, seemed to be spending a good deal of time pushing some of the cook pots on the shelter table around. It sounded rather like a coke can being slightly squeezed and then released so it could pop back into shape. I imagine the little critters were trying to get into Ken's (the leader of the FTA group outing) re-hydrating apples with cinamon. In the middle distance there were several conversations in the myriad tents that surrounded the shelter, but those were not really irritating. The screams and hollers from the campsite just south of the shelter area were bothersome though. One little sequence of sounds was both amusing and very worrisome at the same time. One lady, whose name I never did quite figure out (the short one), had gone to answer nature's call and managed to get herself turned around in the woods. She was calling out to her friend and tent mate over and over "Lori, Lori" but Lori did not hear her at first. Lori was chatting in her tent with others and the calls were growing fainter. Our lady was heading the wrong way. It was a serious game of Marco Polo. Eventually, Lori heard her name and a light was turned on and things wokred out, but I expect our wandering lass was a bit panicked during the time. In the morning she was able to smile about it and she'll learn from her adventure (she was a first time backpacker and is clearly now really into it).

The noises bugged me and I also just found it hard to sleep comfortably. I was sleeping without the silk liner because I thought I'd stay cooler. That was true, but the sticky feel of the sleeping bag's inner nylon surface just was not as comfortable against my skin. Next time I'll lay the silk liner over myself like a blanket when using the bag in quilt fashion.

People started waking up and shining lights into the shelter around 06:45. I was mostly up but I did not want to really get going. It was still dark. What could I do in the dark? I waited a bit before getting up, throwing on my clothing, and having my pop tart breakfast. Even so I was pretty much set to go before there was enouh light to hike so I had to wait. Of course, waiting wasn't so bad since I could talk with everyone else that was there. John, Ron, and I were among the first to leave the shelter at 08:00. But, people from the FTA group began trickling out soon after us.

The day was starting out with a good amount of mist and humidity with a temperature in the mid 50s. I was actually wearing my Paramo shirt warm side in when sitting around the shelter doing essentially nothing. When I started hiking the shirt got reversed and stayed on until I reached Deep Gap. We made the descent of the AT in about half an hour. We all noticed the mountains surrounding Deep Gap more today than we had the day before. It really is a pretty area. When we arrived in Deep Gap we found it home to a sizeable number of tents. This area of the Nantahalas Wilderness is clearly a major stomping grounds for backpackers.

We were not really sure which road we wer supposed to take to get to Standing Indian Campground so we decided to take the Kimsey Creek Trail instead. As we made that decision Len and Lois joined us and we started down towrds where we thought the trail was. We made a mistake. Some people down by the trail called out to us, having told us sort of where the trail already was, to let us know we had gone astray. We had a tiny bushwack to reach the trail and then we were off.

This trail follows the Kimsey Creek very closely. In fact, when the creek and its feeder creeks are running high parts of the trail must be underwater. The trail reminded me of the part of the AT that is a few miles south of Bland, Virginia that crossed a local creek at least a dozen times. I think the Kimsey Creek Trail was gentler though.

Because the trail followed creeks that actually had water in them the air had grown a bit heavier with moisture but I was not cold. I was enjoying the hiking and the fall scenery. Autum is well advanced in this region around the 4,000 foot level, but on the Kimsey Creek Trail you can still find plenty of green. The vast majority of green flora are rhododendron. It is a forest of rhododendron bushes and must be full of vibrant colors when the plants flower in the spring. The contrasts of fall browns, yellows, reds, deep greens was stunning. There were also many trees that were bare and they added to the variety of treats for the eye too.

As we descended the Kimsey Creek grew larger as more feeder creeks fed into it. We even passed a few locations that had some nice sounding cateracts in them. The trail skirts the creek along some rocky slanting sections and in one case I almost had a grand slip and slide into the creek.

We leapfrogged Lois, Len, and a couple other FTA hikers during our descent. The majority of the group was obviously well behind taking their time coming off the mountain. We never did see them again. It was nice to leapfrog rhike with Len, Lois, and the others. Especially when the trail did some odd things. When the trail left the banks of the creek and began traveling along an old woods road I think it lost a lot of its charm. Part of that feeling though is due to the simple fact that walking the road was less fun than the trail. There were so many leaves on the old woods road that you could not see the rocks underneat. It felt like I was twisting my feet every few yards.

Eventually we approached what I beleive is known as Campsite A. We could smell campfires and camp cooking long before we saw the campsite. The smells were very inviting. We said goodbye to the FTA hikers and struck out on what we thought was the right trail. We began to climb up and curve around the mountainside. It seemed like we were travelling away from the campsite and we were not at all sure we were where we should be. The problem is that it appears all the trails are blazed with blue markers. We eventually decided to take a trail that went down into the amphitheatre and head towards the Nantahala River. Once we did that we walked a ways and in the general direction of the water and we must have picked well because we came out right by the bridge that crossed the river. We crossed the bridge and followed the main road the short distance to where the camp store is. I think we actually walked a bit more than the 3.7 miles of the Kimsey Trail. I imagine we covered some 4.7 to 4.9 miles in the little more than two and a quarter hours we spent on the trail. It was late morning and I don't think the day had erally warmed up that much although a lot of the mist had burned off. We said goodbye to the campground and started our drive back to Amicalola State Park around 11:20.

As we drove back to Amicalola we came to the small town of Dalongha (sp?) where something was clearly happening. There were cops all over directing , sort of, traffic. We asked one cop for directions were given some and we tried to follow them. We followed them as best as we could and got to a point where we were told we had to turn around or if we were here for the Gold Rush, whatevr that is, that we could park. The way was blocked for this Gold Rush thing after this point. We turned around. The next cop we asked for directions said, "you can't get there from here," before giving us some good directions on how to get to the park. We eventually arrived, waited in a long but swiftly moving line, to pay our entrance fee and found John's truck right where it was supposed to be. Before we did anything else we took our packs to the hanging scale to weigh them. We had packs that were essentially down to their base weights and the packs therefore gave pretty accurate weight reading for the last couple days of the hike. Since we had all sent some gear home by this time the weights were a bit low when compared to what we each started the trip with. All our packs yielded readings of 17 pounds (that includes the two pounds for my camear pouch and its contents). I'm not sure how much heavier John and Ron's packs were at the start of the trip before they sent stuff home but mine probably about two pounds heavier.

After the weighing we moved stuff that had been stored in John's truck out and got ready to hit the road to Catawba, Virginia. I think it was about 14:40 when we left the park. Since we had to pass through Neels Gap again we paused briefly at the gear shop there, but no one bought anything this time. We did talk with Jeff Hansen and a couple other people though about our hike and how happy we were with our new hiking shoes. John also began querying everyone he passed for the final score of the first game of the world series. One kid he asked retored, "what game?" I guess down in the deep south a Subway Series is not very interesting. John's quest for information was futile. We did not find out how the game really ended until several hours later.

We stopped at the NOC just after 18:00 and got to watch a whitewater kayaker run the course by the NOC and practice his skills in the fading light. We then went into the resteraunt there for a dinner break before singing a chorus a happy birthday to our server (the other staff members told us it was a special day for her) and returning to the road around 19:20 to continue our drive to Catawba. We may not go all the way tonight, but we'll get close and tomorrow we will have a great time at McAfee Knob.

October 23

Although I think we all slept through the night in our little room at the Gateway Motel located just off the I-81 and I-77 intersection we did not sleep for long. At least when you consider that as hikers we were bedding down not very long after it got dark and rising with the sun the following morning.. We got moving around 08:30 and after everyone had a shower we drove the half mile to the rest stop/truck stop for breakfast. It was an expensive so-so meal and the waitress didn't have interesting stories to share. Of course, she was a bit busier than the waitress on the night shift when we showed up at 23:30 or so and had decaf coffee and some light sandwhiches. We piled into our vehicles around 10:30 and zipped off to Catawba which was about an hour away. As we drove into town we passed a couple southbound through hikers. We pulled into the general store and purchased some sandwhhiches for our afternoon hike to McAfee Knob. The lady actually recognized me from when I was there last in late May, or so she said, as I placed my sandwhich order for a BLT (yes, I seem to be eating tomatoes on sandwhiches!).

We met a trio of southbound through hikers at the store and offered them a ride. Old Man Sam, Looking Glass, and John the Baptist were glad to have the ride to the trailhead. Nice people and we chatted a little bit before seeing them off on their southward journey back towards their homes and Springer Mtn. I did give a positive review for my Saloman Raid Wind shoes as well as a thumbs up to the Neels Gap salsepeople.

We began our assault of McAfee Knob around 12:45 on a clear blue, around 70 degree day. We've had superb weather this entire trip. The ridge walk that the hike starts with was just as frustrating the second time around as it had been the first. It wasn't so much the ascent that bugged me as it was the high population of rocks at all angles. Once the trail turns in away from the road, past the Boy Scout Shelter, things got much better and I arrived, with the guys, at Catawba Mtn. shelter about 75 minutes after we left. We spent the better part of an hour at the shelter

We began our final 1.5 miles of hiking to the knob and soon I pulled ahead of John and Ron on the good ascent to the knob. I had one spot of trouble at a little lookout point that isn't that far from McAfee Knob, but that was it. I got to the knob and had it all to myself for a little while before Ron and John caught up.

The knob was fantastic. With the clear skies the views were superb. The mountains in the distance even had some fall color on them that I could dicern. We wondered as we looked into the valley between McAfee Knob and TInkers Cliffs why more of it wasn't devoted to pastureland. We then started taking pictues of each other at the point of the knob where it seems as though you are standing in mid-air. The day was lovely and the knob was peaceful.

Some time later two young men came up and joined us. They are pilots for a local charter airline and as they had just moved to the area they were exploring it. They were as enthralled with the view as we were. We chatted about hiking and about their jobs for quite a while before they left a little bit before 17:00. We hung arund a little longer but as the sun was beginning to set, and the temperature was certainly dropping, we decided to leave at about 17:00 ourselves.

The climb back down went quite quickly. I ws surprised how fast we came back down. We arrived at Catawba Mtn. shelter just about 45 minutes after we left the knob. We had had a splendid hike to and from McAfee Knob and everyone enjoyed the views immensely.

I noticed that I like the woods in this part of Virginia more than the ones in Georgia. I am not sure why these woods feel so much nicer to me. Perhaps it is because there are more colors up here in the leaves, maybe I just know the variety of trees is greater, or perhaps it is the nature of the woods themselves since they are a bit more spread out. They certainly smell better. I've mentioned that sickly sweet smell that reminded me of fermentation that kept cropping up in northern Georgia before and it does not appear here in central Virginia. At least it doesn't make its presence known in the region of the woods we have been hiking in. If anything the smells I noticed today were more earthy and made me think of a peat mulch.

Another difference between the woods here and those in Georgia and the first few miles in North Carolina is the presence of night insects such as crickets. I'm not sure why we never heard any down there, but it suddenly ocurred to me as I was preapring dinner that I was hearing them here and I really like the sound. I find it hard to believe the southern woods can't sustain crickets and I find it hard to believe that the temperatures have been cold enough down there to wipe them out for the year and not that cold hundreds of miles to the north.

As we ate our dinner by the light of the small fire John built for our final night out I Ithink we can all say that this was a really good trip. Tomorrow we'll hike back down to the trailhead pile into the trucks and head back to the "real" world.

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