We are up and packing at sunrise, which is 7 am. The Hawk Mountain shelter area is on a ridge, with dappled sun shining through the sparsely-leaved trees. The best alarm clock ever! The sky is cloudy, the temp cool, and the wind, which howled through the night, continues to blow. Penny is the first one up and halfway packed. I pack quickly, moving fast to stay warm. Within 20 minutes I am ready to head down the trail, as the other hikers start emerging from their tents. Woody Gap is 12.4 miles down the trail.
 |
| The sun cresting the ridge at Hawk Mountain |
Penny is heating water for coffee. Something new on this trip on this trip for me is forgoing my morning Joe for 2 instant coffee packets mixed with chocolate protein powder and nido milk powder. A pint-sized plastic mason jar with lid and a blender ball mixes the concoction perfectly. A perfect breakfast to drink while hiking!
The first one on the trail! Just before leaving, I said to Penny "make sure you take a left at the trail intersection." So what happened? In my pre-caffeinated morning stupor, I charged right up Hawk Mountain. Thankfully one can traverse the entire flat-topped ridge in five minutes! After a half mile of walking around the top of Hawk in circles, realizing there are no blazes (the 2 inch by 6 inch white rectangles painted on regularly-spaced trees), I turn on my Garmin to discover the trail is back down towards the shelter. Arriving back to the trail junction, I went from first to dead last, earned an extra bonus mile, and hiked an extra couple hundred feet of elevation! Woody Gap is still 12.4 miles down the trail, and I just blew 45 minutes trying to find the trail at the top of Hawk mountain. 
The Missed Trail Crossing
Down the trail, I caught up to Buttah (like butter but southern style), and Tiki. No, there names aren't really Buttah and Tiki, but on the trail everyone gets a trail name. Some come to the trail with a chosen or earned name. My dad's trail name is "Crash," which doesn't need an explanation.
Buttah and Tiki are fishing and kayak guides in North Carolina. Buttah has a sweet Aussie Shepard named Mick. Buttah is the fastest hiker in the group, but Tiki was struggling with a poorly fitted pack. He is new to backpacking, and understandably doesn't want to buy all the gear at once.
Penny is also struggling with her pack. A bungee cord is keeping her stuff from falling out the top. She has stuff hanging EVERYWHERE! At one point there are 12 items jiggling and jangling, swaying back in forth like a metronome in time to her steps. Walking behind her can be hypnotising. We are trying to find her trail name. She has so many gadgets that we toss around Gadget Girl and Gizmo, but we tabled the discussion because maybe she will get rid of some stuff (fingers crossed). She is planning on getting a new pack as soon as we get to Mountain Crossings at Neel's Gap.
Sassafras Mountain kicked my butt and the elevation gain is only 1,000 feet! The wind was blowing hard and cold, numbing hands, face, and feet. Maybe not having a real breakfast was a bad idea. I could stop for a snack, but I really wanted to get over the ridge and warm up. On the other side, near a road crossing (called a Gap in the south) someone left some water at the bottom, which was welcome as my water bladder is empty. After meeting up with several others who camped near us, we head up the trail.
We missed Penny at each crossing. Some guys were moving super fast up the trail, and they said they would keep a look out for Penny to let her know that she wasn't behind me. We ended up meeting at the Woods Hole shelter at lunch time. Eleven people are here that were at Hawk Mountain shelter last night. Two are choosing to stay and not continue. Penny has been here for an hour. She thought I was ahead of her and left her! 
The view south. Springer mountain is the one on the left
We get to Woody Gap as the sun is hitting the horizon. Buttah and Tiki decide to stay here and we share a level site near the Gap. We were so tired. We collected water down the hill and then went straight to bed after dinner.
Today: 12.4 miles, total ascent 2779 ft
No comments :
Post a Comment