We wake up and have breakfast at the shelter. GG and I are packed, and Kodiak is almost packed. We chat for a little while and discuss our options for today. The next shelter is only 6.8 miles, but the one after that is nine miles after. We definitely aren't ready to hike 16 miles, and we aren't comfortable with camping away from shelters just yet, so we elect to head to the next shelter. Moreover, heavy rain is in the forecast for tonight, so we can get to the shelter early enough to ensure a spot undercover.
GG and I head out before Kodiak. I'm sure she will pass me shortly, especially since I can dawdle to my heart's content in the woods today with such a short hike! GG, on the other hand, will put her head down and hustle through the woods. She tends to take frequent food and bathroom breaks however, and that's when I usually catch up to her.
The woods are hazy with humidity, and little sunlight makes its way through the canopy to the forest floor. At least we won't have to worry about applying sunscreen today.
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| Chicken of the woods mushrooms |
I have been hiking for a couple of hours and stop near a spring to filter water and take a leisurely snack break. I am sitting on the side of the trail on a rock, looking up plants in an identification guide and munching on a Luna bar when Kodiak rolls in hot up the trail. She excitedly tells me she just looked at the weather map on her phone and there is a wall of red and yellow on the radar coming right at us. I jump up and stuff my food bag and sit pad into my pack and take off after her.
I certainly don't mind hiking in the rain, but it would be a shame to get drenched when we are so close to the shelter. For the next mile we are short of all out running down the trail, which is thankfully relatively level to downhill the entire way to the shelter. After a mile, I turn my phone off airplane mode and see the rain is almost upon us, but the heavier rain is holding off. I slow down a little and arrive at the shelter to see Kodiak and GG spreading out their gear.
I spend the next hour filtering water and eating dinner, then set up my sleeping area in the shelter. I thought I was done with sleeping in shelters once we left the Smokies, but if there is plenty of room, I am amenable, especially if the weather turns bad, which it certainly will do at any moment.
We look over the map and see the next big road is Sam's Gap, only 13 miles away. We sent resupply boxes to ourselves care of Nature's Inn, a popular hostel only a couple miles from the gap. Kodiak needs to go south to North Asheville to do a grocery resupply and plans on spending the night there. We call Steve and arrange a pick up from the gap tomorrow afternoon.
Some more hikers start coming into the shelter area to hunker down for the night. One hiker, then two, then three more. They are all section hiking together and meeting some more friends at the shelter tonight. While they are not all sleeping in the shelter, there isn't any dispersed camping sites, so soon the area immediately surrounding the shelter fills with several tents. It's only 5 pm and I can see the shelter is going to fill up tonight, so I make a decision to abandon my spot in the sardine can and set up my tarp and hammock beside the shelter. I think I will sleep better.
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| The view from under my tarp, in my hammock |
The rain starts coming down in buckets right after I get set up, and I say good night early and tuck in to my hammock so I can read. I go to bed to the pitter-pat of raindrops on my tarp.
Todays Miles: A whopping 6.8! only 1100' Ascent
Trip Stats: 34 miles, 8800' elevation gain
Trail Stats: 309 miles, 75k (yes, seventy-five THOUSAND feet) of climb!
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