We had a lovely night's sleep and wake refreshed. We have an hour to brush our teeth, pack our bags, eat breakfast, and be ready for Steve to pick us up. One of my favorite things about staying in a hostel is fresh hot coffee. I sip on the coffee in between stuffing my gear into my pack. We have a few minutes to spare, so we weigh our packs on a pack scale on the porch of the bathhouse. GG's is 35 pounds! She doesn't look so happy.
Steve arrives with Kodiak at 7:45 sharp. GG, me, and another hiker pack into his car. A few minutes later we are on the AT, headed up a hill from the gap. Steve has already suggested some other meeting spots along the way, along with some slackpacks, and I know we will definitely see more of him in the coming weeks. Our next big stop is in Erwin, TN, only 25 miles up the trail. We only have to carry food for two days, so we should have easier hiking with the reduced weight.
We are on the trail at 8:00 am. The birds are chirping vigorously, and the forest is lush and green. The woods are still dark; the sun is still below the ridge. I am a half mile from the road and can still hear the noise of the cars. The trail is heading up and around a curve, so the racket of the road gradually recedes.
There are so many familiar plants here. I think of them as old friends I haven't seen in a while. Osmorhiza, also known as sweet cicely; a delicate, knee-high branching plant that tastes of licorice.
Violas, a harbinger of spring, are still vigorous and dot the forest floor with their pretty and mild tasting purple and yellow flowers. I nibble on the leaves, enjoying the fresh greens which taste similar to spinach but slightly more mucilaginous. The leaves grow so big here. Some are bigger than my foot!
Soloman's seal is prolific in these woods. The tall, slender stalks arch gently with the weight of the little bell-like flowers that spring every inch or so from the underside of the shoot. I don't typically harvest this plant; it can grow for years from the same tuber. I prefer to enjoy the awkward beauty of it instead.
Other plants I recognize are false Soloman's seal; similar in habit but different in that the flowers and fruit are at the end of the stalk. I see trillium, Jack in the pulpit, and mayapples within minutes. White lettuce is everywhere, as is stinging nettle. I love the taste of stinging nettle leaves and appreciate the added nutrition.
Trout lilies, cut-leafed toothwort, and chickweed are less than lively, as they are early spring plants and don't tolerate the heat well.
I'm surprised by the amount of purslane along the trail. I'm used to seeing purslane in the heat of summer, growing in hard or sandy soil where few other plants can thrive. Here it's thriving!
We get some trail magic near the top of the mountain, near a road. The nearby residents leave drinks and treats for the hikers. The contents are picked through pretty well, but I take a soda and a home-baked cookie and leave the little bit of trash I have in the trash bag. I leave a note of thanks on the register, which rests inside the cooler in a large ziploc.
After six miles of hiking in the canopy of trees with a paucity of views, I am thrilled to hike over Big Bald Mountain which, at an elevation of 5500,' is the highest point of our hike thus far. I emerge from the woods onto a meadow with a sweeping 360-degree panorama of the surrounding countryside, and I am so uplifted by the gorgeous landscape. I stop for a snack and take a lot of pictures. There is another, slightly smaller hump just to the north, and I can make out George and then GG making their way into the woods on the other side of the meadow, a little over half mile away. I don't want to get too far behind, so I start moving. It's too early in the year for the wildflowers, which are starting to bud. I bet this place is even more beautiful when the flowers are in bloom.
The trail is little more than a deep rut in the field, probably weathered from exposure. In some places it is less than a foot wide, so I walk carefully and pay attention. I don't want to misstep and twist an ankle!
The dogwoods on the other side of the bald are stunted and twisted, a testament to the harsh mountain weather at this elevation. Moss covers the scaly, discolored bark. Daisies, yarrow, and lots of blackberry canes are growing beneath. The red twigs of blueberry bushes are still bare of leaves.
A mile past the Bald, I meet up with GG and Kodiak for a late lunch, or more appropriately, a heavy snack, at Big Bald Shelter. I have my usual tortilla with a salmon pouch and some mayo and relish packets. There is a man that is set up in front of the shelter who is pretty much living on the trail. He tries to Yogi but isn't very good at it. Yogi is a term for when hikers try to ask for a hand-out without directly asking for something: like how Yogi bear always tries to get a treat from picnickers. He was saying he would love to go to town but doesn't have the money. I would be happy to help him out, but I don't carry any cash. He is short on food as well, but because we are so close to our next resupply, we brought just enough food to last us until Erwin. I do have a couple extra Luna bars to offer, which he gladly accepts.
The man also points out a big name carved into the wood of the shelter bunkbeds. "That's my friend's trail name," he informs us. I don't want to be an asshole, but tagging shelters really perturbs me. A lot of volunteers put a lot of hard work into building and maintaining the shelters, and I think defacing the shelters is very rude. To really add insult to injury, the jerk's trail name is Giggleshit. I have been staring at Giggleshit's handiwork for the last 50 miles.
"Oh, so he's the guy who has been vandalizing the shelters?" I ask.
He said, "oh yes," not realizing I was taking a dig at him.
Just as we were packing up, a very nice gentleman named Dogwhisper hiked in with his cute puppy. He is one of the two trail maintainers for this section, and he offered to pack out our trash, which we happily gave him. This section is so lovely and well-maintained.
On that note, we head out and decide to meet again at a tent site 3 miles away. We only have 500' of climb, but the descent is 1500' and my knees are already aching. Thankfully, the trail is easy to hike, with a smooth footpath most of the remaining hike.
The hike is absolutely delightful. The ground is covered with knee-high ferns and the large fronds of mayapples, shaded by the birches of the mid-level; their branches just filling out with bright green leaves. A soft breeze makes the foliage dance lazily in the afternoon sunlight. I feel totally at peace right now.
We are now 55 miles into this section over five days. We are easily exceeding our original goal of 10 miles per day, since we are only going to get stronger over the next three weeks. At this rate, we should finish a little early.
Kodiak, GG, and I make it to the campsite area called Whistling Gap. The gap is on a saddle between two ridges. Far Out says there is enough room for five tents. Boy, is that an understatement! There is a tent set up on the left of the trail, near the blue blaze leading to a spring. On the right is a large flat area where two people are pitching tents. GG and I head to the left, while Kodiak picks a spot across the trail on the right. Over the next two hours, at least fifteen more people mosey in. Meanwhile, we have yet to see anyone emerge from the tent that was already set up.
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| GG nails a PCT bear hang |
We enjoy a leisurely dinner with half-dozen other hikers around the cold fire pit, where large logs are laid out in a square to provide seats. Very rarely do we bother with starting a fire, since fires take a lot of extra work. The woods are so picked clean of downed wood near campsites that we would have to range far from camp to collect it. Plus, once you start a fire, you have to make sure it's completely out before going to bed. Instead, the fire pit serves as a central meeting spot for the campers.
While we are eating, I casually ask if anyone has seen the person camping in the tent that was set up before we made camp. Everyone shakes their heads and answers "no."
"Maybe we should make sure there is no one inside?" I inquire. We look at each other nervously, since people in fact do die on the trail. In fact, someone was found deceased just last year in a shelter in the Smokies.
A gentleman who hikes with the biggest can of bear spray I have ever seen on the AT offers to check it out. He is standing outside of the tent, asking if anyone is inside, when a hiker walks up with a huge camera hung on the front of his pack. "Is there a problem?" the hiker asks big bear spray man.
Hiker man identifies himself as the owner of the tent. We all have a laugh and a big sigh of relief as we let him know we were worried someone may have been in extremis or worse inside the tent.
The hiker with the bear spray is appropriately named Bear Chaser. He tells a crazy story of a bear encounter a couple weeks ago at Cosby Knob Shelter; the same place we camped in SMNP with the fireflies. A woman named Purple Haze was walking from the privy to the shelter when a bear came up behind her and bit her on the butt!! Bear Chaser saw the event, rushed out of the shelter and sprayed the bear, earning his trail name. Purple Haze had to go get rabies shots, and rangers came out later that day and shot the bear while Kodiak was in the shelter and witnessed the headless body rolling down the hill. Wow. Just WOW!
Even more hikers roll in as GG and I tuck into our camps for the night. One is Tang. She is a triple crowner, which means she has hiked the CDT, PCT, and now the AT. She just started May 1st and is already 331 miles in after 21 days. She makes me feel like we are hiking in slow motion!
This place is getting packed! We go to bed as the sun sets so we can be up at sunrise tomorrow. We don't need to set alarms out here; sunlight is the best natural clock.
Today's stats: 11 miles, 3k feet gain
Trail Stats: 331 miles, 81k feet gain
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