Date: 2007-12-15
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

mi. 20.6sleep shelterdest. Hogback Ridge Shelter day 155 The weather forcast for today last night said 90+% chance of rain in the afternoon to evening. I took that as rain around 4pm. All of us wanted to get an early start and keep on it all day and try to beat the rain. We got up and packed and rolling right around 7am. It was still a little dark and headlamp hiking when I left. That reminded me of how much I dislike night hiking. It made for slow going over the wet terain. As usual everyone was ahead of me. I like seem to take my time and more breaks, which is fine with me. I crossed the road at the gap and heard a dog barking. It sounded close, I was hoping it was hunting dogs. They are too busy hunting to bother me. It got really close. I looked back to see a mid sized dog on the trail barking at me. It was one of those I don't like you and want to bite you barks. I could see a rope hanging around it's neck. I walked a little away from it slowly. I followed still barking. I was ready to get my trekking pole ready to stab it. It was still about 30 yards away at this point. Unfortunatly both metal tips broke off my poles. They could still do some damage. Then I heard someone calling and whisling for it. Luckily it went away. If it wasn't for that, I don't think it would have left me alone. Just another prime example of why I feel the way I do about most dog owners. It isn't the dogs fault it was rised mean. The person made !it that way. I really need to pick up some pepper spray. I think dogs are the most dangourous things out here. If I had some I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it in the dogs eyes. If I do that I should make sure to have a big enough one to do the owners too when they see it. Too them it wouldn't matter if the dog is biting me. Can you tell my opinion on them? I caught up with everyone just before the first shelter. We made the first 10 by 11:30, we were cruzin. This shelter is the first in awhile to have a privy. The TN Eastman hiking club maintains the section we just went though. Interesting side note on them. They are sponsered to Eastman Kodak. To be a full member you have to work there. If not you are only an associate member. Bob Peoples with all the work he puts in can't be a full member. But their section is the only on the AT without privys. We asked Bob why that is. He said awhile back someone brought that up at a meeting. An old guy raised his hand to speak. He knew Benton McKaye, who originally came up with the AT, personally. He said Benton would not have wanted the AT to have them. No one can argue with that. He knew the guy. So they don't. Only the highly used Overmountain shelter has one. Now that we are in NC and a new trail club, here are privies. For the rest of the day we were hitting it pretty hard. As usual I was bring up the rare. I stopped to talk to 3 day hikers. Great local people. Over a 10 minute conversation not once did they ask me where I wass from. I got to the shelter right around 3:30pm. I got there to see the 2 sectioners there. I figured they were going to stay here tonight. Nope they were pressing on. They left just as it was starting to rain. Too hard core for us. Tonight it is an early night of being trolls in the shelter. 6pm and I am already in bed writing and reading. Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be a nasty snow/rain mix. If it is still raining in the morning we all decided to go back to bed.