Date: 2009-04-11
From: Dick's Creek Gap (Hiawassee, GA)

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter, NC
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Welcome to North Carolina - If You Can Hack ItToday we took a shuttle from the Hiawassee Inn back to the trail at Dick's Creek Gap around 9:30 with Green T and Bigfoot. Tim, the shuttle driver who picked us up a few days earlier from the trail, gave us a lot of great information on the way back on where to eat, sleep and shop along the next few hundred miles of the trail. Tim is retired Army, lives at Ft. Bragg and thru-hiked most of the trail the previous year. He was volunteering as a shuttle driver for Sam and Ron at the Hiawassee Inn in exchange for room and meals. He told us to make sure and contact Ron Haven when we got to Franklin, and after, for any more advice on services along the trail.The day was very overcast and chilly. It wasn't raining, but was very muddy and slippery from the rains the night before. But it was an easy trek to the North Carolina border. On the way we stopped by the Plum Orchard Gap shelter to see if there was any word from those who left the day before, but there was nothing in the journal so we assumed they had pushed on to Muskrat Creek.Our plan was to hike just across the border and stay at Bly Gap, where the old twisted tree marks the trail's entry into North Carolina. In mid afternoon we crossed the border and paused to take pictures at the sign and tree. We also found Karuna, a ridge runner we had met several days earlier at Neel's Gap, who was ready to make her run back south. Her job is to make one run up the entire AT in Georgia, turn around at the border, and return back south to Springer Mountain. Along the way she is supposed to report maintainance issues to the trail crews, check up on the shelters, assist hikers, etc... She has also taken it upon herself to destroy all the fire rings along the way, and discourage hikers from building fires.There was an extremely cold breeze coming up through Bly Gap, and we were looking to sit around a fire and warm up that night, so we pushed on. Karuna informed us it was only 3 miles to the next shelter - but neglected to mention the two 5000 foot peaks in between, with very steep and technical climbs. North Carolina welcomed us to the trail with a bang - it was obvious we weren't in Georgia anymore. The trail got rockier, steeper and much more difficult the moment we stepped across the border.We arrived at Muskrat Creek Shelter late that evening, and much to our surprise found Tapeworm, Ten Sticks, Muscles, Maxwell, Jen and Calamity Kate who had all took a zero day to wait for us (and possibly because of the rough trip it took them to get there the day before). They had all survived the storm OK. The shelter was the first of the Nantahala style shelters, which had a roof that extended out over benches and a big table in the middle. It sat on Muskrat Creek, which was a rushing mountain stream and a very clean water source. We tried to start a fire that night, as we had been looking forward to, but the wood was all too wet and not even the boy scouts among us could keep it going. So we retired early, wet and tired, but very happy to be reunited with our friends.