Date: 2013-03-31
From: Fontana 28 AT Crossing

To: Birch Spring Gap
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Easter Sunday morning...and the Easter Bunny did find me¢¦oh these so many miles from home! My wife had sent me two mail drop boxes to the Fontana Lodge. The first was food that we pre-packed to mail before we left Idaho on March 1st. The second one she sent me when I requested a variety of items¢¦and she included 6 creamy chocolate Easter candy eggs! I did share them with Two-Socks and DBCooper.So off we go with the 9:00 am shuttle back to Fontana 28 AT crossing and then onto the trail. It was 2 miles from that point to the Fontana Dam.I did take a few minutes to check out the Fontana ¢Hilton¢ shelter as we went by, then it was off across Fontana Dam. Photo opportunities were all around and I had to stop to ¢catch¢ a few shots. I had actually hiked this part of the trail before¢¦way back in 1985 with a group of Alabama folks who I met on a hiking class trip. One of those hikers was my later-to-be wife, Nancy. I was curious to see if memory served me well as I prepared to start up the AT towards Shuckstack¢¦entering the Great Smoky Mountains!Shuckstack is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains with an elevation of 4,020 feet above sea level, and rises approximately 2,300 feet above Fontana Lake, to the south.An old fire tower stands well above the treeline at the summit of Shuckstack. Although no longer in use, the fire tower is open to the public. I did not choose to take the side trail to the fire tower today. The hike up to that point was very strenuous due to the rapid elevation gain--approximately 2,100 feet in 2.5 miles. I came up very slowly¢¦the final approach to the top is a ¢ball buster¢!As has been the case, Two-Socks and DBCooper were out of sight relatively quickly and I continued to trudge up the mountain. Our conversation before they headed off included a discussion of the plans for tonight¢s sleeping arrangements. Two-Socks and DBCooper wanted to stop at Birch Spring Gap to tent. I, however, insisted that I would probably want to go on further to Mollies Ridge Shelter, to try and make up for lost time from the weather enforced zero days. This conversation would come back to ¢bite me¢ later that day!The day was mostly overcast¢¦and even had a few sprinkles. The strenuous up and up did me in. When I finally reached Birch Spring Gap, I had to stop. I neither had the energy nor enough daylight to make it to the Mollies Ridge Shelter. Since my hiking partners took me at my word, they did not stop at Birch Spring Gap. Guess I would catch them in the next few days!There once was a shelter at Birch Spring Gap. I know this to be true because all those years ago when the ¢Alabama group¢ hiked this area in June 1985, our first night was spent at the Birch Spring Gap shelter¢¦we still have the photos of that long ago trip. The sight was converted to a backcountry campsite around 2000. Here is the problem ...the campsite is down in a hollow so it can get pretty muddy, especially in a good rain. And rain it did! I came into Birch Spring Gap to find one tent already up around the corner and another tent close by where I planned to be which belonged to a 1000 miler (planned to go as far as Harpers Ferry, WV) named ¢Postman¢. Postman is a retired 41-year veteran U. S. Postal Service worker. As I started to pitch my tent, it began raining in earnest. I had to put the rain fly up first¢¦then put the tent up under the fly to avoid getting the inside of the tent wet. Which, to be honest, didn¢t quite happen¢¦it was somewhat damp inside. By 8:30 pm it was pouring down rain. Time for sleep! Tomorrow I head for Spence Field¢¦another ¢walk¢ down memory lane.