Date: 2005-05-02
From: Low Gap Campsite

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: few clouds

I was out of my tent before Walt and I had taken mine down first but he was ready to leave before me. ¢Didn¢t you hear me? I was up cooking breakfast at 3AM.¢ ¢Why so early¢ ¢You know, my watch doesn¢t work. It said it was 6¢ ¢But couldn¢t you tell how dark it was that it wasn¢t close to 6?¢ He was gone by 6:40. Half an hour later, I was on the Trail. I¢m getting faster and faster at rolling out in the morning. Kept the backpack in the tent last night. Arose, dressed in today¢s hiking clothes. Stuffed the bag, emptied the tent, packed the tent, packed the backpack, cooked breakfast, out the door. I was grateful for camping at Low Gap last night for the opportunity to ascent Big Bald in the morning, both for the benefit of feeling fresh (as opposed to the tired end-of-the-day fatigue) and the early morning views. The bright sun and clear sky afforded views in all directions. The views regrettably included some condos and single homes off to the northeast, sights that undoubtedly would have been obscured by full foliage which hadn¢t occurred yet at this elevation. I thoroughly enjoyed Big Bald ¢ the rolling grassy surface punctuated by an occasional lone tree, the views, the feeling of the sun¢s warmth despite the breezes and still-cool early morning temperature.   I¢m reasonably comfortable in shorts and short-sleeved shirt. I didn¢t want to enter the woods from the open grassy summit but all hikes must proceed. At Big Bald Shelter, I met Jorge, a middle-aged non-Hispanic man and a young couple Dandy and Sunflower. The latter two left before me but I caught up to them on the summit of Little Bald. Dandy¢s fast uphill but his shin splits keep him slow on the descents. Also passed Goosebumps and Fancy Pants whom I had encountered the first day at Little Laurel Shelter. Descent to Spivey Gap wasn¢t bad. Near the bottom was another impressive stand of old-growth hemlocks, something I¢ve seen several times on this trip. Also many wildflowers along the way. Ate lunch at the road crossing. The ascent from Spivey wended through a rhododendron forest with the cascading brook making for a pleasant walk steep uphill notwithstanding. Not as many flowers in this dense forest. Upon reaching ridgeline, the remainder of the day was easy due in no small part to trail re-routing which avoided 2 steep knobs by circumventing/slabbing them. Soon it was time to watch for the No Business Knob Shelter water source which occurred .2 before the shelter, a .2 steep uphill. Fortunately, I recognized the stream and filled up including my spare water bottle. Arriving at the shelter, I met Fishing Fred who recognized my name from Trail Journals. He told me of Trail Magic provided at the base of Albert Mountain by Barry and Terry, the caretakers of the now-defunct Rainbow Springs campground. Over 30 days, they served hundreds of appreciative hikers. Also Preying Mantis was at the shelter but moved on.Tonight featured the most number of campers to date on my hike but only 3 of us stayed in the shelter. In the shelter: Jorge, Dandy, and me. Dandy¢s trail partner Sunflower moved on with some slackpackers we had met both at Flint Mountain and today. In tents tonight: Walt (of course), Fancy Pants & Goosebumps (nice to talk to ¢ they¢re from New Hampshire but will move to SW Pennsylvania to run a B&B), Cloth Monkey (from Minnesota) and his trail partner Blue Angel, Sam (from my hometown of Silver Spring, MD), and Grits from Valdosta, Georgia. Grits and I talked about the Okefenokee Swamp and Suwanee River where I had spent a few days in February. He said I didn¢t look like I was from Washington, DC! ¢Well, how should I look?¢ I took that as a compliment. We also talked about historical events dating back to the Civil War and what would have changed had certain events not occurred. Dandy built a fire. So far on this trip, every night has seen a campfire built by some adept person. Good ¢ I usually need a box of matches to build one. I¢m rising early tomorrow to get to Erwin. Dandy said that¢s OK but Jorge kidingly warned us not to wake him.