Date: 2004-04-02
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: Muskrat Shelter (North Carolina)
Miles today: 11.6

Muskrat Shelter, 4045¢Snowing, blowing and below freezing cold. Yes snow! The day started sunny but soon was gray and became increasingly colder. I felt strong though after my rest day and walked aggressively reaching the North Carolina/Georgia line for lunch at Blye Gap just inside NC.After lunch the trail ¢welcomed¢ all comers to NC with a 1000¢ steep ascent in just 1.5 miles. Straight up. I joined two young men for the accent, Carl with whom I had had dinner last night, in town, and Josh. I was pleased with myself to be able to keep up with them all the way up to the summit and then on to Muskrat Creek Shelter which was 2.8 further miles further than I had originally planned to go.It would be nice if I can keep up this pace for the next few days, so I can pick up some extra miles before I complete this section and return to NY. I can really feel myself getting stronger and falling into a ¢hiking groove.¢Upon arrival at the shelter, I met the ¢Garland Five¢: Craig, Melissa and their three children, ¢Wolfsong¢ (13), ¢Starfire¢ (11), and ¢Zing¢ (9). They are attempting to thru hike to Katahdin, ME. They started from Springer on March 17th, and hope to go all the way through, even if they have to flip flop at the end to complete the Maine portion before Katahdin closes on October 15th. They¢re all very nice and the kids are great, but it's quite an ambitious undertaking!While talking with Craig around the fire trying to get warm, he mentioned to me that he saw a bear with its cub running up the ridge just to the south of the Cheese Factory a couple of days before I camped in that exact spot. Hmmm¢¦The shelter quickly filled up with a lot of familiar faces all looking to get out of the cold. Andy and his father, Wayne with whom I had had lunch at the iconic ¢Bly Oak,¢ followed quickly by ¢Coyote,¢ ¢Blue,¢ and ¢Turtle Don.¢ I had hoped to make this my first night in a shelter and was set up to do so (and in fact had climbed into my sleeping bag with my clothes on to get warm after the hike), when "Gadget" arrived late in the afternoon in pretty wobbly condition. I had met him a few days ago in Low Gap and had subsequently heard that he had food poisoning and he had become pretty sick on the Trail. Although he said he was feeling better, he had admittedly pushed himself a bit too hard today, and appeared to be disoriented and in need of a warm place to crash. So I gave him my spot in the shelter and set up my tent in a nearby clump of trees. In many ways I like this better. It is very snug even though the wind is blowing and it is snowing outside. While searching for a place to pitch my tent I found the wreckage of a small Cessna that had crashed on the mountain top a few years ago, killing the pilot. The tangled airframe and portions of the wings and tail are strewn throughout the woods- a pretty grim reminder of how dangerous these mountains can be.Now its bedtime and I¢m pooped, yet eager to see what tomorrow will have in store. It¢s snowing and the temperatures continue to drop. I'm wearing every single piece of clothing I possess and I¢m still cold. So much for ¢snug¢. It¢s freezing!