Date: 2017-07-05
From: Dennis Cove Road

To: Buck Mountain Road
Miles today: 21.4

Today was an adventure. We woke up around 6 and it was pretty dark out. We didn't get up right away. We had packed our packs last night so there was no prep that we needed to do. We drove Steven's empty of stuff car to Buck Mtn Rd Baptist Church and hiked north. We emptied the car because there have been reports of vandalism in the past. We were a bit nervous about that. We started our hike at 8:15 and went downhill. I feel like I should mention that Tennessee has gotten a few things right on the Appalachian Trail. First, the trails (so far) are mostly nicely graded. Second, they put a metal grating on top of their wooden and log footbridges. This prevents slipping. I feel like other states should take this safety measure from TN. We would have been saved several slips and falls if there had been metal grating on footbridges farther north.We came upon a side trail to Jones Falls and debated going or not. I said, "We'll never be here again," so we went. It was beautiful and I'm glad we did that. When we came back we noticed that the sign had little notes written on it from other hikers like: "epic," "worth it," and "you are a fool if you skip this." We agree. Things were pretty muddy. We walked along creeks through rhododendron thickets. Then we walked through grass which soaked our shoes next to the Elk River. We saw a snail at one point along the trail. Then we hiked up a bit and took a snack break around 10:30. After our break we realized that we were almost at the Mountaineer Shelter. Oh well. We skipped it. There was more wet walking. A couple of times groups of moths flew out from the bushes or a rotting log at us. The first time I cried out, "Moth attack!" as Count proclaimed, "Moth explosion!" HA!There was a BENCH with a gorgeous view where we stopped for a noon snack. I was so sweaty and salty that a bumblebee was crawling on my legs eating it. It tickled my hairy legs. :) At times we were in thick rhododendrons, but we could hear cows lowing nearby. They didn't sound pleased, and I told Count that I wouldn't be all that surprised if a velociraptor jumped out to attack us. We encountered a family with a large white dog and also a single female hiker, but we didn't chat with them. Lunch was at a campsite around 1:15, just before Hardcore Cascades. A couple of hikers passed us as I was finishing my sandwich and Count was lying on the ground. We passed them a while later while they were taking a break.Around 3 PM we heard thunder in the distance and I picked up the pace, hoping to make it to the next shelter before the rain hit. We basically ran down into Moreland Gap Shelter and made it just as it started raining. There was a couple there who were very nice. Their son had just gotten married and they were getting away for a few days.Six miles left to go! The sun came back out and we went on. We saw a young deer that still had its spots. Very cute. After about 3 miles, we could hear more thunder in the distance. We came to a dead, burnt area and we could see the storm coming! We walked faster but knew we were going to get rained on. Part way down the mountain it got very dark very quickly. We pulled out our rain coats and had just as the rain came. It was a downpour! The moment the rain really started, something fell from the trees (an acorn? a rock?) and hit my wrist! It hurt really bad. The trail eventually turned into a creek. The rain didn't stop until we got back to my car which was all fogged up from our went clothes from the creek dip yesterday. I took of my skort before getting into the car and sat on my towel that I had left drying on my seat. Convenient! It was then I noticed the welt on my wrist from where the unknown object had hit me. We went to camp, rinsed off our muddy legs, and I put on dry clothes. Then we went to Steven's car which had NOT been vandalized. Hooray! We tried to get dinner at Bob's Dairlyand, but they're now closed on Wednesdays. We drove to McDonalds instead. I ate TWO McDoubles and some fries. Steven had two McDoubles AND a McChicken and fries. I'm not full. Anyway, it was a full day of mud, sun, rain, and the amazing Appalachian Trail. I can barely walk now, but I'm not sorry. We have under 400 miles of the trail left!!! It is nearly 10 PM and we have a zero day tomorrow! Hopefully we can get Steven's car all fixed up.