Date: 2005-03-28
From: Franklin, NC (Haven Inn)

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: light rain

3.25.05Day 153:30pm Whew. Boy, am I tired. Whipped. Exhausted. Done-in. Pooped. I'm just plumb tuckered out. Those 3.5 miles we churned out,I tell ya, they pushed me to the limit. Yeah, we're back at the HavenInn. We left, w/ every intention of hiking out, putting in a solid 7-or 8-mile day. The first crack in our resolve was Bassline, spreadingrumors of snow, in the mountains tonight. But, pshaw, we said.The Weather Channel didn't say nothing about snow. So, we allpiled and squeezed into Lori's SUV. As we drove up and out ofFranklin, the digital thermometer began to drop steadily. (Basslinealso spoke of 18deg overnight temps.) Even more ominously, thespiteful rain splashing into the windshield became intermixed w/ a fewsnowflakes. Tee-rrific. When we arrived at Rock Gap, the rainjackets immediately were donned. Lori half-jokingly said -- I canmeet you guys, in 2 hours, over at Winding Stair Gap, a scant 3.5miles up trail. And the rest, as they say, is history. Once the wasreleased, once it was out there, we all latched onto it, like adrowning man and his life persv. In the course of time it took Breakto suit up in her bionic knee braces, locate her gaiters, put on herpack, take off her pack in order to remove her fleece, then put on herrain jacket; in that time span, the decision had been mutually decided-- we weren't sleepin' out in this crap, we weren't spendin' the nightin no 18deg temps; we were gonna stay in a hotel room. The exact sameroom, it turns out -- Lori drove back into Franklin while we hiked,and reserved our room for us, angel that she is. When we informedWeatherman of the proposed plan, a muffled 'Hell yeah' came from thevicinity of his head -- he was bundled up like a mummy, under the hoodof his rain jacket, w/ just a tiny slit for his eyes. So, yep, apretty exhausting day, as I said. Pretty rough life, being back undera roof. W/ heat. And hot showers...This morning was rather hectic, though, rushing through all my chores.Cuppa Joe, Break, and I walked down to the Post Office, when itopened at 8:30. I picked up my Pocketmail (Yay!), my first maildrop,and my tax forms. I think I musta signed 15 separate forms today --that's what comes from living in 3 separate states in a 12-monthperiod, I suppose. Just hope I didn't sign away my soul or anything. Actually, it sounds like I'll be getting some serious refunds from thegovt. Aww yeah. After we got back from the PO, I immediately set offto get my Pocketmail activated, since Freeze Dried had such a hardtime w/ his. (When he was setting up his e-mail account, the personon the other line must have thought him some kind of nut case. Theone-sided conversation I was privy to went something like this:"That's 'Freeze Dried'. (pause) No, 'dried', like I'mdrying my hair. (pause) Drying my hair. (pause) Dried (pause) ... " And so on.) So, I opted for the internetactivation. But, while I'm waiting for the computer to process myrequest, CJ comes in and says that there's a shuttle set to leave at11am. I still had to make a grocery run, to supplement my maildrop w/fresh produce and cheese. Plus, I had Leki to deal w/. So,Pocketmail finally set and ready to go, I called up Leki, who wasextremely accomodating. They said to head over to the localoutfitters, to see if they had the replacement part I needed. Loricame through, once again, tossing her keys to CJ. Off to Winn-Dixieand 3 Eagles Outfitters we go! If only we knew how to get there... Making the wrong turn out of the motel parking lot didn't help much. (And, I freely admit, it was my doing.) But, we got ourselves turnedaround (and CJ blood pressure back to normal) after a 'scenic detour',and made our way to 3 Eagles. Unfortunately, they didn't have thenecessary parts for my pole, but Leki came through once again, and isshipping them to Fontana, for CJ and I. We hit up the Winn-Dixie forsome veggies, before heading back to the Haven. I didn't have time tosort through my mail drop, and transfer boxed food into ziplocbaggies. (Break commented one day, that, if nothing else, this hikewould exponentially increase her appreciation of the ziploc bag.) So,I climbed back into Lori's vehicle, my maildrop box overflowing w/food, plus a Winn-Dixie bag of food, plus my food bag. On the driveup to Rock Gap, I somehow managed to sort everything out into 3 mealpiles -- breakfast, dinner, and everything else. Then, we were at thetrail, and I hurriedly stuffed it all into the food bag, and thenstuffed all my crap into my pack. Then, I had to immediately pull outmy pack cover, b/c the rain/snow disgusting slop was dripping from thesky. That was the most haphazard packing endeavor I've everperformed, and I could tell that the balance of my pack was off. All3.5 miles we walked today...To our credit, our mileage today fails to reflect the uncounted miledown and back to the Wasilik Poplar. It was just as awe-inspiring aslast year, this majestic specimen, dominating the landscape, justdwarfing the surrounding trees, mere spindly toothpicks to its massivegirth. But, beyond its physical presence is some intangible,permeating awareness. That entire glade, encircling thispoplar, holds this sacred solemnity. It is, quite simply, awesome. As someone wrote on the nearby stone marker -- 'Big damn tree.' Indeed.The weather certainly was nasty, during our abbreviated hike. Once weclimbed up from the Wasilik, we almost immediately ascended into fog. And cold. And wind. Climbing up from Wallace Gap, we stumbled acrossmore trail magic. It's so prevelant here, it dangles from the trees. Literally. There was a bucket, hanging from a rope. The magic hadbeen largely doled out, but Break managed to scrounge up a lollipopapiece for each of us. Our heartfelt thanks to Tony and Leona Smith,for their generosity. That sugar helped fuel our ascent over toWinding Stair; those lollipops were, as Break put it, industrialstrength -- they lasted forever. As we were descending into the Gap,the fog slowly decreased in density. And then, in the blink of aneye, it was gone, as if a misty veil shrouding our eyes was removed. The clarity, of every tree, every branch, every stone, at that moment,is unbelievable. As was seeing Lori parked at Winding Stair, waitingto shuttle us back to the Haven.9:30pm Post bed-time, but when you're in a warm, cozy hotel room,it's easier to stay awake than when you're huddled deep in yoursleeping bag, on a frigid night. Just got back from dinner w/ Loriand Weatherman, at the steak place, where they have a killer saladbar, plus a plethora of veggies, and the dessert ain't half-badeither. Captain Chaos chilled w/ us this evening. He's a young 'un-- not yet out of his teens -- but highly entertaining. We weresitting around, discussing our various ages, when Chaos asks CJ, outof the blue -- 'Do you have an AARP card?' An awkward pause ensues. Then, the laughter begins. 'No, no, no. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant, if you've got one, then I want to hang out w/ you, so wecan get hotel discounts and stuff.' Not workin' the charismatic cardso much there, Cap'n. Naw, we all had a good chuckle over it,including CJ. And, hiking w/ Weatherman, the days are filled w/ suchquotable moments. If only I had a tape recorder...