Date: 2014-04-28
From: Black Gap Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: light rain

Day 1: Black Gap to Hawk Mountain Shelter The answer to the Ultimate Question on Life, the Universe and everything- IS really 42!Last night was a doozy- thunder, lightning and snoring. Broken Arrow (the only thru hiker at the shelter) was up and out around 5 a.m. while I had a more leisurely departure time and said goodbye to the group from FL. The trail to Springer was uphill and fog embraced the trail so tightly, that there were no distant mountain views to be seen. The fog creates some eerie scenes as a backdrop to crazy-twisted trees that dot the southern Appalachians. Today is filled with history: my own, the trail¢s and those of a small community that used to exist where the trail now passes. It would be a somewhat reflective day¢¦ It was chilly but not so uncomfortable that I couldn¢t spend some alone time on Springer. I first visited this mountain about 2 decades ago when I was working in Augusta one week. I remembered it like it was yesterday, the rental car, the drive up the forest service dirt road (which the rental car was not suited to do easily) and finally finding the parking lot on FS42 (see that number really IS the answer!!!) and how many people were at the lot as well as on Springer the day I went in the spring. Now I had a cool, foggy day with the southern terminus to myself and I had walked 8.8 miles to arrive. Took the usual photos of the plaque, the hiker sign-in and the first white blaze, I thought some about how a place can hold memories and turn a mountain into a time machine. I wondered if today would be a memory to which I would return geographically sometime in the future, or if I was closing a chapter with this location. I finally started the gradual descent towards the Three Forks area. The fog dissipated but the sky was filled with clouds and there was a fair amount of wind. As I was heading north, a couple was heading south, we exchanged hellos, and I told them they were close to Springer, they indicated that they would be heading the Hawk Mtn Shelter and it took me a few minutes to understand that they had started at the parking lot north of Springer and had to travel south first to get to the beginning. I arrived at FS 42 (it crisscrosses the trail a few times) where I met a Ridge-runner (Becky?), and two guys leapfrogging their cars to hike the trail. She told us that there were supposed to be heavy storms this evening and we should stay in a shelter. Thanked her and got out of there quickly as there were lots of bugs in the parking area. The AT intersects with the Benton MacKaye Trail; if you¢re familiar with the AT, or have read trail journals you probably already have read your fill of the founding father of the Appalachian Trail. I came to a sign indicating there was a plaque to honor Benton a short distance from the AT and along his namesake trail. In truth, I was a little disappointed by the location of the plaque, no views to speak of surrounding the rock that bore the bronze plaque, perhaps it was as simple and unassuming as he would have liked. Day 1: His-tory (MacKaye), Her-story (me), Their-story (Hickory Flats) There was Trillium in the mountains today, so glad I didn¢t miss out this year. The cold spring has slowed the blooming and death of the flowers. About 2 miles from where I met Becky, I met another Ridge-runner- Zach (Blue Eyes) at Stover Creek Shelter and got his photo with Little Dude. He confirmed the bad weather forecast which pretty much settled that I would be staying at Hawk Mountain shelter with the other people that Becky had mentioned would be there. There was plenty of water in the Three Forks area and as I climbed back out of the shallow gap, I began to circle a noisy waterfall. I debated going off trail to see Long Falls, the first sign I came across indicated it was about 5 miles- NO WAY! I continued on and located another sign about a mile or so up the AT, this sign had no distance on it, so I investigated the path which led, maybe 1/8th of a mile to a stunning view of the falls. It reminded me of the Jones Falls near the Elk River a few years ago- though I think those were higher. I hung out at the falls for a while, had lunch and enjoyed the white noise. When I got back on the trail it was still climbing and soon crossed a road that led to a cemetery of the historical Hickory Flats community. Again, I detoured from the trail to visit the cemetery which was beautiful and had I not wanted to get to the shelter, would have been a nice resting place even if it was not my final one ?. There¢s a pavilion which hikers may use, a fire pit and even a cinderblock shed with pit toilets. It¢s a great spot! About an hour later, I finished at Hawk Mountain Shelter where I met Sweet and Sour (Floridians), Tobias (Germany), Daniel (Sweden), Dave and his guard dog Stitch (VA), and eventually saw the couple I met near Springer Mtn, Jeff and Heather (GA). It was still relatively early in the day, made dinner, helped gather firewood and watched Sour start a fire. Everyone was aware of the bad weather due tonight, fortunately Dave and Jeff had tarps which they strung up across the shelter entrance in preparation for the storm. This was a great call! Another couple (two recent graduates) showed up in the early evening, wanting to tent. We convinced them that the shelter would be wiser, and so it was a cozy evening in the shelter with the double-decker full and two guys and a dog on shelter floor. It¢s a good group of people, we had some fun discussions and I got to learn a little about most of my shelter-mates. Sweet and Sour, for example are a Navy couple, and Sweet is from Spain. Sour was stationed in Rota and now works with something to do with emergency planning I think. Jeff and Heather lived west of Atlanta and this was their first AT section hike as part of a larger AT hike plan. The young graduates, Dave, Tobias and Daniel were all thru-hikers, with Tobias having researched and planned the AT Hike for a year and a half while Daniel found out and decided to do the hike only a few weeks before he started. Stitch got her name from a number of medical incidents including swallowing 3 or 4 fishing hooks as a puppy- she¢s also fiercely protective of David, as in don¢t go near him . Time for sleep and I hope the tarps hold up! Goodnight 8.1 miles north Springer Mountain and 16.9 trip milesMore photos for the trip can be seen at: 2014_2000Miler