Date: 2014-04-26
From: NOC

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Despite staying up 'til after midnight last night, I woke up with the sun a little before seven feeling rested. Mason got up and headed out to get some kayaking in before his classes start at noon. They're apparently releasing water out of a dam upstream which will make the cascades a lot more fun to kayak than usual. He gave me his number and told me to call if I need anything when I get in the Lynchburg area. Alex was sleeping in, but said goodbye when I left.I got dowwn to the restaurant at 7:30 but it opens at 8, so I sat outside getting a start on my journal! Today started out at 1749 feet elevation at NOC and climbs up to 4710 in 3.6 miles, dips down 300 feet then up to 5062 a couple miles later. I need a good breakfast for that!!I forgot to mention yesterday that as I descended into the NOC I entered spring! Suddenly the trees had leaves on them and the ground cover was growing. There were many more small wild flowers in bloom along the sides of the trail and the dogwoods were in bloom. Today as I climbed out of the valley, spring disappeared! But it will be coming soon to the higher elevations, too. Climbing out of the NOCSure enough, as I climbed up in elevation, spring disappeared. The climb wasn't bad for the first few miles, not exceedingly steep and a good path without much rocks and roots. I passed Bart and Chosen One once again as they were breaking camp a couple miles up. Bart, Chosen One and meAs I entered a particularly cool looking rhododendron tunnel, I stopped to take a picture and around the corner behind me came Bart and Chosen One getting their cameras out to take pictures. So we posed for selfies. As they headed up ahead of me, I commented on how the trail hadn't been too hard so far... then added that I probably shouldn't have said that. As I exited the Rhodie tunnel, the trail went across a very rocky section for a while then turned and became much steeper with rocks and roots, and stayed pretty much that way to the top! But one step at a time gets you there.The trail had its usual ups and downs after that until just before my destination when it went up "Jacob's Ladder." Although very steep, the path was smooth dirt without many rocks so I could just plod on up with small steps the half mile or so to the top. The tougher climbs and descents are when rock or wooden steps force me to make large steps up or down. Wish my camera took better sunset shots!When I pulled into the Brown Fork Gap shelter area, there were a number of folks there aready, including Dandelion and a young couple I had spoken briefly to a couple of times but didn't get their names. There were no good tent sites, but a few folks had found spots that would do for the night. I picked a spot that had a great view to the west, although it wasn't quite as level as I'd have liked. A little later Eric came in - he had gone into Franklin a couple days ago and had now caught up. I chatted with the folks around the shelter for a while before hitting the sack. No dogs are allowed on the trail in Smokey Mountain Park, so Dandelion is paying someone $300 to pick up Zodiac at Fontana dam, board him for the 5 or so days she's hiking through the park, and deliver him to her on the other side at I-40. A fair price for the service provided methinks, but a lot of bucks for some of these young folks hiking on a budget.It's only 28 miles from the NOC to Fontana Dam, so I'll have a shorter day tomorrow and it's more downhill than up. I may take a zero (no trail miles hiked) on Monday to get ready for the Smokies!