Date: 2015-04-03
From: Wilbur Dam Rd

To: TN 91
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: clear sky

Today we moved our base from Black Bear to Damascus. The net impact was that we had to carry our full backpacks. The good news was that the trail was pretty benign - no big ups or downs.We had some light overnight rain, but the ground was just slightly damp when Bob picked us up at 6:55 this morning. We wanted to beat the 7:00 school bus, except that we realized that the kids in the area got a Good Friday holiday today. Bob took us by MacDonalds for a coffee and breakfast sandwich and then we headed up the hill. The drive up was beautiful, a lot of color from the sunrise and blossoming trees, and Bob told us a lot about the area. He pointed out a couple of Pyrenees sheep dogs that were guarding a small flock of sheep, neat dogs. He let us out at the same point as yesterday, but this time we headed north instead of south. We started a long slow climb that lasted at least half of the hike. Much of the climb was along a ridge that ran adjacent to Lake Watauga. So for several hours we had scenic views of the upper end of the lake. Eventually the lake curved away from the ridge and there wasn't much to see but the surrounding hillsides in the wilderness area. We passed several shelters along the way but didn't see many hikers. The good weather lasted most of the morning, but gradually the sun disappeared and the air turned cooler. We knew the potential for rain was increasing, but we hoped it would hold off until evening. About midday, just as we reached a shelter 3/4 of the way through the hike, we felt a few sprinkles. We talked briefly with Mobley and another hiker we have seen before, and it appeared that they might hang out in the shelter. We checked the weather and it was clear that we were on the edge of a storm system. As we hiked further north we were hiking into the storm. We made a quick call to the shuttle driver who was scheduled to pick us up at TN 91 and updated him on our ETA, and then pressed on. Not long after that it started to rain and we donned our ponchos. Initially there was a strong gusty wind that drove the rain into our ponchos, but the wind died down for the most part. The rain was never heavy, but persistent, and it never really stopped completely. It took us several more hours to reach the destination road. We got there early and had to wait a bit on the shuttle. While we waited, a car drove up and we recognized Mary from Mountain Harbour as the driver. She was shuttling a hiker to exactly where we were being picked up. Her passenger recognized us and eventually we remembered him as Iceman, a hiker we met just outside Duncannon, PA last year when he was doing trail magic. He drove down from PA today and was going to hike back to Mountain Harbour over the Easter weekend. It was great talking with him and we hope to get in touch when we pass through Duncannon again this summer. The trail is a small world. The shuttle ride into Damascus was fun. Our driver was the initial owner of Mount Rogers Outfitters, before he gave the business to his son, Jeff. We know Jeff from before, he fitted Princess with her new ULA backpack last year and we've seen him since then. We think MRO is one of the best outfitters on the trail. Dave told us a lot about his hiking experience and the area, and the driveInto town seemed short. We're staying tonight at the Dancing Bear, our first time here. We plan a long slack-pack hike tomorrow and we'll stay at the Lazy Fox tomorrow night. It's been raining on and off all evening with some thunder and wind tossed in. The forecasters say it will abate tomorrow morning and then get much cooler. I hope it works out that way.