Date: 2004-05-02
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 11.5

Last night's dreams of sunshine lasted 'til about 2 am, when it started to pour. The heavy rain was then followed by thunder and lightning after which it then settled into a steady, drenching rain. Not much to do upon awakening but to slosh northward hoping the rain would stop. By the time noon rolled around my fingers were wrinkled like prunes from holding on to my wet poles, just as they were yesterday by this time. The seven of us who had spent the night together at the shelter, all ended up at the Rufus Morgan Shelter around noontime looking like drowned rats. We all took a long break for lunch (where most of us cooked a warm meal to warm our cold bones, sharing good conversation as we ate). Many including myself took the opportunity to put on some dry clothes, also. Opening a can of Sardines (which quickly became known as ¢mountain sushi¢), I created a hideous sounding but great tasting concoction ¢Ramon Noodles, Cheddar Cheese, Sardines and Mustard in a Tostado Wrap. Now that¢s something you probably won¢t find too often on many New York City restaurant menus!I was all saddled up and ready to go back out into the rain when I took one last, pleading glance skyward hoping that it might stop when, as if on cue, it did! After two and a half days, the rain stopped. Just like that. It stopped. And for the rest of the afternoon it pretty much stayed stopped, which made the three hour trip the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) most enjoyable.Actually, the three hour decent down to the NOC were quite incredible. The shelter where we ate was just below the summit of Wallace Bald which is at 4,600 'while the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) is at 1,500' elevation. The 3000' descent was like watching a time-lapse film of Spring unfolding over a three-hour period. At the start, Spring was only little more than a promise than a reality -- trees were still in buds and flowers were far from plentiful and in limited varieties. But, with every step down the mountain toward the valley floor, Spring became more advanced. Within an hour or so I had gone from infant Spring to juvenile Spring and it had progressed after into fully grown adult Springtime.And, OMG, the greens of North Carolina mountains, green upon green, upon green. For as far as you can see into the woods; green upon green upon green. Every imaginable hue, shade, tone and intensity of green lay one upon another, creating a shimmering, screaming wall of green. And every one of the greens upon green was fresh and new and polished by the rain. Greens everywhere! Overhead, to the sides and below, and where the trail was yet to go. Trees and bushes, shrubs, ferns, mosses and plants. All green. And then as the descent continued, touches of color along the side of the Trail began to appear more plentifully: Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Lady's Slippers, May Apples, Trillium, Violets, Daisies and even some Azaleas, Apple Blossoms, a Magnolia, and some Dogwood. And still everywhere surrounding them was green upon green except, that is, for the never-ending ribbon of brown that I am following north. The Appalachian Trail. This is Great!