Date: 2012-04-23
From: Low Gap Campsite

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: light rain

Day 32:A wild night last night and a wild day today. Last night, we were able to get into our tent and stay warm and dry just as the really nasty weather arrived. Overnight, the wind howled above us with snow and sleet pelting our tent all night. As dawn breaks, the storm is still raging. We reluctantly crawl out of our sleeping bags and try to decide what to do. The first part of our hike today takes us up and over the grassy, open summit of 5500 ft Big Bald. Should we risk it in this weather, we ask ourselves, our should we just stay put? At least one other hiker who also stayed here at the campsite last night has decided to head back to Sams Gap and the comfort of a hostel. Ultimately, we decide to go for it. After a cold breakfast inside our tent, we get everything packed into our backpacks before finally emerging from the tent. It is a winter wonderland outside, with a couple of inches of snow/sleet/ice covering everything. We scrape the ice off of our rain fly and quickly pack up the tent. Our hike begins with a 2-3 mile ascent up Big Bald. At about 11:00, we break out of the woods onto the open, grassy dome of Big Bald. Today, the grass is covered with a few inches of snow and ice. Walking the mile or so over this open section is wild. The wind howls at 50-60 mph and sleet pelts the sides of our faces as we trudge forward. Several times, we are almost blown off of our feet. Needless to say, no views today for us from Big Bald. As we eventually descend back into the woods, the trees provide cover from the worst of the wind. We arrive at the Bald Mountain Shelter at about 11:30, where we take a quick break. Other cold hikers arrive after us and talk about possibly pushing all the way to Erwin today. SilverGirl and I are only planning to go as far as No Business Knob Shelter, which will give us a 15 mile day, but we decide to leave the option of going all the way to Erwin open. Descending into Whistling Gap, we stop for lunch on a log. Zip and his two Golden Retrievers arrive shortly after and join us for lunch. After lunch, we ascend again up and over Little Bald before beginning a long descent towards Spivey Gap. As we descend, the snow and sleet finally stop. We begin to see breaks in the clouds. Gradually, the accumulation of snow on the trail disappears as we descend. When we reach Spivey Gap, a man in his car there invites us over for some hot coffee. SilverGirl takes him up on his offer. After Spivey Gap, we begin another laborious ascent. I am feeling the effects of calorie deprivation as we climb. I just can't seem to get enough food in me, and as we get later into our days, the climbs are tougher than they should be for me. Finally, the climbing ends and we begin another long descent towards No Business Knob Shelter. By now, the weather has improved considerably. The temperature is back up into the 50s, and the sky has become partly cloudy. We arrive at the shelter at 4:00, where we stop for another break with some cookies and candy bars. We decide that we will push on for another 5.8 miles into Erwin, where we hope to get a room in the Holiday Inn Express. These last miles into Erwin are mostly downhill, but they are still tough for us. Our feet are very sore and tired after such a long day. We make it down to Uncle Johnny's Hostel at about 6:45. I phone the Holiday Inn Express, and thankfully they have a room available for us. The bad news is that we have to walk another mile or so to get there. Finally, we get checked into our room. I order pizza and salads from a local pizza shop to be delivered to our room. I devour a 14" sausage pizza and a large garden salad. SilverGirl does the same with a 12" pizza and large garden salad. It feels good to be in a hotel tonight. Temperatures are supposed to dip down below freezing overnight, and after the wild weather and long miles we endured today, we deserve this. Tomorrow will be a day of rest and relaxation here in Erwin.