Date: 2003-06-15
From: Erwin, TN

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Just saw the weather report . . . rain today through Thursday. Ugh. Maybe my leg needs a week¢s rest . . .Hal took Anne and Jo to the Trail about eight, then came back to get me and leave the rental car there at the hotel.As usual, I was frantically trying to get things together and make last minute phone calls. Hal had to wait for me . . . that am the worst feeling, and it seems to be my lot in lifeAlso as usual, I felt some reluctance to leave civilization; I probably could have used one more day. I know I needed at least the two. Last night though I began to feel the northward pull again and felt anxious to get back on the trail. The idea of going ¢home¢ with Matt and Steve was a nice one, but I was afraid I wouldn¢t come back out! It would have been too easy to quit.As it was, as soon as I put my boots on and started walking around the swelling went down in my ankle and it felt fine.Hal and I got a hitch (my first ever!) within minutes from a ¢93 thru-hiker and his girl who were headed right for the TrailMan my pack was heavy! That¢s the problem with towns ¢ coming out is always uphill (why can¢t they put towns on top of mountains?) and your pack is always loaded. Even after two days of rest my calves burned for the first hour, and Hal the machine was soon far ahead. He stopped and waited for me at the first shelter and after that we stayed together most of the day. I am so spoiled for having hiking partners ¢ it will really be a drag after they leave in Damascus.We planned a lunch stop at ¢Beauty Spot¢. When we arrived there, a huge bald over which the AT is not clearly marked, a few tents were pitched around an enormous antenna smack in the middle of the Trail. We stopped to talk to the men hanging around the camp; apparently they were there on a radio contest. I felt a little ditsy asking, but I queried, ¢So, did you carry this antenna up or was it already here?¢ Hal told me later he thought that was the dumbest question he¢d ever heard, but sure enough ¢ they¢d carried it up from the parking lot 300 yards down the hill. Unfortunately they also had a (loud) generator going so we walked on past over the crest of the hill to find a semi-quiet lunch spot.The sun was shining but threatening gray clouds mingled with the big puffy white ones. Still, Hal spread out his tent fly and he managed a good hour and a half of lunch and laziness until we decided it was time to drag ourselves on down the Trail.Good thing, too, because as we began the climb up Unaka Mountain, I heard the rain coming.It poured.I loved Unaka near the top the forest is comprised of short squat deciduous trees. At the top and down the North side has a pine forest of tall narrow trees. The rain brought fog with it, and the meandering Trail was almost difficult to follow.I think this was my favorite day of hiking yet. The company, the mood, the lazy, sunny lunch, and the warm reception at the shelter when Anne and Jo saw we¢d made it. What a great day!And what a crappy shelter! Small and old, the floor in front of the sleeping platform was a total mud hole. What¢s worse, there were already three others there in the shelter. Anne and Jo tented, since they knew Hal, Toby, Ben and I were still to come. It was quite a cozy night when the boys arrived (Toby and Ben) and got settled in.