Date: 2016-05-29
From: Cove Mountain Shelter

To: Stealth campsite on Floyd Mountain
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I awoke to a red sky glowing through the trees. The shelter opening faced east so I was looking forward to a sun rise through the trees, but then it gave way to overcast skies. I got up about 7 am and retrieved our food bags, made some hot chocolate and had a couple of honey buns for breakfast. Breakfast of Champions! The Quebec ladies got up and made their breakfast. I noticed that they had fairly good gear but not that lightweight.It started to rain lightly and the Quebec ladies packed up fairly efficiently and left. Drew got up from his tent and made his breakfast while I packed up. We discussed Middle Creek Campground down below at the road crossing and how we heard they have milkshakes and a grill.I headed down the mountain slowly, blisters still painful but a little bit better. At the road crossing a guy in a van asked if I had seen Suki and Spirit - "they are behind me but I don't know how far, I last saw them about 3 days ago". I asked if he could give me a ride to the campground and he said "no problem". He was a thru hiker from past years and was out doing trail magic and was going to support Spirit and Suki for a bit.We arrived at Middle Creek and not surprisingly it was packed with RV's and trailers. No offense to the RV crowd, but it didn't feel like "getting back to nature" when you are parked 8 feet from the next camper. There was a pool, a basketball court, kids ridding bikes, and lots of people walking around. I placed my pack outside with about 10 other packs and went into the office and ordered a chocolate milkshake and a cheeseburger. There were lots of other hikers sitting outside or ordering food as well. This place was a thru hiker magnet! As I waited for my food 5 more hikers came through the door, including Drew. I noticed that Down Under had signed the hiker log this morning "slept well and had a shower".After I ate I got a ride back to the trail from Susan, the owner. She was asking about what I did and I said I was going to be a flight instructor. He son was wanting to learn to fly, helicopters, and she was hoping he could land an appointment to the Coast Guard Academy. Quite a change from growing up in the mountains of Virginia!Back at the trail I started the 1100 foot climb up Fork Mountain, then an 800 foot descent to Bryant Ridge Shelter. It was s spectacular shelter, with multiple platforms, a loft sleeping area, and a plaque dedicating it to Nelson Garnett, Jr. Aged 24 when he died. There was also a plaque entitled "Tapestry", with a poem dedicated to Nelson, from his sister I presume. I don't know anything about Nelson, or how he passed, or if he was a hiker, but this shelter is a beautiful testament to him and surely appreciated by thousands of hikers every year. R.I.P. Nelson.After a little R&R at the shelter, I started the 2300 foot climb up Floyd Mountain.   It was still slowly raining, not enough to get you really wet, but just enough to make you damp. Along the way Uncle Spider came up from behind and passed me. He said Reptar was not too far behind him. We both had the same idea, there was a campsite 600 feet short of the summit and I had decided to try to camp there. I was concerned that I would get to the Cornelius Creek Shelter and it would be full and all the tent sites taken with the rain. We pitched our tents in the rain and Reptar soon joined him. I prepared a bear hang and dove into my tent to escape the rain. It was coming down harder now and getting colder. I fell asleep briefly, but then ate some snacks for dinner and hung my food. The rain kept intensifying and it looked to be a long night of rain. Down below, in the Bryant Ridge shelter, hikers will be congregating in that beautiful shelter. I can't think of a better memorial for poor Nelson, keeping hikers warm and dry on a rainy, gloomy night.