Date: 2011-04-27
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jones Meadow
Miles today: 11.6

Left the shelter area about 8:00 and headed north. The shelter was full last night and there were about 10 tents pitched in the area. The trail is crowded with NOBOs here in NC.I didn't sleep well last night because the wind blew hard all night and lightning flashed in the distance most of the night. But, our luck held and it never actually rained.I remembered there was a piped spring behind an abandoned gas station in Allen Gap where I had enjoyed a nice break with Hurdy Gurdy Man in '07. Just before reaching the road there was a sign tacked to a tree "Trail Magic - Free Food for hikers 4/27/11 from 9 am to 3 pm, turn right on road and walk 300 yards, then up the paved driveway". Wow! All I really needed was to fill my water container because there is no water until the shelter; now here is trail magic!John and Jodie Nelson were '99 thru-hikers and have been living here for 7 years and feeding starving long distance hikers for 4 years. Thru today, they said they have fed over 400 hikers the past 10 days! Apparently this was their last day so it was my lucky day! Jodie sat me down at their kitchen table and fed me a large Belgian waffle that really hit the spot. I was one of 10 very full and satisfied hikers seated around the table. It soon became clear however that food was a pretext for getting hikers into their house so they could give you a "come to Jesus" speach and hand out Baptist religious books. They were fine folks, but determined to save someone, somehow. In '07 I avoided organized trail magic at times, especially in the south, because of stories about being prosyletized in return for food. Aside from having to listen to some religious rhetoric I didn't agree with, John and Jodie were very kind hearted generous folks who gave a great deal to people they had never met. As another hiker mentioned to me, the Trail has a way of restoring your faith in the basic goodness of people and their kindness to strangers.It had turned into a hot and humid day when I hit the trail again just before noon. When I arrived at Little Laurel Shelter about 3:00 there was a strong gusty wind blowing directly thru the only campsites near the shelter. Not great prospects for a good nights sleep. I knew I didn't want to try for the next shelter, about 6 miles away and over 2 miles of some rough, rocky scrambling along the crest of a sharp ridgeline. I really wanted to do this sectione in the morning rathern than rushing through it late in the day to get to the shelter befor dark. So, after an hour of indecision with a few other hikers, I hit the Trail and headed up Camp Creek Bald.Just after I left the shelter the skies clouded over and the wind began to blow big. I thought I may have made a mistake, but kept pushing up the steep hill towards the firetower. The thretened storm never did arrive and I found my objective, a nice spring with several tent sites about 1.5 miles beyond the Bald at Jones Meadow. At almost the same time I had my tent set, water filtered, dinner eaten and camp readied for the night, the thunderstorm that had been threatening most of the afternoon finally arrived. But, my timing was perfect and I called it a night.