Date: 2004-09-07
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Chestoa Bridge-Erwin, TN
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: moderate rain

I had a good nights sleep and when I woke up I was still in a cloud. Rain was falling outside the shelter. Puddles were everywhere. The wind was blowing. Earlier this week, while hiking, I heard off in the distance a sound like some kids in a rock band playing at a shelter. The sound would come and go. As I got closer the sound changed and became that of some injured animal. I was not sure what I was approaching. Once the sound was right beside the trail and I figured out what was happening. A tree had fallen over and was held up by another tree. When the wind would blow the trees would rub against each other and create this weird sound. This was the only part of the trail that I had heard these sounds. Maybe the wind was becoming strong enough to generate the wailings I was hearing. Eerie to say the least. Looking out from the shelter into the rain I was trying to decide what to do for the day. Should I take a day or two off and remain at the shelter. There was a privy and a good water supply. But this situation of the cloud bringing moisture into the shelter had a lot to do with my deciding to head out. If it had been a dry shelter, I probably would have chosen to stay there for a day or two and wait out the storm. But the decision was made. Time to cover everything up for the rain and head out. I fixed breakfast, wrapped sleeping bag and all else into garbage bags, covered all that with the pack cover, put on my raincoat, hat and hood and stepped out into the mud puddles, wind and rain. The hike was not too difficult and the rain was letting up a little. I was rested and feeling pretty good. About noon I hiked out to Spivey Gap at US19W. I decided I would try and get a ride to the nearest town or possible to Erwin if I could. There was not a sound of any vehicles on the road. I thought I would take a 15 minute break and have a little lunch while waiting. If after 15 minutes there was no ride available I would hike on. I figured it was about 11 more miles of hiking to Erwin and the storm was moving it. It would be very good to get off the trail as soon as possible. But there was no traffic. So I headed back into the woods. Soon I came to another road and up the hill was a camper trailer. I hiked up the hill away from the trail to see if maybe there was someone there with a pick up truck who would take me to a town. No sign of anyone. Just that empty camper trailer. So I headed back on the trail. During the afternoon I heard what sounded like a 22 cal. rifle in the woods near the trail. I froze thinking there might be some hunters in the immediate area. Then almost immediately there was the sound of a huge tree falling in the woods. I never did see the tree but the sound indicated it was a very large tree. The shot I had heard was the tree breaking just before the fall. A feeling of relief came over me that I was not in any immediate danger of being shot by a hunter, but that was quickly overcome by the thought of trees falling over and limbs falling down in the wind. Acorns were raining down all over the trail. Small limbs and leaves were covering the trail. At the tops of ridges the wind was strong enough to knock you over. Rain was stinging blowing in sideways. I was looking for that shelter.About 3:45 pm the shelter appeared. No Business Knob Shelter was there. It was dry inside. The rain and wind had slacked off. I decided to spend the night there. I took off my pack and fixed a Gatorade drink. After looking for some blue blazes for water and a privy and not finding any, I thought this might not be such a good shelter to spend a few days in. The journal was there and I decided to read it and see if it said anything about a water source. About August 5th there was a journal entry from an older guy who said he and a friend had hiked up from Erwin in 3 hours and 15 minutes. It said ¢Not too bad for two old geezers¢ It was now almost 4 pm. I thought if they made it uphill from Erwin in little over three hours, I could probably be down and safely in town by 7 PM. Still enough light for the trail. I decided to go for it. I found my headlight and put it in my raincoat pocket incase I had to use it to hike out in the dark. Backpack back on and ready to hike three more hours.The trail was mainly downhill but as always there were a few of those tough climbs to make it interesting. The first hour was over quickly and I was doing ok. The rain had just about stopped but the wind was still blowing. Hurricane Frances was moving in. More limbs and leaves on the trail. I came to one large tree that had blown down across the trail. Obviously, it had just happened. You could tell no one had tried to find a way around the tree. I headed out into the woods to work my way around it. You certainly don¢t want to have to do this too often. It really makes you appreciate those who volunteer to do trail maintenance. I did my share of moving small trees and limbs off the trail as I continued to head to Erwin.There was the sound of the train in Erwin. A train whistle off in the distance. I knew I could make it. Just before you head down out of the mountains to Erwin, there is an overlook that looks out at the Nolichucky River. With rain falling, wind blowing and a steep drop off I took a quick, careful look at the river. I could hear the train but I never did see it. A cloud was covering the river. Finally, the cloud cleared up and I could see the raging river briefly. The rest was a pretty quick downhill hike coming off the mountain. At 7:01 pm I stepped out on the pavement. To the left about 50 yards was Uncle Johnny¢s Hostel. What a sight. My figures showed I had hiked 16.9 miles today. I have entered 15.6 to make it come out to a total of 338.8 at the Chestoa Bridge. I showered and settled my stuff into the cabin. After ordering in a pizza I went out and checked out the flooding river. It was quite a tourist attraction. Turned out TV crews and lots of locals were out the next day taking pictures of the wild river. Uncle Johnny¢s is a great place to stay. One morning at breakfast at Elms Restaurant I got to meet Miss Janet and have a good conversation with her. Sorry I could not spend time there also, but maybe next time. I have decided to bring my AT hiking to an end for 2004. Some of those I hiked with back in March have now completed the whole trail and I can only admire them for that. My hat goes off to Tree Frog, Hotrock, Meanderthal, and Lonesome Dove. Others that I met and enjoyed getting to know are Keith, Half Way, Cat-Dog, One-Leg, Cruise Control, Snowman and Hitrailer. There were many others but these stand out. The people you meet on the trail and the trail angels are unbelievable and make it all worthwhile. There is something about being out on the trail. It is not at all what I thought it would be. This winter I will be working on the decision to get back on the trail or not next spring. It will also be time to work on my gear and get things fine tuned. This year was a great learning experience. 338.8 miles plus 8.8 on the approach trail totals about 350 miles. (I did hike on a little without a backpack from Erwin to see what shape the trail was in) 350 out of 2,174 may not seem like much. But every one of those miles was an experience to remember for a lifetime. Thanks for reading my journal entries and for writing in my guest book. See you on the trail!