Date: 2007-04-26
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Garenflo Gap Campsite
Miles today: 20.0

Alpine Strider woke me up at 5.15 and we quickly packed and hit the trail by 6.15. We hoped to climb over Max Patch before it got too humid, and to get to a shelter some 23 miles away. While I was packing my tent Alpine managed to retrieve my bear rope from the tree I had gotten it stuck in last night. She apparently climbed part way up the large snag and used a long stick to untangle it from the high crotch I'd hung it up in while hanging our food bags after dark last night. This was a pretty good feat since it was still dark when she climbed the tree.It was a continual 6-mile climb this morning, all the way to the top of Max Patch. While waiting for Alpine Strider at the Max Patch road I got great looks at a Canada Warbler and several male Black-throated Blue Warblers who were singing and foraging in a nearby Rhododendron thicket. A winter Wren and Brown Creeper were also singing nearby.We arrived at the top of Max Patch about 10.00 and had great views in all directions. This is the first true bald we have seen this trip and has an extensive open grassy summit. It is not the tallest peak aound, but is higher than most and has a gravel road extending almost to the top. There are bluebird boxes on many of the old fence posts that dot the open summit and lower slopes. I never saw a bluebird on the mt but did hear several Field Sparrows singing from the slopes around the summit. There were great views looking back at Mt Cammerer and the high peaks and ridges of the Smokies that we had spent most of the past week traversing. To the east, there were great views of the terrain we'd soon be walking. The dark low hanging clouds passing quickly overhead made for dramatic skies. It was hard not to notice the many homes and farms that dotted nearly every nearby ridgetop and peak. It appears that this landscape is mostly privately owned and is highly developed in spite of its relatively high altitude (about 4,400 feet).We made the 2 miles down to the Roaring Fork Shelter fairly quickly and arrived just before the rain set in. Very soon we were joined by Lucky, Wishbone, OrangeMoon and Ginger Snap and we all began cooking hot lunches. Then, a group of 8 college students showed up to get out of the rain and the shelter was packed. It rained off and on for the remainder of the day.During a break in the showers we all headed out and made good time on the 5 miles to the next shelter which sits on a high windy ridge just outside a clearcut timber sale area. The wind and light rain was blowing directly into the front of the shelter made it a cold and unattractive place. So, we headed on about 3.00 pm for thw next shelter which was nearly 10 miles away. Just before we left August arrived having hiked 20 miles up from Standing Bear today and filling the fifth and last spot on the baseball bat bunks (the sleeping platform was round poles laid side by side, rather than a flat wood floor).We soon faced a stiff 1,000 foot climb over Bluff Mt in a strong wind and light rain. After crossing the small wooded summit we immediately began a long and steep downhill, dropping 2,100 feet in 4 miles. By 7.00 we had reached Garenflo Gap and realized we would not get to the shelter before dark so we camped at the first available flat spot along the trail. It will only be about 6 miles into Hot Springs, NC tomorrow morning.Another great day on the AT, and you know what they say - "If you don't walk in the Rain, you won't make it to Maine"!