Date: 2007-04-19
From: Davenport Gap, NC

To: Groundhog Creek Shelter, NC
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: light rain

Well, Gadget and Scribe decided not to hike out with us afterall. Can't say Iblame them. They had a rough time during the Noreaster in the Smoky's. Theyran out of food even! This was because (shhh...they had to fib to a ridgerunner about this) all of their stuff was soaked, and there was A LOT of snow,so they took a zero day in a sheter and dried all their stuff out. They raninto some day hikers @ Charlies Bunion, and they gave them a loaf of bread, sothat is what they ate the last day! Sometimes, you just can't predict what isgoing to happen out here, well, most of the time you can't! LOL Persistent and I got shuttled back to Davenport Gap, NC this morning. It waslike a totally different place! Zero snow, I was wearing short sleeves, andeventually shorts, everything was green and sunny and warm. So different thanthe wet, cold, windy winter wonderland we left 3 days ago. The way the weatherchanges in the mountains is unbelievable really.There was a stone there, that had "NC 1821" carved in it. It is locateddirectly on the stateline of NC and TN. I had Persistent take my picturestanding in 2 states @ the same time. LOL (I know, nerdy).We started hiking @ 9:00 a.m. It was the normal slow going after a few zeros. It felt good to be back out here, but I will say we both had no energy and ourbodies were really not liking what we were demanding of them.It helped when we got into an area just a mile or so past Davenport Gap NC andwe came upon a beautiful stream. The trail kept winding across it, so you getto hop across stones\rocks to get across. Then it winded around and came tothis stunning multi-tier cascading waterfall. I could have stopped right thereand just looked @ it all day. Just beautiful. This kind of view is what getsme thru some entire days. I did take a pic by the way.We finally pulled ourselves away and continued till a point where yu roadwalk abit. You walk across a bridge that crosses the Pigeon River, which was wide andrushing. A bit morbid I know, but a local told us two bodies were dumped offthat bridge last year and floated 5 miles down river before they were found. They caught the murderer thankfully, who was just out of prison.The reason that location was picked is because just around the corner, I-40 isthere, so it easy to get away. The AT takes you under the interstate. It wasweird to think I was hiking under a road that runs literally 4 miles from wheremy mom lives in Oklahoma.We finally got to the point where we had to climb Snowbird Mt. @ 4,263 ft. Manwere we both dragging. Persistent said she has never felt so bad out here, andit was my usual knees hurting after a zero. We basically had 5 miles ofclimbing. After we got going, it occured to me that today was the first day it reallyseemed like Spring may be on its way. The scent of the forest was so sweet andpure. I also smelled a strong scent of cedar which smells so good. The sun wasout, it was in the mid-50's, I was warm, and everythig around me was greenexcept the little white fowers lining the trail and the little white butterflythat was flickering all around. I smiled and acknowledged the beauty andsimplicity of the moment. Persistent had the quote of the day again, during a break she goes, "Man is itnice to be able to stand still without worryig about freezing to death." Truerwords have never been spoken. Crawling on the trail was a neat orange and black (I think) caterpillar orcentipede of some sort. I saw several today.We ate lunch @ 12:30 at a campsite 2 miles into our climb, called PainterBranch, NC. A stream forked and ran along both sides of the campground. It waspretty, and we were both so exhausted, we considered stopping there. The skywas getting darker, and we knew there was a chance of afternoon showers orstorms. Persistent made the point that we only had 4.9 more miles to go, and Iwas like, "Oh, that's all huh?" We both started laughing, because 4.9 milesseems like nothing now, but was the exact distance we went on day 1 of ourhikes, and that took us ALL day! LOLWe kept moving, but both were feeling worse and worse. Just a lethargicfeeling, like I could sleep for 30 hrs without waking. It did start sprinklingon and off all afternoon. I finally put on my raingear, but god do I look HIDEOUS! LOL I had the sleevespushed up on my jacket and I felt like something out of an early 80's MagnumP.I. show or something! LOL You remember, sweat suites and hairbands, but allin bright fluorescent colors. Yup, I like orange, A LOT! LOL It never started raining too hard, just little mountain sprinkles all afternoon. It did cool off a bit though, into the lower 50's from the lower 60's. Persisent was so low on energy, she told me to lead and I was totally outrunningher (even on the uphills, which is a first!) How bad did it get you ask? At onepoint when we thought we had reached the top of Snowbir Mt., she asked to look @my topos on the map (which she never does). I showed her where I thought wewere and then she did it. She resorted to threats! LOL She told me that if Iwasn't right about where we were, that I had better sleep with one eye opentonight! LOL Oh god was I lauging. I told her I didn't think I wanted to carrythe maps anymore! LOLWe did get to the top, and I noticed some weird looking white structure up therealong with powerlines. It was weird, all of the trees had beem cleared out, butthey were all still laying there dead and lined up in a perfect row on bothsides of the trail like people lining the red carpet @ the Oscars. Every 10feet was a wooden beam sticking out of the ground with a white blaze. It waslike someone was REALLY trying to keep you on that trail and not notice the nowhuge white structure over hill to the left. So I did what any smart personwould do, I stepped off the trail and went to investigate this thing. LOLI climb up the hill and see 2 vehicles and a round building with some sort ofcolumn sticking up into the air. It was surrounded by a fence. For a moment, Ithought I'd somehow gotten WAY of track and endd up at Area 51. LOL Then I sawa sign on the fence which stated, "This facility is used by the FAA and loss ofhuman lif may result if any pat is tampered with." I figured it was a recieverof signals so air traffic control towers can track planes. I still wonderedthough, were they talking about loss of "my" human life if I tampered, or of thepeople in the planes? LOL So, I took a pic and went back to the trail where Persistent was waiting. Weonly had 2.4 miles of down to go and my knees felt like it was bone on bone. Ouch!We were dropping down 1400 ft i elevationand man did that make a difference ithe temps. The sunalso came back out, which always makes things feel better.We finally rolled into the shelter at 4:17 p.m., which despite the fact we felthorrible and slow today, was pretty good time for us! This area is beautiful. It has tons of great places for hanging, GroundhogCreek runs by the shelter, and it is full of pine trees. It is a big area too,so we set up camp far away from the shelter.Just after getting set up, it started raining again. We made dinner up @ theshelter (and I hate to admit it, but I was STARVING!) There were a couple fromSeattle, a guy named Wolf, and a few other I'd never met. The couple broughtmarshmallows for everyone to roast, so I found a stick and ate a few (I reallydon't even like marshmallows, I was just that hungry!). We bearbagged our foodand you won't believe this, Persistent and I both turned in at 6:30 p.m.!! I am laying here now, warm (temp is 52) cozy, and listening to the pitter paterof little raindrops on my tarp. I am in heaven. I have a great hang tonight,and I know I don't have to worry about freezing to death. We have only 6.4 miles planned tomorrow, which will take us to the infamous MaxPatch, a huge bald with 360 degree views. We have both dreamed of spending thenite here, so that is the plan, weather permitting. I plan to watch the sunset, (if it is warm) lay in the grass, gaze at the sky,and live in the moment. Man I hope the weather cooperates. More than any placewe've been so far, I want to have a nice day for Max Patch.It is 7:00 p.m., and Ia falling asleep (told ya I was tired..LOL). We havedecided to not worry about getting out of camp at a certain time, and justlettig our bodies rest. All is well in the world for me right now.~Certain