Date: 2013-03-19
From: Carter Gap 

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

The rain stopped sometime during the night and I woke up eager to hike since I knew I was getting close to Franklin NC where I would take a zero day. I was warm in my tent but the cold bit into me as soon as I unzipped the rain fly. The wind was still blowing briskly. I decided to hang my tent over a tree branch to dry but a few minutes later when I started to try to brush the mud off I discovered that it was frozen. As we were packing up our tents Karma said to me "who in their right mind does this, and for fun nonetheless!" Big Yankee hollered over from shelter "we do, that's who" and it seemed to lighten the mood as we all had a good chuckle while we shivered. The forecast was for warming temperatures (thank goodness) so I packed my tent on the outside of my pack so I could let it dry later in the day. Once I got on the trail I was feeling good but was having difficulty keeping my hands warm. Unfortunately I was on the western side of the mountain and even though it was daylight, there was no sun on this side yet. I pledged to myself that I would not stop for a break until I reached sunlight. After about a mile of climbing I found a patch of sunlight coming thru the trees and stood for a long time basking in its warmth. Before long Wild Blue passed me. He is a young, lanky, cross country runner who is admittedly competitive - all the things I'm not Of course, Big Yankee soon passed me as well. I found a nice sunny spot at Mooney Gap to eat lunch and totally unpacked my pack to spread everything out so it could dry. Wild Rain and Trail Walker came by and chatted for a few minutes. Today's climbing challenge would be Mt Albert (5,250 ft) which many of us have dubbed BIG Albert. It is not the highest mountain I have climbed but it was definitely the steepest. At times there was no point in using poles as I had to climb with my hands. The climb was worth it as the view was amazing and the sun was shining brightly. When I summited I laid down on the rocks, took my shoes and socks off, and basked in the sun. I feel so relaxed today and am way more confident in my abilities. I feel no need to hurry an I'm taking a little for time to enjoy the day and my surroundings. Although there are parts of the trail now where I have to just focus on the trail and not look down because its way to steep for me. Did I mention I'm not found of heights?!? It was nice to finally have cell reception from the top of Mt Albert and I was able to text Anita for the first time in 3 days. I can't wait to talk to her but I only have 17% battery left and want to save it for an emergency. Karma summited just as I was about to get back on the trail so we took turns taking each others pictures. This also marked the 100 mile point so we were very proud of ourselves. I arrived at Long Branch Shelter, my destination for the day, but I didn't feel like stopping so I decided to push on to the next shelter. As I approached the shelter it didn't appear that there was anyone else there. Then I saw Turtle brushing her teeth. We were the only ones there and sat and talked while I ate dinner. This was the first shelter I've been to where there was almost no room to set up a tent. That was fine with me because I can pack up quicker in the morning when I stay in a shelter. After awhile we saw someone coming down the trail and it was PB (Peanut Butter) from PEI Canada. She and her husband are hiking but don't necessarily stay together. He was already in Franklin. A little later Karma strolled in and set up her tent in the only tent spot. It looked like it was going to be me and the 3 women. As we were about to crawl into our bags Preacher came hobbling down the trail. He hurt his leg and was struggling. The word on the trail is that 2 people had to be taken off the trail with hypothermia last night. It wasn't anyone in the group I was with so I have no idea if its true.