Date: 2008-10-13
From: Bald Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was not easy. I guess it was just one of those days. I got a great night sleep in my hammock last night but evidently it wasn't enough to recover. This is one of the first times that I have felt sluggish all day. Feeling sluggish is actually only half of my issues today.There were three separate instances where I went the wrong way on the trail. Previously there have been several times where I went the wrong way but it was north instead of south and eventually I would bump in to my own crew and laugh about it. Today was different. At the top of Big Flat @ 4,150ft (and 14 long miles in to my hike) the trail appeared to go straight. The path was beaten and it began to steadily descend as I expected it to. I followed straight for about 100yds before I suspected that I was not on the AT trail anymore, there were no white blazes on the trees. Since I had been descending straight down I wanted to look at my map to be sure that there wasn't a way that this trail would reconnect with the AT. I wanted to avoid climbing back up the mountain at all costs. Sure enough my map showed a forest road running parallel with the AT in this section for about 1.25 miles, then the two trails merged and remained the AT from that intersection. I was delighted with the situation. I began to cruise down the rocky, overgrown logging road. Down, down, down I went. I descended 600 ft over 1.25 miles and... no AT. After about one mile there was a stream on my left. Once it hit me that this road could potentially not be the right one I checked the map for a stream on the left of the trail that I thought I was on... no stream. So this road wasn't on my map... I don't know where I was. All that I did know is that I just descended down a mountain on a path that was NOT going to connect with the AT. I became infuriated. The day was already beating me down and here I was having to climb an extra mountain because I was to lazy in the first place to just get back on the AT (at the top of the mountain). After having a short mental breakdown and unsatisfactory temper tantrum I sucked it up and began to ascend the mountain. Up, up, up I went 600 extremely difficult vertical ft. The whole disaster took about 1 hr 30 min. out of my day. When I reached Big Flat summit again I immediately saw the white blaze that signified to take a right where I went straight. Once I was back on the AT I continued to curse the trail maintainers and even the state of North Carolina for not making the white blazes more obvious. Of coarse the most frustrating part of the whole ordeal was that it was completely my fault and I knew it.That was the first fiasco. The next was about 2 miles after Big Flat. I somehow followed what I though was a path but turned out to be a channel from rain run off. My mind was just out of it. I kept telling myself that I was attracting more and more disaster by remaining in a horrible mood. I just couldn't flip the switch to be positive. My body was killing me and I kept making mistakes that forced me to walk more miles.The third mistake I made today was at Devil's Gap. The AT intersected with a dirt road where there were 2 white blazes on a tree. Usually 2 blazes signifies a turn. I turned left toward town (which I could see through the trees). As soon as I hit pavement at the end of the dirt road a pack of aggressive, large backyard dogs came barreling toward me. They were all barking and growling as they ran. I stood 10 ft beyond the backyard of a property covered in old cars, tractors and barns. There were three men with their shirts off taking parts off an old engine that was on the ground. Before the dogs got to me one of them hollered something (I couldn't understand what he said) that stopped the dogs from completing their mission to harm me. They stayed on the other side of the paved road barking and snarling at me. There were four dogs all over at least 80lbs. letting me know that I was not welcome. I turned back in to the woods and retraced my steps to the double blaze. Apparently double blazes mean straight ahead some times. I found the correct path and continued south for 3.5 miles until I arrived here at Flint Mt. Shelter Today is Monday and usually the trail is quiet during weekdays. Here at this shelter there are 12 people. There is a large group of older men who seem to all have a tent to themselves. As I approached the shelter the ground was scattered with different color tents. There is a tent in every little nook and cranny surrounding the shelter. Inside the shelter is an older couple and a guy in his 30's. It took everything I had to approach these people with a smile. I said hello's and asked how everyone was and then proceeded to pioneer deep in to the woods where I could hang my hammock and be isolated. I ate a ham, salami, Swiss sandwich with 1/2 of an avocado spread on it. As soon as I was done I hung my bear bag and climbed in my hammock. I was just getting to bed when Grettle and Mango arrived at 7ish. I am upset that I allowed myself to be upset today. My strategy is to sleep it off and have a great day tomorrow. ~Santana~ "by myself but not alone"