Date: 2013-03-13
From: Ron Haven's Budget Inn

To: wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: light snow

Mid day update from wayah bald tower. Fresh Ground will be doing trail magic at wayah gap until Saturday. More later. ****************WOODROW!!! I have your fuel canister! I will try to catch you tomorrow. I dunno how you could possibly get this message but I hope you do. **********We all woke up fairly early and walked to a gas station for coffee and donuts. A short while later we were with many other hikers on the bus to the trail head. On the bus I met Not Yet, a section hiker from Connecticut. There was also Road Runner from Germany and Rampli from Virginia. As soon as we got to the trail I had to stop and get out some Clif's bars and use the bathroom so I got left in the dust by most. I put on my headphones and listened to the album My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men. I chowed down on some cold left over pizza I had brought along and the next thing I knew I had hiked 6 miles. I ran into Not Yet at a meadow near Wayah Gap. He asked me if I had seen his multi tool and I told him I had not unfortunately. I also told him I thought I would have seen it because I'm always watching the trail. I asked if he was sure he had really lost it since I have " lost" things many times this trip only to have them turn up in my pack. Then I asked if it was the multi tool that was hanging on his strap for his pack.....I took a photo of his face as he realized he had just walked back 15 minutes for nothing ! Pretty funny stuff. We hiked and talked together until we reached Fresh Ground's tent. As I walked up I heard " Evan!! I was afraid you were ahead of me! Look I have salad! Do you have a trail name yet?!" Fresh Ground is just an awesome guy and I sat down and had half an orange, 2 hotdogs with chili , a salad, a couple of cups of coffee, a cup of chicken noodle soup, and an orange and salad to go. Along with the donuts, coffee, pizza, and Clif Bars I ate this morning this brought my calories for the day to somewhere around 5 million. Woodrow, Slapp, Dragon, Roadrunner, and Not Yet all hung around and ate for a while and I got people to sign my pack that had not. Then we moved on. Fresh Ground I am looking forward to seeing you again soon! Hiking is actually a really small part of why I am doing the AT. Meeting people from all over the world and all walks of life is a truly awesome experience. Before leaving FG we used his scale to weigh our packs. Woodrow was 40, Dragon 36, and I was 30. I felt pretty good since I had more food/ water than needed and was once again impressed by the weight some of the guys were carrying on truly difficult climbs. I was moving slow with a full belly but I sure felt good. We all made a somewhat grueling climb up to Wayah Bald and met up at the stone lookout tower there. The tower is very nice and the views from it are awesome. We could see the fire tower on Mt. Albert to the south, and Clingman's Dome ( highest point on the AT, in the smokies) to the north. Not Yet, Woodrow, and Road Runner went ahead down the trail and slapp , Dragon, and I followed shortly. We got to Wayah Bald Shelter around 4 and started camp chores. Soon we had a ton of water and firewood and just in time. Fly, Roswell, Heart Rock, Joe, Moxie, and Brad from Monroe, Louisiana showed up. Brad might go by Epsilon now ( he is a math major). It began to get very cold and everyone except joe, moxie, fly, and I got in the shelter to sleep. The rest of us set up our tents on a great flat cleared area very close together to shelter us from the wind. This shelter is awesome and has a great water source a short hike away and a nice privy. Unfortunately it was full of trash. At Ingles in Franklin, Moxie, Slapp, and I picked up a couple 10 oz country hams. We cooked them on the grate over the fire and ate them but they were so salty I really can't recommend them. ( Daniel Boone brand). Oh well, the sound of grilled meat over a fire sounded good anyway. While cooking dinner there were a few snow flurries. Temp in the shelter read 24.2. In my tent I discovered I had 3 8 ounce fuel canisters for backpacking stoves. I immediately realized one must be Woodrow's. I felt awful thinking he may not have had a warm meal on this brutally cold night. I hope to return it to him ASAP. I also felt even better about my pack weight since I had been carrying somewhere between 16-24 oz of fuel when I typically carry less than 8. There was lots of dead wood and dry tinder in this area so I'm confident Woodrow could have made a fire, though stoves are much more convenient to cook on. On the way to the trail, Ron Haven told us Wayah means wolf in cherokee. He said there are still wolves in the area. I'm pretty sure I'm listening to coyotes right now but it makes you wonder.... This is the first night I have heard them and I love it. Coyotes and owls are the best sounds to sleep to. Of course the wind is so loud tonight I can barely hear anything else. PS. To the request to mention thru hikers with dogs- before Dick's Creek Gap I met a deaf thru hiker carrying a chihuahua. I was more than impressed by his stamina to carry a dog like that. He was suffering for it and had some hip pain. He asked me how far to the gap and I pulled out my guide book to show him. I hope he is doing well as I have not seen or heard of him since.