Date: 2013-09-27
From: Walnut Mountain Road

To: Mountain Harbor
Miles today: 25.2
Weather: broken clouds

Judy cooked a delicious breakfast of thick-sliced bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast with homemade strawberry jelly - the perfect meal for powering a hiker up the trail! She and Gordon took me to Mountain Harbor, a hostel I would walk by today, to drop my pack off, which meant slack packing! I had talked to Mary, the owner of Mountain Harbor, the night before about leaving my pack, and when I checked in with her this morning, I told her I would have loved to stay at her hostel, but that I needed to do more than 11 miles today. She had the solution! At 1, a group of hikers had arrangements to be dropped off 14 miles south of the hostel and would walk back - I could catch a ride with them and do the same. That sounded like a great plan to me, and I did some quick math and figured I would be back well before they left at 1.Judy and Gordon then dropped me off back where they had picked me up the day before waaay up in the woods. We said our goodbyes, and I felt like there weren't enough ways to thank them for all of their kindness! With a hearty breakfast and coffee in my belly, and a deadline to meet for my next slack pack, I nearly took off jogging down the trail! I eventually settled into a comfortable pace. I figured if I was averaging 3 mph, I would make it back in time. After about 90 minutes, I realized I had done my math wrong - whoops, I guess rusty math skills are just one of the hazards of living in the woods! So I took off speed hiking again, and was very pleased with myself when I finished 11 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes, meaning a 4 mph average, easily the fastest I've ever hiked.Mountain Harbor had a selection of foods for resupply, so I made a lunch from the shelf of goods - Oreos, Gatorade and Vienna sausages, perhaps not the most nutritious of food choices. While I was eating lunch, I met a couple of section hikers who would also be staying in the hostel for the night. They asked me about my plans for the afternoon, and I explained about my second slack of the day. They were shocked that I was doing such a thing! "You won't make it that far!" "There are some long, steep climbs!" "There are lots of rocks!" I really appreciated their concern, and tried to assure them that I wasn't worried even in the least bit, but I don't think I managed to convince them!I caught the ride up to Carvers Gap with Terry, Mary's husband, and five section hikers who would be doing the chunk in two days. It had been overcast in the morning, but as I started down the trail, I was greeted by the most beautiful blue skies and views of mountain ranges for as far as I could see. I felt a tinge of panic when I saw a sign telling me I was hiking north - I've just recently stopped gasping when I see signs saying I'm heading south! - but then I remembered I was temporarily heading in the opposite direction. For months now, I had been hearing about "the balds" in TN and NC, and today I finally found out why everyone had been talking about them. At 5000 feet of elevation, there were mountains that were covered only in grass, allowing me to see where the trail was heading for miles! It is really difficult to describe how impressive the landscape was or how I felt walking through it. The best I can explain it is to say that the tops of the mountains and the open, blue sky combined to make the whole expanse feel wide open and vast and I felt very small walking across it all. Pictures don't do it justice! I had thought the Grayson Highlands were cool, but I believe that today the balds surpassed them on my list of amazing AT landscapes!After the balds, I had a 5 mile descent back to the hostel. I'll give it to the guys who were razzing me earlier, it was a rocky, rooty 5 miles, but I made it back to the hostel by 6:45 - 14.3 miles in 5 hours, almost 3 mph. When I arrived at the hostel, the guys inside all exclaimed, "You made it!" "You're back already!" "How did you do that?!" I was caught between a hearty laugh and exasperation when I replied, "I told you I would be fine!" I went inside and, famished, I cooked up another meal from the shelf - a dinner-sized portion of Ramen with spicy flavoring, to which I added another can of Vienna sausages. Signs on the fridge advertised Ben and Jerry's ice cream was also for sale, but that I had to go up to the house to get it. I returned to the hostel with a pint, and all of the guys joked around, saying they had their spoons ready. Perhaps it was selfish of me, but after 25 miles, I had zero intention of sharing, and held true to those intentions My stay at the hostel included a bed with clean sheets, clean towels, a well-stocked shower, and a big collection of VHS tapes - all the makings of a very comfy evening after a big day!