Date: 2007-03-30
From: Siler Bald Shelter, NC

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 2.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, as you can see, we ended up back in Franklin (curse this town! LOL)   Lastnite I did get warm, and finally hot, but it was really wet and damp. I slept10 hrs, and guess I needed every minute of it.My pocketmail batteries died on me, and it gives very little warning by the way. The screen fades and then a message pops up, "Your batteries are low, pleasereplace." You pretty much can't use it after that. Who comes to the batteryrescue again, none other than Nicole. Now I know what was originally anattempt to save on some weight just wasn't worth it. I've had my headlamp andpocketmail go out on me in the woods, so just carry backups people. Besides,after a few weeks, you'll probably be carrying all of those little things youtalked yourself out of in the first place! LOLThis morning I woke up at 7:20 a.m. and no one was stirring over in the shelter,so I decided to just lay there and listen to about 4 different birds as well as2 woodpeckers on opposite sides of me. Big drops of dew were still hitting mytarp, and it was really nice to just listen to everything that normally happensevery single day, but we're all too busy to pay attention to. I also learnedthat this low frequency thumping that gets faster and faster is the mating callof a Grouse. Seriously, the first time I heard this, I thought it was in my ownhead! LOL I was starting to question my mental stability! hee heeIt got down into the low 50's again, but man does lots of moisture change how"warm" that feels. At one point, I woke up to go water the leaves, and when Ishined my headlamp down to find my crocs, I could just see the drops ofmoisture flowing in a blanket under me and my hammock. My underquilt waspretty damp this morning, and my tarp was soaked, but it did its job and keptme totally dry all night.We got up and moving around 7:40 a.m., and man was it slow going. Rain slowseverything down. Because all of your gear is soaked, you try to wipe as muchof it off as possible before packing, and when you would normally place thingson the ground, there is a lot of mud now, so you just have to be a bit morecareful.I noticed immediately that Nicole was moving slowly. She normally has all herstuff packed up and is ready to go while I'm just starting to put everything inmy pack. The girl is amazing, and I've always been on the slow side when itcomes to moving in the morning. LOLWe finally got out of camp around 10:00 a.m. and started up Siler Bald. A baldis a mountain that on top, is just a grassy meadow. On the way up, Nicole toldme she wasn't feeling it today, the hike that is. I told her I was cool withplaying it by ear, there was a road crossing we could probably get a shuttlefrom, and the big hiker bash was this weekend anyway. We both agreed we'd seehow we felt after a few miles.We got up to the top of Siler Bald and it just opened up. It was another verywet and foggy day, but up here, we were above most of the moisture. It wasreally beautiful. I decided to walk up to the very top of it, which wasprobably .3 miles. By the time I got up there, Nicole looked teeny tiny, but Icould see as far as the clouds would let me. The earth was blanketed by whitemoisture, but a few higher mountains were jolting through the top of thewhiteness. I could see lower clouds actually moving over Nicole, but under me.So many of these incredible views are so difficult to photo. It just ends uplooking like a grey blob in a field of white, so I figured I wouldn't fill upmy memory card with "yet another boring landscape picture" unless I couldreally catch the essence of the experience. In other words, everyone readingthis must hike the AT to see all of this! LOLI was tempted to roll all the way down the bald, but figured I'd probably besoaked and have a mild concussion, so after I got down, the first words out ofmy mouth were, "Um, we're not going 12 miles today." Nicole started laughingand goes, "Yeah, I kind of figured that."So we decided we'd head back to Franklin and called them from Siler Bald to seeif we could get picked up at the bottom of Siler Bald in Wayah Gap. As luckwould have it, a shuttle driver was headed up our way to drop off 2slackpackers. We also went ahead and got 1 more nite at the Haven Budget Inn.So, we headed down the mountain, and seriously, we got to a certain elevationwhere we dipped back into thick fog and I swear the temps were 10 degreescolder. It surprised me. We ended up at Wayah Gap and there was Mala with hisdog and truck to give us a ride into town! He said he'd only been there forlike 5 minutes, so it was perfect timing.The ride into Franklin was really awesome, because Mala, who actually lives inhis truck and has hiked about 11,000 miles just on the AT, was full ofinteresting facts and stories. For instance, the road we were driving on, waswhere Eric Rudolph (the abortion clinic bomber I think) used to live. We alsopassed a Wicken Center. The drive was actually pretty beautiful and itfollowed a big stream most of the way, where a huge water wheel was stillstanding, but there was no mill or anything left.After we got to our room, again, pack explosion to dry the gear, showers and nowfood! We walked about half a mile to a bar-b-que place and devoured ourlunches, which were topped off with a piece of double chocolate cake...yummy. I told Nicole I would act as her "southern menu items" interpretor. The girlhad NEVER had fried okra!!!! I know I know...all of you in southern states cannow pick yourselves up off the floor. Fried okra is ONLY one of the best sidedishes to any good home cooked meal! I was so excited to see it on the menu,so I ordered it and let her try it. She said she like it, and I of courseLOVED it! LOL And to top it all off, this little place was playing an Abba CDover their speakers! Truly, the perfect lunch. LOLWe knew Kay and Gadget were still in town, so we called them and they were atthe internet cafe (where you can burn your pics onto disc by the way for $5.00)so we stopped by to see them. The town is filling up due to the April Fool'sHiker Bash this weekend. It's like a hiker reunion (a mini trail days). Weknow Sailor headed back out on the trail this morning, hopefully we'll catch upto him in the future. SLOW DOWN SAILOR!! haa haaAfter naptime, Nicole and I decided to walk down to the kick off of the AprilFools Hiker Bash, @ Ron Haven's other motel, The Sapphire Inn. Lots of peoplewere there, tons of food, a band. We sat down and spent most of the eveningwith Kay, Gadget, Not Guilty, Scholar (who is thru'ing again, and did in 2005),Young & Dumb, and my favorite section hiker, Tiger, the Pomeranian who is solaid back, I swore the dog was on a sedative!Tiger had little boots on his feet, and he laid back on my lap and went tosleep. He was even snoring! I'm so in love with this little guy, and his ownerhad just picked him up 10 days ago. Tiger was a shelter dog (not an ATshelter). It was fun talking to everyone, but we are told the trail legends such asBaltimore Jack, Lone Wolf, and Miss Janet will arrive tomorrow nite, which iswhen the party really gets started.Nicole and I have not decided if we will stay for that or not. I know I can'tafford another nite in a motel (gotta stick with my budget), but Kay and Gadgetoffered us a space on their floor.We'll see, the weather determines a lot, because all the veterans told us onSpringer, never ever leave a dry warm town if it is raining out. Now I know whythey say that after yesterday's bone chilling hike.It is so weird not having peripheral things influencing your choices out here. It is as basic as this:Do I feel like hiking today?Does my body need more rest?Is it going to rain?Can I get another ride back to that awesome Chinese AYCE buffet? (oh...maybethat question shouldn't be one of the deciding questions huh?)We do believe (or maybe it is some hardcore rationalization) that more rest now= a better chance of not injuring ourselves while we are getting into trailshape. It seems when I hit a town and actually stop for more than 10 minutes,that all of these body parts start hurting that didn't while I was out there.Word of advice all, just because you don't hurt does not mean you aren'tstraining anything. Pain is just telling you it's too late. Oh, I met a fellow hanger, Hungus, tonite as well. He uses a Clark Hammock, andour ground dwelling friends told us we should go have our own conversation! LOL He is equally as excited about hanging. I told them I was used to beingdiscriminated against, so they weren't hurting my feeling any by trying toexclude me from the group! LOL I would like to let any of you, who are now considering trying hanging know,that if I am passing thru your area on this hike, I will be more than happy tostop and show you how I hang my hammock and even let you lay in mine (as long asyou are under 200 lbs, the weight limit on my particular hammock). I amextremely pro-education (I would hope since my background is in teaching), and Ilike to help whenever I can. In return for my time, I would gladly accept apint of ice cream or a nice juicy hamburger! LOLAnd to the Cherokee Elder Shaman who signed my guestbook, I am honored that youwould say a prayer and offer smoke for my safety in this journey. I appreciateall positive and good thoughts from all of you. Everyone's comments serve as aconstant reminder as to how lucky we are to be out here. Thank you to you all,my human family.~Certain