Date: 2007-05-02
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter 

To: Sam's Gap Spring Campsite
Miles today: 18.4

This was another hot day and water, or more accurately the lack of it, proved to be the factor that determined where I went and where I stayed. It was also a day of graves along the trail and a day to reflect a bit on our nation's history and the changes in our society over the past 150 years.I got a decently early start to the day but had a persistent headache and no energy, a state that lasted most of the morning. I assumed that both may have been symptoms of not drinking enough water yesterday so I carried all my containers full today, a total of 2.5 liters and lots of weight.Going up Big Butt I passed the first of 3 graves I'd see today. It marked where Howard Bassett's ashes were spread. Many years ago I'd read Howard's account of his 1968 AT thru-hike published in the 2-volume classic 'Hiking the AT'; now here I was on a beautiful sunny spring morning on a NC mountaintop standing at his gravesite on my own AT journey.The next 1.5 miles from Big Butt to the Shelton graves was very pleasant and felt like I had walked back in time to the days of the Civil War. Much of the trail was along an old road that clearly dated from that time period. I passed by and thru a number of long abandoned hill farms perched on the crest of a ridgeline that forms the border of NC and TN. It was interesting to wonder what life was like along this road and ridge in the 1860's, which trees were there then as now, which rocks and walls and fences remained from those days long past.I sat at the Shelton grave site for about 45 minutes enjoying the green trees and peaceful surroundings. I got some good looks at Black-throated Blue Warblers in the canopy nearby. As I understand it, a nephew and uncle who lived nearby joined the Union army and had come home to visit their wives in July of 1863. They were discovered, ambushed and killed near this spot by a Confederate patrol, along with the 13 year old boy they had hired as a lookout. The graves of the 3 were well cared for and appeared to be visited regularly by descendants. Stan would have enjoyed this section, that is he would have enjoyed the history of it but not the walking since the stretch Hummer Limo would not have made it up the hill to the trailhead!I got to Flint Mt Shelter and had an early lunch, took some asperin and refilled all of my water containers from a nice spring just up the trail. When I hit the trail again at noon I felt much better, which lasted the rest of the day.Just after crossing Rector Laurel Rd the trail passed right next to 2 more graves. I presumed them to be husband and wife from a farm nearby. He was born in 1877 and died in 1968. These folks were born not long after the Civil War and the time of the Sheltons, had lived to see the dawning of the age of electricity, the telephone, the automobile, modern medicine, television, the atom bomb, and the Apollo space program which put man on the moon a year after his death. What remarkable changes these folks lived through, changes in medicine, in transportation, in technology, in economica and in communication. The impact of these changes on people's lives is likely to have been especially pronounced here in the isolated mts and valleys of TN, compared to city folk.I did not walk the extra 0.3 miles down the steep hill to the spring at Hogback Ridge Shelter due to the late hour and the addition miles I wanted to do before dark, and this proved to be a mistake. I arrived at I26 at 6.45 completely out of water and nowhere to get it anywhere nearby, so I just kept going up the trail. About a mile up the hill I found a small seep that was turning the trail to mud and managed to gathet about 2 liters of murky water from it in about 1/2 hour's work. the brownish water looked very unappealing but I just couldn't bear passing it by with maybe many more miles before the next spring. So, I strapped my bag of tea-colored water to my pack and kept going looking for a place level enough to pitch my tent. About another mile later the trail passed a small gap where there was another tent pitched, a small fire was burning, and best of all, a small clear spring was just a few feet away! The tent's owner came back a few minutes later (Further) along with his very friendly 11 year old black Lab and agreed to let me pitch my tent next to his. The first thing I did, after giving the Lab a belly rub, was to pour out the tea water I'd spent so much time collecting and refilled my tank with clean water from the spring.What a great ending to a long, hot and fascinating day of hiking and history. The trail never ceases to amaze me!