Date: 2016-03-14
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

"You can decide to quit a million times a day. As long as you decide not to quit a million and one times, then you'll be just fine."Well it finally happened. I had my Lieutenant Dan moment. Existential to say the least, and just as much of a trial as I had expected it to be. But good news, I found my zen. Sewing, of all things, helped me come back to reality just long enough for the nerves to subside.I started the day off under the shade of my new awning. Slug was up about half an hour before me and already breaking down his gear. He took off about 15 minutes before I did, and I knew that'd be the last I'd see of him for the day. He's a quick one. But as I was about to leave camp, Magic came up the trail and we hiked out together.We tackled the 3300' ascent up from the NOC. Luckily, my campsite shaved off about 1100' of that, but it was still a test of endurance. The trail never gave relief. We went up one hill, to see another. Then at the top of that, another came into focus. This pattern repeated about 5 times until we reached the first shelter. We stopped there for lunch and refueled. My body was dragging, but once I ate, I found the energy I needed to power up the mountain. We summited Cheoh Bald, the last of the climbing, around 12:30. The view was spectacular, but the impending threat of a massive storm system coming in kept us from staying long. Magic went ahead of me as my body dogged down the steep decent. I looked out over the hills, and saw black clouds on the horizon. The whole way down the mountain I was fighting little showers that I thought were finally going to be the downpour. I changed in and out of my Saran Wrap rain gear 3 times. Once for hail, and twice for brief down pours.When the storm finally hit, I put on Darkside of the Moon and worked down the slippery boulders. I felt like it was appropriate music to wander into the unknown to. When I could finally see the road at Stecoah gap, it was about 650 feet straight below me. While trudging down the switchbacks, I could've sworn I smelled someone grilling. I decided it was wishful thinkingv , and kept going. When I reached the bottom of the gap, I saw Magic eating a hotdog and drinking a Coke. I couldn't believe it, right in the middle of a downpour, these two wonderful people set up a cookout for the hikers. With food in our stomachs, and sugar coursing through our veins, Magic and I started up the 2.4 mile ascent to the Brown Fork Gap. 0.6 of this section is known as "Jacob's Ladder." It's a 600' ascent into the hills. It was steep to say the least. The rain, which we didn't think could come down any harder, turned up to full blast just as we came to the hill. This, coupled with the first serious bout of rain in the trip, pushed me harder than ever. Over the sound of the rain rocketing into trees and earth, I shouted up to Magic, "You know, Jacob's Ladder is a stairway to heaven!"So in the vein of the day's classic rock soundtrack, a little bit of "Stairway" was cranked into my earbuds. I sang as loud as I could over the rain. Magic joined in at times and we worked over the climb together; Me, Magic and Robert Plant. After sliding down the trail, which now resembled a stream, we reached the shelter. Of course it was full, but an old Golden Retriever came up to greet me as we approached. He looked just as weary as I imagined myself to be. I sat right down in the mud and spent about 5 minutes with this pup as he placed his head in my lap. I went down to set up my shelter in the rain. I spent about 20 minutes making adjustments to this awning. It was a poor time to try to figure out how to set it up. The rain came down and my frustration mounted. By the time I had my hammock and awning up, Magic was almost done with dinner. I took off my rain gear and clothes, and stared up into the watery sky with complete dissatisfaction and spite. I took two spoonfuls of peanut butter out of the jar, and set out to find a suitable place for my bear bag. I was too pissed off to have a meal. I found a dead tree that had grown as an arch. It took my about 15 tries to get the cord over the limb because I was too tired to throw a piece of string with a stick on it. After cursing out loud, and nearly hitting myself with the stick as it wrapped around the limb and came back towards me, my bag was set. More anger and frustration set in as I walked away. I was completely soaked through at this point, and had given up on the idea of dry. Just as I stripped off my wet clothes and climbed into my hammock, the clouds broke open. The sun came beaming through the fog that loomed on the hills and leafless trees and blinded me as it exploded onto the landscape. I decided this to be a peace offering, and my anger washed away. I felt completely at peace. I yelled over to Magic for his needle and thread. I spent the next hour and a half in the sun, listening to music and sewing the 2 foot hole in my bug fly. Between that whole experience, and sitting down to write this entry, I have found my peace. I'm sure there will be plenty of other excruciating days like this one, and I welcome that. This is what I came out here for, and the Appaclachian Trail has not disappointed me. Tomorrow I head to Fontana Dam. I'm ready to air out all of my gear and catch a few resupplies. I will say I'm not looking forward to these soggy clothes in the morning, but the sun will be shining on my shoulders, and that's all I need to get me through the day.