Date: 2003-04-21
From: Standing Bear Farm

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: light rain

Yesterday, Easter Sunday, was a big effort for us with about 13.5 miles which included 4,650 feet of climbing. The weather was good for walking, partially cloudy, and it was an unremarkable day of just putting the miles in, with few vantage points available for looking at anything. Shelters are awkwardly placed in this section, and we knew that we would be camping last night, most likely at Brown Gap, but hopefully on the summit of Max Patch. In the event, we reached Brown Gap about 5.00pm, decided to cook supper there where there was a water supply, re-pack and make the last three and a half miles and 1,100 feet up to Max Patch before dark. But we hadn't long re-started when Verity started to feel unwell and just completely ran out of energy. I took the walking lead (a rare occurrence nowadays) and cajoled her to our destination which we eventually reached in darkness about 9.00pm. There was nobody else on the summit and she was keen to find the nearby campsite where there would be other people. I'm no night hiker and insisted that we had the best possible location at the top which was flat and very grassy with no trees, roots or rocks to contend with. Verity moaned about our being very exposed if there was a thunderstorm, I gave an unsympathetic "Don't be silly" response, we pitched the tent, and had an excellent night's sleep. Just after first light, I woke to the sound of raindrops hitting the tent. Within minutes it was raining heavily and we had the start of a big thunderstorm which banged and flashed over our heads for most of the next hour. It wasn't actually cold, the tent was equal to the rain and wind being hurled at us, so it was actually quite entertaining as we lay with a perfectly good excuse for not coming out of our warm sleeping bags. When the storm passed and we emerged from the tent, the view was quite spectacular. Heavy, dark skies overhead, much lighter sky in the distance over layers of mountains of different shades of black and grey, and clouds and rivers of mist in the valleys below. Stunning. Max Patch, at 4,629 feet, was forested at one time but cleared by early inhabitants to raise sheep and cattle. About 20 years ago, the U.S. Forestry Service purchased the 400 grassy acres at the summit for the AT, and uses mowing and controlled burns to keep it that way. The wind was very strong on the summit, breaking camp was a challenge to say the least, but we were eventually on our way. It was soon apparent that Verity wasn't well and she has had bouts of nausea throughout the day. The privies at a couple of shelters have been extremely useful. We set ourselves modest targets for the day to see how she would get on, the first being Roaring Fork Shelter about four and a half miles away. We made it there about lunchtime and met a young woman called Mary (aka "Tucson"). Originally from Kentucky, she graduated from University of Arizona, and stayed there where she is a high school teacher, hence her trail name. She is on a six-month leave of absence, but carries with her whatever device she needs to correspond with the school, both about her AT experiences and the school's course work.Roaring Fork Shelter is interesting. A plaque there told us it was donated (i.e. funded I presume) by the Marching Mountain Mommas. I've known about the Mommas for a few years. They are 6-12 ladies, now in their fifties and sixties, who meet up every year for a two-week section hike on the AT. They have done this without fail for over 20 years, and have done 2,000 miles this way, almost the full length of the trail. I cooked some lunch but Verity didn't feel like eating, and just lay in the shelter resting. We decided to go for the next shelter on Walnut Mountain, only 1.8 miles away but all uphill. I set a very leisurely pace, with lots of stops, and Verity managed it. We got there before 4.00pm, she decided that was her final effort for the day, climbed into her sleeping bag and fell into a very sound sleep for the next two hours. So here I have been, sitting on a log outside the shelter, in full sunshine, writing up my journal while she sleeps. We have this small shelter to ourselves and no-one has passed since we arrived. Later:About 6.30pm I woke her to see if she could eat anything hot for supper. She didn't feel she could - it made her feel too nauseous - so we had a cold supper and she ate a little. I was putting our stuff away when a southbound hiker came chugging slowly up the trail towards us. As the figure came closer, it looked more and more like ..."Sheepstuff" ? It most certainly was, but .....going south? She explained that on Saturday she had been at Standing Bear Farm, and had been keen to reach Hot Springs on Sunday, being Easter, to attend the church services. I think Curtis Owen drove her there himself. So now she is just doing this bit of the trail in reverse. She called her husband who will meet her back at Standing Bear Farm, take her to Hot Springs and spend the day there together before she resumes her trek. Tonight, though, she has joined us in the shelter and has definitely lifted Verity's spirits. Also she plied her with an orange/passion fruit hot tea which she really enjoyed. Before we all retired for the night, "Sheepstuff" found time to give me a lecture for getting so thin and obviously not eating enough. Tomorrow, if Verity is feeling better, we have a 13.1 mile day and a fighting chance of making it to Hot Springs - today's walk may have been small but it has at least made that a possibility.