Date: 2013-04-19
From: Beyond Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

After a pleasant night at my informal tarp site about a mile north of Flint Mountain Shelter, I arose Friday, April 19 2013, at 5:30 and began my walk north at 7:18 AM. I was a little concerned about the right knee, with some unfamiliar pains out of it yesterday perhaps arising from the Big Firescald ridge climb. There were still 30 or so miles to Erwin, the next possible source of medical help or bail point. My plan was to camp tonight at a meadow 4 miles north of Hogback Ridge Shelter.        About 8AM I crossed Route 212, finding some cards for Appalachian Transport Service (¢Your ride can be ready in just minutes¢). Slightly tempting, especially with another knee twinge when I twisted to get the card... but another road crossing arrived at 8:25 and then a long ascent began. About 8:45 I passed ¢The Cascade,¢ an attractive sheet of water cascading down a steep rock face. It had been raining lightly, and I donned the rain jacket about 10 minutes before the apparent end of the climb at 10:00 AM.        But the climb continued, and I was not feeling well. My T-shirt and hiking shirt were soaked under the expensive Arc¢Teryx rain jacket and the color of my urine indicated insufficient hydration. On long climbs I sometimes reassure myself that, as a matter of logic, nothing can ascend forever... but by 10:40 was wondering if this was an exception. I felt really tired, as if I could fall asleep while trudging up the path ¢ a puzzle, because I thought I had a good rest at my delightful campsite last night.        About 11:00 AM I reached what seemed to be another maximum (local or global, I wondered?), and saw a man erecting his tarp in a nearby level area. It seemed like a strange time of day to be setting up camp, so I wondered if he was feeling as I was, and if perhaps it would be wise for me to do the same. But I trudged on, soaking wet in increasingly heavy rain, tired and dehydrated, until I reached the path to Hogback Ridge Shelter at 1:00 PM, exactly my ETA. There were already 5 or 6 occupants ¢ I learned later they were taking ¢zeros¢ and had spent last night at this shelter ¢ but they immediately made room for me while I hoofed it down a 14 mile path to the water source. (One young man, though he seemed strong, experienced, and well-equipped, said he had vowed never to hike in the rain!) It was just a pipe mounted on a steep rocky stream, and the heavy rainfall brought a great deal of sediment with the water. Back at the shelter, it settled to the bottom of my Platypus bags so I used the water anyway.        I felt quite bad, and changed into my dry ¢camp¢ clothes at once ¢ what a pleasure to shuck those soaking-wet shirts ¢ and crawled into my sleeping bag, second from the right wall (when looking out). Shivering, I used the bag liner and put the ¢space blanket¢ between the Z-rest pad and the bag. I forced myself to eat something for lunch, but spent nearly the whole afternoon in the bag. The man beside me did, too; one young fellow commented that we probably wouldn¢t sleep that night, but he didn¢t know how I felt.        Several others arrived later that day, with most of them tenting nearby. There was room, beside me, for a man trail-named ¢Professor¢ ¢ he actually was one, and a libertarian at that, so we exchanged a few brief comments about economics, including my position that the very field of macroeconomics was scientifically invalid. Another of our shelter-mates asked whether I thought the Federal Reserve System ought to exist ¢ I quickly answered ¢No!¢ but wrapped it up with that.        I felt so bad that I really wondered if I could possibly make it to Erwin, 26 miles along the trail, or even to a road crossing (where hitching or a shuttle might be available) that was said to be nearby. I wasn¢t even sure I could walk even a mile on that trail tomorrow. My mental state was poor ¢ hiking alone, I tried to guard against making long-term choices under the influence of short-term conditions... but...        I rested well that night, but it was quite cold, with everything (including my wet boots) frozen solid in the morning.