Date: 2005-04-25
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Campsite
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: few clouds

Miles hiked today : 14.7I woke up this morning at 7:45 a.m. to a chilly 32 degree F temperature. I ate breakfast, packed up, and was on the trail at 9:00 a.m. The snowstorm had abated and the sky was clear. This made for a phenomenal view of snow dusted ridgelines across the surrounding valley. The trail itself was still hidden by snow, though I was able to occasionaly see the footprints of Steady Step, who had left earlier in the morning.During the first mile of the morning, I encountered an unleashed Golden Retriever who was not too pleased to see me. It was snarling and lunging at me and I assumed a defensive posture with my trekking poles. I didn't know what was going to happen, though the owner soon came up the trail, assuring me that the dog was afraid of backpacks and wouldn't hurt me. I wish somebody would have mentioned that last part to the dog, because it seemed like it meant business. The dog ran up the hill around me and I passed the owner, glad to have that situation behind me. If you know your dog has an issue, you should address it rather than jeopardize my safety.Climbing and hiking in fresh, unpacked snow is very laborious. It took me 45 minutes to cover the first 1.3 mile stretch to Walker Gap. This was the only reliable water for the next 8.7 miles, but I decided to bypass it. I only had 1/3 liter with me, but it was a cold day and I didn't anticipate needing an abundant water supply. Plus, I'd finally warmed my hands enough and didn't want to chill them by filtering. I ended up running out of water around 11:00 a.m.I stopped at 12:00 p.m. for a 10 minute break and at 12:15 p.m., just as I was summiting Garden Mountain, I startled a young deer with a huge, bushy white tail. The views of the neighboring farmlands from the summit of Garden Mountain were great.At 12:30 p.m, I reached VA623 and saw tire tracks in the mud filled with murky water. I was tempted to filter from it, as the temperature had been steadily climbing and I'd been shedding layers of clothing since Walker Gap. I decided to bypass the muddy water and continued on.Around 1:45 p.m., I came to a very loud stream, though I was unable to filter from it because it was covered by huge, flat pieces of rock. There were a couple places where I could see the water moving, though it would have meant lowering my filter nozzle into the unknown darkness. Still in good spirits, I pushed on and, at 2:05 p.m., was finally able to filter, just 0.9 miles before the shelter. Over the next 15 minutes, I filtered 1 liter of water, filled my spare platypus wth unfiltered water, and cleaned my filter. I reached Jenkins Shelter at 2:35 p.m. The temperature was a wonderful 65 degrees F.I made lentil soup for lunch and geared up for an upcoming challenge of unknown difficulty. Though I was only hiking 4.7 more miles, there is a section of trail that crosses Little Wolf Creek 12 times. There is a blue-blazed high water bypass route that skips that section and, yesterday, with the freezing temperatures, I was fairly certain that I was going to take the high water route. But, with the rise in temperature this afternoon, I couldn't go by without at least seeing how high the water is.At 4:25 p.m., I moved out wearing my rainpants with my knee high gaiters in place. This was the first time using my gaiters this trip and I was glad to have them available. Before reaching the turn-off for the high water trail, I had a 610 foot climb over 1.1 miles, followed by a minor descent over 0.8 mile. I was hiking with Danger and Gravity and at 5:15 p.m., they wished me luck as I headed down the AT toward Little Wolf Creek, while they took the high water bypass.All in all, the regular route wasn't so bad. There was quite a bit of mud to traverse and I counted 22 water crossings in all, though 10 of them were streams that were easily stepped over. The last 3 crossings of Little Wolf Creek were the trickiest, as the water was a litte deeper and the rocks were more slippery.My feet stayed dry until crossing #10, when I couldn't quite tell where the trail went. I crossed the creek, though I couldn't find where the AT picked up again, so I crossed back and, in doing so, I stepped in deep water and felt extreme cold on my feet. It turned out that the trail actually was routed down through the creek for about 30 feet.At crossing #11, I slipped on a rock and almost fell in, though my trekking poles saved me. Crossing #12 was tricky only because the water was deep and the rocks under water were slippery.I cleared the area successfully and was happy that I didn't have to blue-blaze. In an actual situation where safety required me to blue-blaze, I most certainly would. Little Wolf Creek, however, wasn't remotely dangerous today.I arrived at the campsite next to VA615 at 6:45 p.m. I was happily surprised to find a large styrofoam ice chest full of juice beverages. We believe they were places here by the local Methodist Church. They had an advertisement at the previous shelter for shuttles to breakfast on Monday and Thursday morning from this location. If I would have pushed on to Jenkins Shelter last night, I would have had free breakfast this morning. That's okay, however, as I was content to safely spend last night in an enclosed shelter during the snowstorm. Plus, the bottle of orange juice that I've got for breakfast tomorrow moring will put a smile on my face.Bedtime at 10:00 p.m.