Date: 2013-04-29
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Licklog Gap
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 1: Winding Stair Gap to Licklog Gap Fraulein Maria and the Magic BusWoke up at 6:30 at the Sapphire Inn and let my mind wander ahead of my feet. Cue the music from The Sound of Music when Maria is thrust out of the convent and into a new life: ¢What will this day be like, I wonder¢¦.what will my future be I wonder¢¦¢ How would the hike be this year, would it be harder to go solo after last year? I of course had read about the section ahead of time, but it¢s never quite the same as being on the ground. My first hike was across the street for a cup of coffee and I ran into Paul from the Mexican dinner last night. Part of the hotel price included a shuttle ride to the trail. My ride was scheduled to leave around 9:15 which left me plenty of time to get ready and repack a few times (that¢s for you Dave). Staying in a hiker hotel is different from staying at the Marriott in a number of ways. The funniest difference is how like a college dorm it is with people leaving their hotel room doors open to allow people to come and go. I met some more hikers this morning: Ron Burgundy, AWOL 2.0, Jasmine (I think) and her dog Boogie, saw Sinjon, Paul and Ignacio too. Ignacio decided to take another zero but everyone else was planning to move on.The bus pulled up-- one of those mini-bus touristy looking ones and the door opened to reveal about a dozen or so thru-hikers from the other Ron Haven hotel in Franklin. We piled in with packs on our laps (reminding me of many Army rides as a cadet), the door closed and off we went towards the gap as our driver, Ron Haven himself, filled our ears and heads with information about the Appalachian Trail from Franklin to Damascus. What a ride! The inside of the bus had advertisements and phone numbers for various hostels on the trail. Ron spoke of the services available over the next 200-300 miles; he talked about the infamous Trail Days and the various ¢infractions¢ that would all oddly cost you $300 (from mooning to open containers to smoking pot). Ron¢s passion for the trail and his big heart for hikers filled the bus with easy laughter. He was good natured, informative and very entertaining as we wound our way through the mountains and gaps. Yesterday it was pouring but today the sun was out and even as it disappeared in the haze through our ascent, I had a good feeling about the weather today.The bus pulled into a shoulder and all of us starting at Winding Stair Gap off-loaded (about 15 people in all). It was about 10:00 a.m. and I looked at the entry onto the trail (which of course was an ascent!) as I unscrewed my hiking poles. what is it with my poles, they refuse to lock at the most inopportune times. As I fiddled with them, pulling them apart, playing with the tighteners and the inside screws, I was introduced to Chris and Chris from CT (Big Mac and Ultralight) who clearly felt pity for my situation. Ultralight offered to help with a screwdriver but after 10 minutes of screwing around, I got the poles to extend and lock and we were on our way. What a great decision not to hike yesterday in all that rain! I began to hear stories from hikers who rode out two days in that mess and a group of them passed me heading south when they ran out of food and needed to backtrack to Franklin to get more before continuing north. I¢ve named this group of hikers ¢The Roundtrip Gang¢. ? The trail was very walkable today and also very wet, the springs and streams along the way were swollen and running fast (which was good for staying hydrated). I met another Paul from Ohio but now living in FL; we played leapfrog through half of the day along with a hiker I came to know as Nightlight (from NJ but now living in NH). Surprisingly I caught up with Paul from last night and a woman he was hiking with around the Siler Bald Shelter turn-off. The trail climbed nearly 1,000 ft from Winding Stair to Siler Bald (4.2 miles apart) but I couldn¢t complain as it was a gradual, soft, fairly rock-free path. I loved this section of the AT. Convinced by Paul and his friend that I should see the actual Siler Bald, I dropped my backpack at the gap and left FL Paul to ascend for the view. And what a view it was! Siler Bald itself was another few hundred foot elevation gain but gave you a nice near 360 degree view of the mountains, and I had this view all to myself- it was breathtaking. The next stop along the trail was another bald, this time with a tower- Wayah Bald (by the way Lindsay, ¢Wayah¢ is Cherokee for ¢Wolf¢). Wayah Bald has a stone tower built in 1937 (another CCC production, thank you Roosevelt) that provides the 360 degree you cannot get standing on the ground (although the 180 view from the ground was inspiring too). On the waya to Wayah I experienced the first trail magic of the trip. A gentleman named Kicho (see photo of Kicho with Little Dude, below) had set up a table under a good sized tarp and had water, food, medical supplies¢¦ it was excellent. For those unfamiliar, trail magic is the unexpected kindnesses from total strangers (known as ¢trail angels¢)- these range from food, water, other beverages of the malted kind, shelter to rides to and from the trail and sometimes just the extra morale boost to get through a rough day. Spoke to Kicho for about 15 minutes and learned he was a scout leader as well as a repeat offense trail angel?. Thank you so much, Kicho, for your service and support to the hiking community. I¢ve often thought that if people were even 10% more like the way I find them on the trail in day-to-day life, how significantly better our world would be. From the 5,342¢ Wayah, I descended toward a shelter where I decided to have dinner. I had planned to do a near 16-mile day (call me ¢optimistic¢ for a day 1 hike) but at 4 pm and feeling a little tired, I was sure I wasn¢t making that trip today. Cruising into Wayah Shelter, I found it quite busy between the tenters (11B Paul and his hiking partner, Nightlight and others) and the shelter-dwellers which included a nice couple from the Czech Republic with a French Bulldog and a gentleman named Country Gold who is a repeat offender thru-hiker. Grabbed dinner- a yummy dehydrated, gourmet meal courtesy of my personal trail Angel, Matthew: turkey crumbles and veggies (mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, onions, celery, cabbage, carrots) over traditional hiker starch (Ramen). After dinner I hiked on another mile or so to arrive at a huge and empty Licklog Gap campsite. It was beautiful; I watched the sun sink into the valley and below the horizon. It is peaceful and quiet here in my little tent. A sunny day, a nice trail, spectacular views, new friends, a full belly, a call home and a warm sleeping bag; all really is right with my world! Day 1 viewsGoodnight 122.1 miles from Springer Mountain and 12.3 miles into my trip.More photos for the trip can be seen at: 2000Miler