Date: 2013-04-25
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: clear sky

The rain stopped some time in the middle of the night, but the trees continued to drip until morning. Those drops would hit the outside of my tent and break loose the condensation from the inside of my single-walled tent. So occasionally, I¢d be hit with a bit of spray. By morning, I had found the solution. I simply took my pack towel and wiped off the interior condensation, so there was nothing left to fall on my head.The morning was cooler and certainly wetter than it had been in a while. I stirred but didn¢t like the thought of packing a wet tent. I forced myself to act around 7:30 a.m. but moved slowly because my brain didn¢t want to kick in gear.It was just before 9:00 a.m. when I broke camp. The trail immediately rose over 1,100 feet over just 1.3 miles. If I remember my high school geometry, slope equals rise over run. You do the math--it was steep! To help make it manageable, I¢d set my eyes on a target up the hill and then hike to it before allowing myself a break. It was slow going, so slow that a guy named Tor Tor, Latin for ¢tortoise,¢ passed me. Yeah, buddy, that felt great!When I finally reached the top, I detoured from the trail to the observation tower. The tower was old and dilapidated and didn¢t really offer a view since you could only climb about two stories before hitting a locked gate. The tower was, though, surrounded by multiple cell and communications towers that all hummed unnervingly.Two miles beyond the tower, I encountered a new trail option. The trail continued right up to a ridge, but there was an alternate blue-blazed trail for inclement weather. The weather was clear, so I took the white blaze. The guidebook warned the ridge route was rocky and strenuous, even though the terrain looked flat. For the most part, the trail was ¢flat,¢ but it had micro ups and downs so steep that the 1.6-mile ridge walk was very slow going. The view, though, were stupendous.Soon after the ridge walk, I reached the first shelter, Jerry Cabin. I grabbed a liter of water and continued down the hill. At the bottom, I ran into¢¦Wales! He was slackpacking 20 miles back to the hostel I had decided to skip before the rain hit me the night before. He reported the Patriot and Steph were with him too. I then ran into the Patriot at the top of the next hill. I told him I was jealous since their gear was dry. About 25 minutes later and near the summit of Big Butt Mountain, I ran into Steph. She was a bit perturbed and reported getting lost briefly near a poorly marked rock scramble. I offered her some water but she declined. It was about 4:00 p.m., and she still had about 13 miles to go, so she had some serious hiking in front of her.After passing Steph, the trail continued along a relatively flat old gravel road. I love roadbeds when they¢re flat because you can really haul. I noticed the ¢pond,¢ aka puddle, full of ¢sasquatch semen,¢ aka tadpoles, that Patriot had mentioned. I also saw a salamander in one of the puddles. Near the end of the gravel road was a grave marker from the 19th century marking Mr. Shelton¢s final resting place. From there, it was steeply down 1,100 feet over 1.3 miles. Again, you do the math!I finally made it to camp by 6:00 p.m. and enjoyed a nice Ramen dinner. Tor Tor, Nate, and Moose were there, and later, Hoops and Yeti showed up. No one stayed in the shelter. We all chose to stay in our tents or hammocks. There is a freeze warning tonight, and I know from past experience that I¢m warmest in my tent. ¢Night, y¢all!