Date: 2004-05-08
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

There was a South Bounder who joined us at the shelter. His trail name was Ponderer and it seemed to fit the soft spoken older hiker. When he reached Springer he was going to flip flop to Harpers Ferry and head north. Hopefully we would meet again up there. He was a pretty cool guy and a fair bit older than me. That always makes me happy, figuring there is plenty more hiking in my future.On the morning of May 8th Ponderer headed south while Adam and I headed north a bit later. We got split up pretty soon. In 3.7 miles the trail crossed US 64 in Winding Stairs Gap. This was the road to Franklin, NC, my intended resupply but I still had 2 or 3 days of food. There was a nice flow of water coming out of a piped spring at the road siding. It was pointless to hitch into town so I just got some water and kept hiking.Moldering Privy:Another thing about the trail in the south, the terms outhouse and toilet are both supplanted by the term privy which, in my opinion, is infinitely preferable. So what¢s a moldering privy anyway. It¢s like an outhouse without walls. Sometimes it has a roof. The critical difference though is how it works. The area under the seat is fenced in with chicken or rabbit wire but open to the air. The seating area is elevated and there is only a shallow pit. It is outfitted with red worms that do the trick. It's a little disturbing at first glance, but, it¢s just a different kind of composting system.Not far up the other side of the gap the trail crossed a nice little cascade on a bridge. After a quick look and listen up and down the trail, I took the opportunity to get cleaned up a bit. First it was the shorts, shirt and sock. Then the pack towel scrubbed the body. Then, quickly wet clothes were back on. All this happened while balancing precariously on the random rocks of the steep cascade as the water crashed under the bridge. Fortunately there were no surprise passers by.The wet clothes helped keep me cool as the climb continued. A bit further on I came across a couple of older day hikers heading up. They had pulled into the gap while I was getting water at the spring. They told me a story of meeting a bear right here a year ago. Today they were making plenty of noise as they hiked.Eventually the trail wound its way up to a large grassy swath that swept up to a summit. This was Siler Bald. The concept of a bald was new to me. Adam had talked about them so it was pretty exciting to finally be on one. The trail didn¢t go up to the summit, though it wasn¢t far and it would be an easy walk. There was already someone up there. It was hot and there were some threatening clouds rolling through. I just stood in the trail as it passed through the odd little field and looked for a bit. The trail reentered the woods. I thought about waiting for Adam here. It could have been lunch, but the miles called and drew me onward.A few miles later as the trail climbed Wayah Bald. There was something of a sight in the trail. It was a southbound hiker with a red clown¢s nose. You can¢t let something like that just go by so I had to say nice nose. We talked briefly and I¢m sure his trail name had something to do with a clown but I don¢t recall. It¢s for sure though that he was having a good time with it. He wasn¢t a kid either.Shortly the trail climbed out onto a narrow paved road or wide path. This led up to the summit clearing and carried with it several tourists from an apparently nearby parking area.Wayah Bald was adorned with an old stone tower sprouting from a stone terrace on the summit. There were some other hikers there who were leaving as I arrived. I tried to say hi but felt a kind of cold reception as they moved on. Perhaps it was the thought that it might be a crowded shelter tonight or maybe they had just been there too long already and felt the need to get moving before getting trapped in another conversation.With food, water and camera in hand I climbed to the observation deck of the tower. The elevation of Wayah bald is 5,342 feet. The view is inspiring. In fact, there was a great view of Siler Bald just a few miles to the south, trail wise that is. There were signs here describing the history of the area and trying to explain the hows and whys of balds. It seems fairly clear that these mountain tops were cleared by man. Whether it was by Native Americans or early settlers or both is unclear as is the exact purpose. There seems to be a strong desire to continue to maintain them as balds. Some get mowed and others are kept clear by grazing animals.Before too long Adam showed up. He had a powerful hunger and broke out his stove with a Mountain House meal. As he tells the story, he and some friends had gotten together and bought a huge quantity of Mountain House meals. They bought so much that they got them at wholesale cost. The only problem was that the shipment arrived on a pallet and couldn¢t be delivered to a residential address. Adam had to go to the shipping depot and try to pick it up in his little car. That had to be quite a sight.It was time for Scott to move on. Adam was still eating. Clouds had invaded the area and it was cooling off. A short distance down the trail but still on the summit, the wind picked up and it began to rain. Rain Gear:There is always a decision to be made when the sky begins to fall. Put the rain gear on and sweat or leave it off and get wet from the rain. For me the decision often rests on temperature, wind and anticipated duration of the storm. Now the first two variables, temperature & wind can always change and the third, duration, is really just a guess. In other words, there is really no telling. This time the pack was tossed to the ground, the jacket unearthed and tossed on. By the time the pack was on my back the rain had turned hard. That¢s right, it was hail. A hard rain was falling, Bob. It occurred to me, Adam was probably just about ready to leave the tower but that would be hard to do in this weather. But then again there was the lightening and thunder. That just might drive him out of the tallest thing for miles around. It was all pretty exciting and made me grin and giggle a little. This is when you know you¢re alive. The storm didn¢t last for long and soon the sun returned. The hail stayed on the ground for a little while as a reminder of the whims of Mother Nature.There were occasional sprinkles as the sun set through the trees but the trail was flat and easy by now.Cold Spring Shelter would be home for the night. This was a traditional, small, old log lean-to right on the trail. There was a fine piped spring not more than 30 feet in front of the shelter. Adam arrived shortly after me. There were already 4 other folks here. One, a solo guy, was pitching a way-too-big tent behind the shelter. There was a young couple in the shelter and another solo guy. These were the folks who were leaving Wayah Bald upon my arrival. These folks smoked but they respected my request for clean air without issue. Some of the smoke was a bit wacky too.The solo guy was Bud from Oregon. He had thru-hiked the AT before. He had long straight brown hair and a sort of hippie attitude, laid back and soft spoken. He was probably around 30. The couple was college age. They were all nice enough but made me a bit uneasy.