Date: 2008-03-13
From: Rte 623

To: Rte 615
Miles today: 8.5

Thursday, March 13, 2008Rte 623 to Rte 615, hiking north, 8.5 miles.To continue the story of this section of trail, when Purple Rose and I hiked it in 2005, we were pushing daylight. When we came to the juncture of the blue high water trail and the white trail that takes you multiple times back and forth over Little Wolf Creek, we opted for the high water trail. We got out just as darkness was falling. Later in 2005, when I realized I was going to finish my 2003-2005 AT section end-to-end hike that year, I returned to every place I had blue-blazed. I white-blazed these sections. I loop-hiked from 615, taking the blue high water trail in, and the white trail out. I know Purple Rose has the same desire to white-blaze everything on the AT before she finishes her end-to-end this fall. Maybe today we¢ll have an opportunity for her to fix what we blue-blazed in 2005. But will that fix things? Today what was blue in 2005 is white.This purist stuff is never easy.Because we¢ve got a short hike today, there's plenty of time this morning to drive through the town of Burke¢s Garden. A paradise of fertile-looking undulating land. Sheep, dairy and beef cattle. Old fashioned buildings, nothing new-fangled. An old weathered US Post Office. God's Land, it says. One person let the Pepsi Company paint a sign on the side of his building. Purple Sherpa says they used to pay you if you let them do that. Street signs carrying the names of the families who live in the direction an arrow is pointing. St Patrick¢s Day dinner on Monday night from 5-7.Purple Rose spots a large flock of turkeys, 2 of whom are strutting with their tails fanned.Start 10 AM. Sunny. Blue sky. Our warmest start yet.Rock staircase made by the maintainers. Thank you, Piedmont AT Hikers (PATH). This is beautiful work and most appreciated.Great trail. Switchbacks, stepping stones at the corners of the switchbacks. Tough oak leaves that are dry and crackly underfoot.11:30 We stop for a drink at flat rock on this gentle day.Jenkins Shelter has an open-air toilet. King of the forest from your perch up there. No fumes. However, the seat is no longer clasped to the bowl, which could make for a nasty slide. We put a note about this in the register, which contains a multi-page entry of the Dr Seuss story of the Lorax by ¢John in '07¢. An entry from Caveman earlier this month, and ours, that¢s it for March 2008. Leave shelter at 1:15. Temps mid sixties. No bugs. Water level better than last year, but still lower than normal.When we come to the high water trail which is now the official AT, we continue on, look at each other, retrace steps back to the juncture, and say, We¢re old hands at this stuff. Let¢s take the Little Wolf Creek trail. Down the path surely we¢ll find enough old blazes to follow the former AT out to where the 1993 bridge stood.We high-five each other, how adventuresome we¢ve become! (We used to be wimps. :-)))Faint blazing. Rhodos take over quickly. Lots of slick dry leaves so we take our time descending.We start counting crossings, including crossings of little tributaries (some of them barely damp) that feed Little Wolf. At # 25, we get wet feet.The last crossing is #29, Laurel Creek. Easy wade across shallow water. Standing under where the bridge used to be, I get a photo of the creek .At the trailhead we meet day-hikers Jerry and Tammie and their dog Sienna.Supper at Subway near the I-77 crossing, which has free wifi! I upload some pix, slowly. The counter people are Joshua and Mary Lou. Personable, knowledgeable and friendly. Finally a cell signal. I call Randy and Myra. We agree to touch base again next Wednesday. I catch up on a few more phone calls, and emails.