Date: 2007-03-25
From: Campsite Past GA/NC State Line

To: Stealth Site Before Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

March 25, First Full Day in North Carolina Happy birthday, Aunt Carol!I think I just got more tired in camp than I was all day. The fire I was trying to make just would not catch. My lighter wasn't built for constant use (thus the burning of the finger) and somehow I burned a hole through the right arm of my fleece jacket. My dinner was barely cooked, there was too much and it didn't taste good. I'll be packing about 1/2 cup out tomorrow. The smoke from the fire that finally started was following me everywhere I sat. I just decided it might be best if I excused myself to my tent so here I am.Today was our first full day in NC. It started beautifully and warm at about 50 degrees in my tent. It took Certain and I a while to grease the wheels today but we hit the trail by about 9:15. Immediately, we were climbing up and then into Bly Gap. Bly Gap has what I think is the most photographed tree along th AT. It is really neat - all big and curvy. We took several photos and I reflected on how we are starting to see things that I've seen in other people's journals and how it makes this all feel more real (still sinking in).After Bly Gap, we had a particularly tough climb on Sharp Top Mtn. I really enjoyed it though - it was quite different than any other climb thus far. Lots of stairs (ew) and big oversized steps to take. And a feeling of accomplishment waiting on the top. Next up, Courthouse Bald. Not a courthouse, not a bald. That one was pretty straight up as well. Felt good.We met Kristin at Sassafras Gap where we all rested our feet and then pushed forward to Muskrat Creek Shelter while Michele sang "Muskrat Love". On the way, I had a view that was the most clear I'd seen yet. I could see towns for miles away - no idea which towns though. At the shelter, I changed into my Crocs and headed back to the stream for water. I soaked my feet for a hot minute and then headed back to eat my lunch. Pepperoni and Gouda in a tortilla with GORP and Gushers. Excellent. Lunch was a good time - met the Breadless Horseman, Aaron, BlueSky and his dog, Blue, and we were also joined by Not Guilty and Hangman. We stayed to shoot the breeze for about an hour and 45 minutes. Good times.Hangman headed out with us and we sort of leapfrogged for the rest of the day. He has some great stories about all of his adventures. The rest of the day's hiking is a blur of ups and long downs, rocks, stairs and breaks in rhododendron tunnels. At one point I was sitting in a tunnel waiting for Michele and it was very quiet. Then, it got strangely loud with the sounds of bugs, flies and gnats encircling me. It sounded like a Pixar movie and they were all coming to get me! Crazy.At Deep Gap, we met Dirty Ernie who is hiking with all antique gear. A bright orange huge external frame pack, kitchen sponges as shoulder pads, a hand-crank radio, and plenty more absurd stuff. Quite a sight.We got to camp around 6 p.m. and I'm ready to call it a night.- Sound of the stream outside my tent and the breeze.Post Trail Thoughts:Aaron, who I met at Muskrat Creek Shelter, would later be named "Director" and I ran into him while traversing the Shenandoahs.Dirty Ernie - what a sight! I ran into him again in Vermont, hiking SOBO after he flipped, and he had totally re-outfitted himself! He looked like a veteran at that point. We had a really nice talk aside a spring going up Stratton Mountain. He told me about his plan to hike right to his front door in Pennsylvania.Kristen, I would later found out, was named "Lost" and she clipped up the trail at lightening speed. I never saw her again.