Date: 2007-05-09
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: light rain

We woke up to a very light rain falling this morning. We packed our tent away wet but this evening we are tenting at Niday Shelter and it has already dried out quite a bit. By the time we were packed up and ready to hike it had stopped raining but the sky was very cloudy. When we started climbing we found ourselves in the clouds. Around 10AM the clouds had lifted so that we were no longer hiking in them but the sky was still cloudy. The sun did shine through the clouds and started warming the air. By afternoon there were blue patches of sky amid billowy white clouds and it truly was a beautiful day. We had 2 big climbs today. We thought the first one was going to be the hardest one since according to the profile map the second one was more gradual. The first one was tough but the second one turned out to be just as tough because at the end of the climb there were rocks and the climb was steep. Once on the ridge it was not too bad until it started having us go up on slanted rocks right on the side of the narrow ridge. Beautiful views but the rocks wrecked havoc on our feet, ankles, and knees again. I had to stop while going over the rocks to take my shoes and socks off to cool my feet and another time to eat something to give us nourishment to keep hiking. Then we had a big difficult down to the shelter. The descent was long and with rocks at times and it seemed we would never get here. The whole trail today had many trees down and across the trail. The worst blowdown was early today on our first climb over some rocks where a tree had fallen. It takes us a longertime to navigate the rocks and around the blow-downs. Sinking Creek Mountain, the mountain that had all the rocks along the ridge top, is the northernmost spot on the trail where the route crosses a sgnificant "continental-divide." Waters flowing down the western side of the ridge drain into Sinking Creek Valley and the Mississippi River and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. Waters flowing on the eastern side empty into Craig Creek Valley, the James River, and eventually the Atlantic Ocean.We saw the largest oak tree on the A.T. in the south. The time it was measured, the girth was 18 feet, 3 inches; it is estimated to be 300 years old. A slightly larger oak is on the A.T. in New York. We have pictures of it and it really is an amazing site. In 05 I did not even see it and there is a stile over a fence just beneath it. We may get some rain before we get to Daleville on Saturday and so the further up the trail we get without rain the better. Going over those rocks today, especially those on the ridge, would be no fun at all if they were wet.At the shelter tonight are McQueen, Beach Bum, Dude, Truffles, Smiley, and 3 hikers out for an overnight. Beach Bum took a hit on his head on a branch today as he was crossing a small stream. He was looking down at his feet and didn't see the branch. He has a small skinned area on his forehead.We have seen more azaleas today, pink ones and orange ones. The mountain laurels will soon be in full bloom. Yesterday and today we saw several different flowers--some of which we did not know the names. White trilliums, pink trilliums, mayapple blooms, fire pinks, little lavender colored flowers, and many more.         Well, it is 9:30 and time for me to turn off my head lamp and get to sleep. We pray for clear skies again tomorrow to get us over the next section which will most assuredly have more rocks.Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto