Date: 2009-04-11
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

April 11, 2009Another wrong forecast. It rained off and on last night, but no bad storms. Stayed in bed until 0730. Packed up and departed at 0850. I made great time and arrived at Sam's Gap at 1015. While under the I-26 I adjusted my clothing and pack, and then called Judy. The forecast was for cloudy skies becoming sunny by afternoon, but everyone was hoping the sun would come out earlier. As I moved on instead of the weather getting better, it got worse. The climb out of Sam's Gap was the beginning of an almost steady 6 mile climb up to Big Bald. It wasn't an unusual climb, just a seemingly long trudge through the mud. In fact, the mud probably made it seem worse than it actually was. By the time I made it to the top of the bald the weather was worse than it was earlier this morning. The fog and drizzle combined with the wind reduced the visibility to less than 50 feet. The wind chill was in the upper 20's. I'm certain the views would have been nice if the weather had cooperated. The trail seemed to circle the top of the bald and at one point I thought I had made a wrong turn because I seemed to be going in the opposite direction than I should be going. I was ok, but the reduced visibility can sure play tricks with your sense of direction. As I began to descend I walked through a couple patches of snow. In some places the snow was over two feet deep. Around 1315 I arrived at Bald Mtn Shelter. I had thought about spending the night there but decided against it. The shelter was nice but it was at 5100 in elevation and was cold. By the way, it was still windy and foggy. After a quick lunch of a bagel with peanut butter and some potato chips, I put my DriClime shirt back on and departed for places unknown. One option was to camp at Whistling Gap but when I arrived it was still foggy and windy, so I decided again to press on. Although it was mostly downhill there were numerous rocky areas that ordinarily would have been fairly easy to cross. But since it was STILL windy and foggy, plus some rain, I pressed on again. I had some thoughts of going to the next shelter to spend the night. It would make a 20+ mile day. Its not that I can't set up my tent in the rain, it¢s just that it¢s easier to spend rainy days/nights in a shelter. About 1630 I arrived here. It¢s almost 2000 feet lower than Big Bald. Even though it was still cloudy, the wind had died down and there wasn't any fog. The next shelter is almost five miles away and I wouldn't get there until around 1900. Arriving that late means hurrying to eat and get ready for bed. Shortly after I arrived, Papa November arrived and we decided to stay put. There are plenty of good places to set up a tent and a nearby stream for water. The down side is that it is near a road and it is a weekend. Locals tend to party at places like this. We're hoping that this being Easter weekend there won't be any partying going on. Also here are two section hikers, Cowgirl and Big Feet. They began section hiking a few years ago and so far have completed over 300 miles. Tomorrow is a relatively short day of around 11 miles into Erwin. When you are heading into town the next day almost any distance is "relatively short." Just before I climbed into the tent, the sun came out and we saw some blue sky. It was a little late but it gave me a little more confidence that tomorrow's forecast of sunny skies may be correct. That's about all for now. I hope everyone has a happy Easter. Take care. DaveMin Temp: 42.9Max Temp: 50.7Weather: Cloudy, fog, very windy, ocnl light rain