Date: 2011-05-01
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

Day 14I slept in the shelter last night so I could have an early start. Was out on the trail by 7:45. The first part of the trail was through a gorgeous continuous massive Rhododendron Forest. There was an outcropping view that was phenomenal.The next portion was not just a ledge on the side of a mountain like it normally is, it was more of a shelf. Honestly there were some sections that were built out and nothing underneath. There were a lot of Rhodys below the trail (thank god!). Which was great cause then you couldn't see that it was honestly straight down hundreds of feet.The next section was an old open forest and then there was Albert.Mount Albert rises about 800ft in less than 1/3 of a mile. There were points where I had to put my poles up and climb up using my hands. I love that I have confidence in my boots. On top of Albert is a fire tower that you can climb and get a 360 degree view. Epic and so worth it!I totally took my time today. Stopped at a shelter for lunch and washed some underwear that I had had to quarantine. I stayed there for a bit and ate my lunch. Today I took my last tortilla and spread it with the last of my peanut butter then sprinkled it with dry oatmeal and raisins on it and rolled it up. Yeah hunger is definitely the best sauce. The rest of the hike today was a nice walk in the woods with a few nice river crossings.At about the 100 mile mark there was a great little double waterfall. It was about 2 feet high and the river itself was very shallow. So I took off my pack, got out my Dr. Bonners and had myself a nice little hair washing! It was so nice!As I was going the last 3 miles in the great old forest I came across a woman hiker and her dog sitting on a log. "Are you S'mores?" she asked. It was miss Janet! She is on whiteblaze.net and she owns a hiker hostel. Apparently she had a long talk with Dr. Gadget and the Celtic triqueta on his necklace came up. He mentioned my tattoo to her and told her I was on my way. She and I talked for about an hour. I got to the shelter about 5pm which means I got to hang out in the woods for about 10 hours today! Oh wait, as I wrote that I realized I have spent the last 3 full days in the woods continuously!Starbuck, XJ, Hamburgler, Nathan, Dr. Gadget and BobCat are staying at the shelter. Well Dr. Gadget and DoWhat are camping down the hill. 4bears (a 72 yo man)was here when I came but he decided to move on and tent. Miss Janet went past on the trail and he went on with her.So last night was my first "sleep in shelter" experience. It wasn't too bad except I didn't have my gum and then my nose got stuffed. I also think I was a little dehydrated because I had a bit of a headache. I slept between Matt and Starbuck, then there was Hamburgler and Lazerus. No one really snored too badly and I only heard 2 farts Tonight I have made sure I have my gum and nose drops handy. I will NOT be going out to the privy tonight as you have to cross 2 creeks to get there!I will try for an early start tomorrow so I can get into town early. I'm still not sure if I'm going to stay in town or not. I've heard the weather is supposed to be bad. But as Chris said, "So?"Hiker Funk Level = rancid onions