Date: 2017-05-01
From: Log Cabin Road/Hemlock Hollow Hostel 

To: Flint Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 17.3

It was a little stuffy in the bunkhouse, but I ended up sleeping pretty well. In fact, I slept in until 5:15, a full hour longer than usual. Since we didn't have to worry about the tent, Stephen and I were still ready to go before 7:00. We headed up to the main office where we chatted again with the owner, Diana, and thanked her for her hospitality. While I was uploading two journal entries  (I continue having difficulty with a lot of the changes to trail journals, especially with photos) I am still trying to get my journal texts uploaded.  Hopefully, all of the glitches will be worked out soon. While I was working with that, Stephen surprised me with a Jimmy Dean's Sausage Biscuit and a Honey Bun. We left our oatmeal packets in the Hiker Box along with last night's pasta sides. No sense carrying the weight of excess food.  A nice young woman from the hostel have us a ride back to where the AT intersects Log Cabin Road. Our plan was to hike to Jerry Cabin Shelter, a distance of 10.7 miles. Yesterday had been tough hiking, and we planned on a short day today. We began with a pretty tough climb of nearly 2,000 vertical feet over our first five miles. The weather was blustery and windy with some occasional light drizzle. We made good time until we reached the Big Firescald Knob area. Were we ever met with a surprise. Apparently a few years ago, a new, extremely strenuous section was added to the AT in this area. The old section remains as an alternative route, especially for bad weather. It was only raining a little, and Stephen and I opted for the new, strenuous route. Are we ever glad we did. It was crazy hiking over these huge rocks and exposed rock faces. The ingenuity and skill that went into creating this trail is beyond belief. We were scrambling over huge rocks and climbing up and down huge rock staircases. The trail was 1.5 miles long, but I can't say how long it took us. To make matters more interesting, a heavy rain and wind picked up while we were out there. It paused long enough for Dapper Dan, who we met at the peak, to take our picture by the plaque commemorating the creator of the trail. This is the only photo of this section, because the weather didn't allow us to have our phones out the rest of the time. After this adventure, we made it to Jerry Cabin Shelter at 3:00. We had intended to stay, but the weather cleared while we were eating lunch, and we both decided we felt good enough to continue on. Most of the "tramily" were staying at Flint Mountain Shelter, but that was still another 6.7 miles away. We decided to hike on until we found a suitable stealth campsite (an unofficial place to set up camp along the trail).  We had a wonderful hike. After a relatively steep climb of nearly 1,000 feet over two miles, the trail became much easier. We hiked through a beautiful bald (an area in the top of a ridge with no trees) and through wonderfully green forests. The sun was shining, and we had great views of sun and shade on distant mountains (unfortunately, the trees in the way make for poor photos of these scenes).  The trail was good, and we made good time. We made it to the Flint Mountain camp area at 7:15, but we were both kind of sad the daily hike was over. Alex, Dapper, Reed, Kevin, Trail Mix, and Nate were all here. The only ones missing were Billy and Money. Stephen and I found a pretty flat spot for the tent and set up camp. We joined the others and cooked dinner. After hanging the food bags and getting water, we headed for bed. I was used to having the whole tent to myself, but we didn't have any trouble organizing it for two. It is now a bit before midnight and a strong wind is blowing, but I am snug and warm in my bag. The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow.  Stephen and I plan on hiking fifteen miles  to Low Gap campsite, which is a more primitive campsite.  Stephen is definitely getting a microchasm look at the AT, with lots of examples of trail conditions, weather conditions, and camping/sleeping options. It was a great day.