Date: 2010-04-08
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Stecoah Gap
Miles today: 40.0
Weather: moderate rain

Greetings.Well, I have decided to take a day off in Robbinsville, or Stecoah Gap on the AT. My original plan was to take a rest day at Fontana Dam, which is about 16 miles away on the trail, but my energy really dropped off yesterday and I felt like I needed a break. I also knew that the forecast was for rain today, and it is indeed raining, so it¢s a good day to be in a hotel.It seems that we have gone from one extreme to another¢several days of unusually cold weather followed by a week of record high temperatures. The heat can be a little troublesome at times, and it may have been one of the factors that sapped my energy, but I will not complain given the conditions at the beginning of my journey.   Ultimately foliage will provide some shelter from the sun, but the trees are still mostly barren. Besides, my energy issues, which seem more severe toward the end of each leg, are obviously more dependent on food and water. After this post I will make a trip to the grocery store and re-think my food bag. Before I do that I may do some internet research on food and hiking, but I suspect that I may have too much refined sugar and not enough fat in my diet.As far as the hiking goes, it has been a very fun week notwithstanding the heat. I surprised myself a bit by hiking strong over Silar¢s Bald (the first one, the second is in the smokies) and Wayah Bald on my first day out of Franklin and had a good camp with some fellow travelers at Licklog Gap (by the way, the ATC profile map has misplaced Licklog Gap¢it¢s actually about a mile beyond the point indicated). At the gap I met Professor, Cope, Yahtzee and Koonzta (a very cool woman whose name I am unfortunately butchering in this post). The five of us did a difficult day to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in what was once Wesser, NC. It was a little more mileage than I had planned to hike at this point, about 16, but the last 7 or so were mostly downhill¢very downhill. I figured that one liter of water would be sufficient for the descent but the heat and PUDs (I will rant about these later) really took their toll. By the time I reached NOC I was literally croaking for Dr. Pepper.NOC is primarily a water sport outpost, but they provided excellent services for thru-hikers: bunkhouse, laundry, shower, and of course food. I hadn¢t been out for long so I decided to continue on the next day without a proper rest, heading up my first 3000 foot elevation gain on what I believe was the hottest day so far this year. Despite the heat, I had a good but slow ascent up to about 100 feet below Swim Bald, where I dry camped. The next day was a different story. I didn¢t eat much below Swim Bald due to lack of water and was really dragging my feet over Cheoah Bald. This continued despite my snickers bars, other snacks, and water; so I decided to hitch out at Stecoah Gap and spend the rainy day in Robbinsville where I am now.I am taking six days worth of food out tomorrow and will be heading to either Gatlinburg, TN or Cherokee, NC via Newfound Gap.   The inclusion of Cherokee may be a bit puzzling since Gatlinburg is the more traditional resupply point, but I am interested in the Native American museum and may resupply there if the logistics seem reasonable. I¢m also afraid that it may be somewhat lonely in Cherokee while Gatlinburg can be a very fun town with a good group of people. By the way, I have been to Gatlinburg several times and I know why some people dislike it, but I have difficulty sympathizing with them. If I don¢t want to go to the wax museum or buy a genuine plastic tomahawk, then I simply won¢t. On the other hand, Gatlinburg has an outfitter, cheap hotel, laundromats, an embarrassment of restaurants, etc.; all in close proximity. With the right group it¢s a blast.So that¢s the recap and plan for next week. I have arranged a ride back to the trail tomorrow morning and will likely hike out in the rain, but there is much sun in the forecast. Cold nights await, but I am optimistic about hiking conditions on the Smokies¢ crest.Beginning of Rant.I promised a rant about PUDs, so here it is. First, PUD stands for Pointless Ups and Downs. Second, I have a great deal of respect for the work of local hiking clubs and am very grateful for the work they have done and continue to do. At the risk of inviting controversy, I would like to suggest that the trail placement between Cheoah Bald and Fontana is simply terrible (although it is very well maintained). Certainly the trail must traverse prominent mountains and notable knobs, but do we really need to go over every single rise on the ridgeline? Bravado aside, I would speculate that only one in a hundred hikers actually enjoys a trail like this. If you are not familiar with the section, note that the ridgeline itself is generally not flat¢it¢s a series of short ups and downs, i.e. PUDs. Instead of slabbing the sides of these rises, the trail goes over virtually all of them, and I mean steeply over with no switchbacks. It¢s as if it¢s ¢our little slice of the Whites in North Carolina¢. I felt like I was back in high school wrestling practice running stairs. One of the jokes on the AT is that, if you look forward and see an elevation higher than you, then that is where you¢re going. This is true even when the general goal is to descend off the ridge into a gap. I don¢t mean to complain too much since I truly love the AT and the work of hiking clubs, but it is very frustrating and tiresome to hike such a path. I have heard that this section was plotted by the late George Masa, a man that I would have liked to meet for other reasons, but also to ask: what were you thinking (I do not know if he really did map out this section, by the way, I just saw it on the internets somewhere)? Is the human footprint less severe if we construct the trail atop the ridge instead of slabbing around these small knobs? Is it intentionally, unnecessarily strenuous to discourage use and thereby reduce erosion and pollution? Is it simply careless planning? Is it because these small elevation gains offer us a more aesthetic experience than could be achieved 50 feet or so lower? Something else?Only the first of those reasons is legitimate in my mind. I can appreciate the second, but I feel that there is an ethical (moral?) reason to make the trail as accessible as possible to its stakeholders. While greater accessibility may increase the human footprint, this is a separate issue and should be dealt with separately. If we want to reduce use, why not charge $10 at every road crossing for example? I don¢t think it matters in what form the exclusion occurs, they are all wrong when it comes to a national scenic trail. This is especially true with regard to the AT, which was explicitly meant to be accessible to the masses of the eastern United States.I am sure that I missed some good reasons (property rights?) and would be interested to find out more. Also, I apologize for the negativity. It¢s not that bad, after all, but I was ruminating on this for much of my hike yesterday and wanted to get it off my chest.End of Rant.Overall: great hiking, fun people, and sunny skies. I¢ll try to post from the next town, or at least from Hot Springs, NC.P.S. If I remember, I will post a second rant next time on the loathsome term ¢zero day¢. One rant is more than enough for one post.