Date: 2018-05-17
From: CarverÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap

To: US 19E, Roan Mtn
Miles today: 14.6

The Mayor is here, so why not slack pack?! And that¢s exactly what I did. I loaded up a small day pack with lunch, snacks, bug spray, sun screen, water and certain toiletries just in case. We drove to Carver¢s Gap where I had exited the trail the day before. Upon arrival I met Nick, a Triple Crown* hiker and Not Yet, a retired NY fire fighter from The Bronx (also a Yankee fan). After introductions to the Mayor we all set off for our north bound hike. The Mayor hiked though a beautifully cared for trail winding its way through a pungent spruce forest that emptied onto a lower altitude bald...what a way to be welcomed back to the trail.The day was bright and sunny but darkness loomed on the horizon. I hiked with both Nick and Not Yet independently for about an hour and around noon I was off on my own trying to see what I could do with 8 lbs rather than 58. Up ahead was an old barn turned into a shelter for the AT hikers. I set off on the trail to check it out, but was sidetracked by the previously mentioned looming darkness. Not wanting to delay the impending, I decided to forego the barn, resupply my water and get back on the trail; too bad I forgot to bring my water filter, so I had only 750ml of water for what turned out to be 14.5 miles.I felt I was doing pretty well today, up hill for 2 miles, level for 1, up hill for 3 miles with ¢several false summits for north bounders¢ according to the AWOL guide book. The views were incredible looking back at the barn shelter from above. I was able to see a storm roll in from the east, clipping me but not affecting the views to the west, which is where I was heading. As I approached the next 3 mile climb, I targeted a white dot high on the mountain side, that was my goal. The higher I got the farther that dot got from me and as another cell came in from the east, it completely engulfed the distant mountain views, the white dot, me and the entire mountain top on which I stood. False summits mean nothing when the visibility is 20-30 feet.  As I finally did summit, out from behind a distant rock formation and into the dense fog, appeared the silhouette of a man heading my way. This was the only person I had seen in several miles/hours and the way he appeared was unreal. As he approached I snapped a photo and at that instant he was holding up two fingers as if saying ¢I come in peace.¢ Good, that¢s about all I was prepared for! It turned out he worked for the trail and state park system as a ridge runner of sort and had been on the job for only 3 hours...what a day to start a new job.The rain continued for several more hours and the clothes and shoes that were almost dry this morning were once again soaked through. As the rain began to slow I eventually caught up to the white dot I had been pursuing most of the afternoon. The trail was descending for over 6 miles. It was wet and slippery, in some spots under water and again littered with big rocks and boulders that required concentration, confidence, grace, timing and sure footedness in order to successfully step and/or jump down the side of the mountain. It seemed that the white dot misstepped just prior to the point at which I caught up and was picking herself up off the muddy trail.  Not seeming embarrassed at all she turned, surprised to see me standing there and greeted me with a big smile as if she was Pee Wee Herman saying, ¢I meant to do that¢...it was Blue Raccoon in her white rain poncho, out slack packing in the rain for the second day in a row. We hiked the next 6 miles together through the rain, some sunshine, more rain until we crossed a field and passed a sign informing us that we are leaving North Carolina for good!  No more will we be crossing back and forth between these two states not really knowing where we are. From now on, we¢ll not know where we are in Tennessee! That also means that there are no more privy¢s at the shelters because Tennesseeans believe you should just do your business in the woods. Or a field. Either way, be sure to bury it.About 3 miles from the end of the trail we were greeted by The Mayor who hiked in to meet us. He got a taste of the trail and met a few hikers along the way. He put in some miles today at both ends of my hike and I hope that his rehab won¢t be negatively affected.I on the other hand have developed some blisters on the ¢ring¢ toes of each foot. Wet shoes! I went to an outfitters to seek advice on ¢maybe¢ some new shoes, but they were useless. So my shoes are stacked on the register in our room and I¢ll just end up taping up my feet in the morning as I plan to slack pack again tomorrow in the probable rain.*Triple Crown hiker means a successful thru hike of the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail; AT, PCT and CDT respectively. This is a big deal in the hiking world.