Date: 2007-06-02
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning, the rain has stopped, which is quite nice. I didn't mind my rain walk back in Georgia; but, then again, I had been hiking for hours, and was piping hot and grimy. I just took advantage of the free shower! I wouldn't like to begin the day with the rain, though. Quite another thing, that would be.The mother and daughter kind of keep to themselves, but this seems to be the mothers' doing more so than the daughter, as she seems to want to converse more with us, whereas the mother seems to be focused only on breaking camp, eating, and hiking North.Tyvek head South, looking forward to Hot Springs. Gabrielle isn't sure what his itinerary is for the rest of his off-weekend. He jokes that he should hike to Erwin, and call Elmer from there, telling him that he's quit! I head out before he makes a decision, and before Josh and Keith push out.Yesterday, the family warned me of a 12-mile dry spot, where all the creeks are dried out, between Little Laurel and Flint Mountain Shelters. I decide then and there to hike all the way to Flint Mountain, to get out of the dry spot, thus deciding that morning to hike just over 21-miles.Just over an hour later, I pass by the mother and daughter, who have stopped for a break. Just North of there, I come upon Log Cabin Road, where, according to Wingfoot, cabins are just .4-miles down the road. According to Wingfoot, they have hot meals there, which sound oh-so-appealing at the moment. So, I begin walking down the road, letting my stomach be my guide. I pass by several houses, one of which I can hear AC/DC blaring from the garage along the walk. Before long, I'm confident that I've walked more than .4-mies, and figure I must've passed where I'm headed... it must be one of the houses I've passed? So, I turn around, and start walking back where I came from. When I come upon the house with the blaring music, there's couple in the backyard. The husband is working in the garden, plowing it seems; his wife is standing on the back porch, telling him something. I approach, and ask about the destination I'm looking for. Apparently, it's about another half-mile from this point, he tells me, which will make the mileage closer to one-mile than Wingfoot and the sign at the Trail says (all of this is assuming that my mileage assumptions are correct, of which they likely aren't). I tell him that I was just hoping to get a hot meal down there, but that I have too many miles today on my agenda to walk back in that direction. He then invites me to stay for a spaghetti lunch, which should be ready within an hour, he says. I kindly turn down his offer, again under the pretense that I have too many miles to hike! What kind people this husband and wife must be, to offer me a place at their table, me with my straggly beard, strong b.o., and dirty clothes! Oh, how I wish, at moments like this, that I had started my hike earlier than I did, so I would have the time to afford random stops like this!So, I walk back to the Trail, and press on. Shortly after, I come upon the mother and daughter again, who look confused at seeing me behind them again; but, despite the obvious confusion in their eyes, they don't ask.Just over 3-miles North, I come upon the first shelter for today: Little Laurel Shelter. For 12.7-miles North of here, I've been told (and read in the registers!), the Trail is completely dry! So, I stock up on water here, preparing myself for this stretch. I have already hiked 8.6-miles, and I'm unusually tired. I also decide to cook my dinner here, so I can go straight to be after my arrival at Flint Mountain Shelter!My meal is a pasta dish of sorts, which I purchased at Bluff Mountain Outfitter, in an attempt to switch up my menu (which has mainly consisted of ramen and tuna for dinner!). I'm a lazy cook on the Trail, and this pasta requires work which I simply have no desire to do. So, I dump the ravioli in my rubbermaid, and boils 2.5-cups of water, and add it to the pasta, closing the rubbermaid lid, allowing it to sit for several minutes. The result? One of the most disgusting meals I have ever consumed! I can't even bring myself to eat all of it, so I dump the remains in the forest and away from the shelter. I have just provided dinner for the field mice, or whatever other animal decides to eat this abominable food!Back on the Trail, I pass bare wooden sign, upon which someone has written with a marker, "Speed Limit: 10 mph"! Oh, the humor of a hiker! A side trail leads 50' to a cliff overlook, White Rock Cliffs. If ever you hike by here, take the side trail! It's BEAUTIFUL! Not even a mile North, there's another side trail to another cliff overlook, 200' down, which I bypass. I regret this today, but at the moment, I kept thinking, "I have a lot of miles to cover today, and I need to focus on that!"I then come upon a wooden sign, stating that the white-blaze (the Appalachian Trail marker, a two-inch by six-inch paint stripe, for those of you who may not know) is the "Exposed Ridgeline Trail"; and the blue-blaze trail (again, two-inch by six-inch, only blue rather than white) is the "Bad Weather Trail"! My heartbeat excites at the prospect, so I look at the sky, playing the roll of weatherman, wondering what I should do. The weather has been overcast all day, threatening rain; and, it POURED last night. Well, I reason, it's not raining now, so I'm going to take the "Exposed Ridgeline Trail"!Wow, this proves to be one of the prettiest and most exhilarating sections of the Trail so far! Just North of the aforementioned sign, the Trail steeply climbs many rock steps, traversing and around several mammoth-sized boulders. So far, it's definitely ridgewalking, but not exposed in the sense that I expected. A fraction of a mile more, and it literally opens up, completely! The terrain was so intensely rugged, that it was impossible for me to gauge the distance, but I lean towards 1.something-miles of sheer adrenaline-rush hiking! Atop the ridgeline here, I can see into Tennessee where the mountains, literally, drop off into the Great Plains! The Quilt can be seen through a ravine between two mountains! The border walk, with Tennessee and North Carolina, continues, I learn, as someone has written a line in the sand, with "TN" on one side and "NC" on the other, showing where the border is. Parts of this section are literally straight up-and-down, the downs requiring me climb down backwards, as the descent is too far to sit down and drop, so down I climb, like on a ladder. I absolutely LOVE this! 'Tis a pity I'm alone here, as it's near impossible to take a picture with me in it, clearly demonstrating the severity of the terrain with me as a reference point! I do try, though, and tell myself that I must return to this spot for a weekend hike, perchance, bringing at least one friend along so they can take the pictures I was unable to take!Just North of the descent from the spine of those ridges, I arrive at Jerry Cabin Shelter. Remember, this is dead-smack in the middle of the dry spot! I'm tired, but I refuse to camp here, with no reliable water source nearby! A hiker has taped a piece of paper with detailed directions to a spring they have discovered. From reading the directions, what with the bushwacking that it will require, it might take at least half-an-hour to reach the spring, a task which I don't want to partake in.So, I rest for around 15-minutes before pressing on. During my break, a southbound hiker arrives, obviously tired due to his appearance, but also knowing of the dry area, thus refusing to stay here. He asks about the distance to the next shelter south, which isn't much (just 6.8-miles), but I enthusiastically tell him of the exposed ridgewalk! His tired appearance makes him look unenthusiastic about it, so I make sure to assure him of it's sheer beauty, and of the relative ease with the section of Trail south of it. He tells me that the section of Trail North of here to the next shelter is mainly flat, which proves to be completely false... He must've been hiking with his eyes closed or something, as hardly any of it was flat!After eating some poptarts (remember, I ate my dinner at lunch time), I press on, with only 5.9-miles more to go! With my rate, I should be at camp in right around two-hours. As I said in the above paragraph, the terrain is hardly as level as that hiker told me it was. It wasn't terribly rough, but I was psychologically prepared for a breezy walk, thus making any of the ups seem harder than they were.Part of this hike passes by more gravesites, and also passes through beautiful boulder fields! These glacial deposits have always amazed me, and they certainly don't fail to do so now. For a good while, the Trail traverses down an old logging road. It's not very aesthetic, but it makes for easy walking, as the treadway is wide enough to not have to step on every single rock in the pathway.I arrive at the shelter during dusk, and am glad to have had my dinner---albeit disgusting---earlier today, affording me very little to do before retiring! The spring is 300' North on the Trail, and I opt to get my water before going to bed (one less thing to do in the morning!). I fill my 4-liter Platypus reservoir, and fill my Camelback and Nalgene. Near the shelter, there's a footlocker box of sorts. When I see it, I first think it's a cooler full of Trail Magic, maybe (a cold Sprite or beer, or a candy bar sounds like heaven right now). It turns out to be completely filled with trash! Is this from the Trail maintainer, to collect the garbage left by the jackass, inconsiderate, tactless hikers who think it wise to leave their trash under the shelters or unburned in the fire. This section of the Trail has had more litter than any other section south of here, and it's quite frustrating! Or, is it Trail Magic, being a receptacle for passing hikers to leave their trash in, thus lightening up their loads, even if just by a handful of grams? I haven't a clue, but I do leave my trash in it!A hiker has left a mousetrap in here, a plastic one. It looks harmless, but according to an entry in the shelter register, it definitely works! So, I set it before I go to bed, and then to bed I go, but only after chanting my prayers, of course, as I am here alone for the night!