Date: 2003-05-26
From: Campsite North of Wayah Bald

To: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke up with a start this morning, 6:45 am. I guess I¢d been snoozing, half-aware, for awhile. Actually I¢m not sure how soundly I slept all night ¢ I kept worrying about bears. I¢ve had some funky dreams out here.Thankfully it¢s sunny this morning. I got rained on some yesterday afternoon. It wasn¢t enough to drench me though.I supposed I probably could make it all the way to the NOC today ¢ should be roughly 16 miles. But I think I¢ll stop at Wesser Bald. We¢ll see. I need to take it easy on my feet. I¢ve got several spots where my sandals are rubbing, and my right arch complains now and then. I love hiking in my Chacos, but when they get wet they rub in certain spots. The duct tape is good but won¢t stay on very well. Later . . . I took my time this morning, read some, studied my CE course for the first time and got over half way through the first section. That felt good!So despite waking early I was packed and ready to go at 10:30. This morning was a lot of flat with a few gradual climbs. Saw my first snake, a little brown one, not sure what kind. It moved quickly across the trail in front of me. It was around two feet long and less than two inches around.Just now, nearly 3 pm, I¢m sitting up a side trail to Rocky Bald Lookout. I guess I see a bald out there ¢ mostly just more of ¢these high green hills.¢ Today has been BEAUTIFUL! A dry night and now sunny blue skies with big puffy white clouds, 70 degrees (my thermometer actually moved ¢ guess it¢s not stuck at 55). It¢s clouding over a little now; I think a chance of rain this afternoon. I¢ve always loved cloud shadows on hillsides. These hills are sharp with deep valleys and layer upon layer of them fade off into the hazy horizon. I love a lunch with a view. The gnats are really bad though ¢ I think I just ate one smooshed on my graham cracker.Second snake this afternoon ¢ this one black, probably closer to two and a half feet. And first toad ¢ a bright orange one! Well, rust-colored, a really cute little guy.Lesson #1 for the day: No matter how ¢few¢ miles you think you¢re going to hike in a day, always get an early start. If you don¢t, it¢s inevitable that you¢ll want to hike longer than daylight accommodates.Lesson #2: Pay attention to the distance between water sources. I¢ve been getting good at carrying less at a time ¢ so good in fact that I ran out today! I arrived at my lunch spot planning to cook some ramen, only to find I had no water left. No big deal, I ate it raw ¢ which I actually like, believe it or not. I wasn¢t worried, there was a spring .3 miles up the trail. However, each subsequent spring was a mere trickle (here¢s where a filter would come in handy) and I ended up hiking nearly four hours without water. Not that big of a deal, but I am a big water person! I normally take my water bottle to class, to work, to the grocery store, I¢ve taken it to church, and I¢ve even been known to take one on dates! But I survived, and let me tell you it never tasted so good when I finally got some more. On the bright side, my pack was a pound or two lighter coming up Wesser Bald, and I conserved iodine tablets!Lesson #3: This one¢s been slowly sinking in over the past few days. Never assume ¢it¢s all downhill from here.¢ Even the notorious five-and-a-half-mile, 2887 foot descent from Wesser Bald to the NOC has some short but nasty climbs. Another place I would not want to be a SOBO!Lesson #4: You always run out of film before the greatest panoramic view. Jumpup Lookout is incredible. Save your film!A day like today almost makes all the rain worth it. I found another favorite spot ¢ on the way down to the NOC, just above the A. Rufus shelter, the trail is etched into the side of the mountain. Evidently a fire a few years back left some parts of the trail more exposed. I hiked along this section just about sundown. The sun lingered above the opposite mountains which rose slowly higher as I descended into the valley and evening.I¢d hoped to make it all the way to the NOC ¢ reached Wessser Bald Shelter at 5:30 and thought it was too early to stop ¢ but who should I find tenting at A. Rufus but John and Nichole! What a treat at the end of another great day. I had feared they were way beyond me¢¦Tomorrow is John¢s birthday and I will go to breakfast with them at the NOC to help celebrate.