Date: 2006-10-07
From: apple house shelter

To: moreland gap shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

======2003======wednesday, march 26, day 33difficult day¢¦.re-route added 2 miles* to the expected 16¢¦the first part of the morning was beautiful¢¦.we had breakfast in a little vale* that had a ¢european¢ feel to it¢¦the hills were covered in fresh, green spring grass¢¦¢¦(very gently rolling off to the mountains)¢¦. ¢old world¢, ¢share-a-plant¢ type roses (non-native) brambled the old pasture¢¦the maples were fiery red as their blooming was ¢ignited¢ by the sun¢s rising¢¦..there was a little brook babbling its course down the length of the open vale between many outcroppings of white-ish, gray stone¢¦.there were also many piles of smaller stones, quiet testimonials to the hard work of clearing pastureland that had obviously gone on here in years past¢¦(i almost expected an irish sheepherder to come singing round the bend any moment!)¢¦.at one large outcropping, we paused to have breakfast¢¦..as we perched there on top of the chill stone overlooking the valley, we could take in the entire scene¢¦..a big , old apple tree stood nearby, as well as a couple of large oaks that i imagine were left either for boundary markers or shade for cattle¢¦.we could see beyond the green and budding hills to the distant blue mountain peaks from which we had come¢¦it was like a dream!....like we were in a storybook¢¦..i tried to sketch the scene (in the back of my bible) because i was fresh out of film¢¦.but the TRUER picture remains in my memory¢¦we both were troubled by the roses*, though ¢¦.in fact, this seemed to be a morning FULL of ¢pollutants¢!....first along the streambanks below where we began our climb up into the vale, there was an inordinate amount of trash dumped there from the road above¢¦it was mostly PLASTICS! (grief! we pollute first by manufacturing them, then we continue to pollute by strewing them all over creation!)...but there are ¢plant pollutants¢ we've strewn about as well... (¢plant¢ as in the botanical kind)¢¦.such as this rose that is taking over these lovely hills and woods, crowding out other native vegetation and habitat!)¢¦.it¢s too bad¢¦.for ALL of it¢¦.for the place to where we ALL have come!....here we are, too!...hikers with our plastics and synthetics we deem so ¢necessary¢ (are they?)¢¦.sometimes i wish we could go ¢back¢¢¦.but i think there is no ¢going back¢¢¦..perhaps we can learn to go forward better¢¦.when we learn to really care....everyone was racing against the weather forecast* today...storms and maybe hail was predicted.....and, indeed, the rain finally came (mostly a light drizzle)....but we walked in it under our umbrellas from about 1:00 on.....we were about the last (as usual) to arrive at the shelter (4:30...a surprise!...we thought we had much further to go!)....soooo.... ¢no room in the inn¢.....we had to tent......it¢s really wet and cold here on this rain soaked ground....but we¢ve put our windshield reflectors* down first (before our tyvek* and pads), so we will sleep dry....i¢m happy to be into camp and to soon be snuggling here in our little ¢home¢ with killeen*......i¢m a little worried about his digestive problems....his food during the day still seems to be going right through him....not sure what to do!got a bit ¢down¢ today (following our lovely morning)....we walked for MILES in rhododendron.....(sounds nice, doesn¢t it?)....but it was really rather ¢oppressive¢ ....we felt like ¢hobbits¢ traveling through dark, damp woods with the threat of ¢orcs¢ lurking in the low-hanging branches!....there wasn¢t much serious climbing, but we did go up and down a lot, in and out of streamlets and muddy puddles....no views...just tangles of heath, later wrapped in fog and a chilling wind....as i said, we were very glad to reach camp...we look forward to kincora TOMORROW!.....will we cook?...go to the grocery?...we¢ll see....forgot to mention we saw fields of ramps yesterday.....well, i wish i was better at ¢fitting in¢ with folks....don¢t get me wrong....these young kids are great to us....and EVERYONE out here in ¢trailland¢ is cordial and accepting (it¢s really amazing!).....but, i¢m shy....we both are....and it¢s a whole different ballgame, settling in every night with a different ¢family¢.....help us, Lord, please, to find favor with others as we just be ¢us¢.....also meant to mention about walking along the elk river this a.m. (while it was still sunny)....it was our first real river walk, i think....we stopped at the rather ¢swampy¢, open spring....i was sitting by the trail reading my bible (while paw got the water) when sweet-n-low came along....i offered her some of my dehydrated strawberry cake (not the best offering, but hikers will eat anything)....then along came her buddy, not-yet....she, however, declined on the cake.....i felt bad that sweet-n-low stepped into a boggy puddle at the spring....we should have warned her......======2006======thursday, march16, day 33 (10.7 miles from kincora to watauga shelter)(a.m.)just a short note to say we¢ve had yet another fabulous stay at kincora! (though it was very different from last time when we were with lots of hikers...this time we were alone most of the day)....we enjoyed relaxing, eating hotdogs, chips, and drinking lots of juice....we did just a little laundry in the sink, though bob told us later we could¢ve washed clothes at the house (he didn¢t have the plumbing at the hostel ¢de-winterized¢ yet)....later on in the evening our german friends arrived and we shared our fruitcake with them as they were craving chocolate (ours has chocolate chunks)....killeen and i had steak, salad, sweet corn, baked potato and bread at supper (but he can¢t chew steak so well, so i think it wasn¢t as enjoyable for him)....we got to meet pat this time....she¢s as delightful as bob....what a great couple...i pray God¢s RICHEST blessings on their lives!....more later....we¢ve got 10 miles to watauga lake....3 days to damascus....thank the Lord for this good weather!(p.m.)we are now over 400 miles from springer and about 40 miles from damascus, va.....last time we walked in snow all the way....looks like this time we¢re gonna enjoy nicer weather (although ¢they¢ say it should be VERY cold tonight!....who are ¢they¢ anyway?)we¢re ¢stealth¢ camping just across the trail from the watauga shelter....killeen did the job of setting up the tarp tonight...he does a much better job than me....but i was up at the shelter making an entry in the register before cooking supper....bear and papa bear who are ahead of us had asked 4 questions of hikers signing the register: a favorite quote, who we were/where we were from, what we¢d been reading (if anything), and when we expected to complete our hike......(FUN!...i love questionnaires!)....anyway i gave the t.s. eliot quote off of my inscribed snot rag*....speaking of snot, i¢ve got a little bit of a cold, so i¢m kinda draggy...glad we only had 10 miles today....it was plenty!...it¢s one of my favorite stretches there through laurel falls gorge (bob says when his hound dog runs off, that that is where you¢ll find him....sittin¢ over there watchin¢ the waterfalls....can¢t say i blame him....it¢s beautiful!)....but when you finally have to climb out of the gorge up to pond flats, it¢s a real killer!....but....then, you get to hike down all afternoon to the lake (until about the last mile to the shelter and it¢s mostly up)....don¢t know if we¢ll see the german kids tonight....thought about teaching them ¢rocky top¢, but i think i¢ll be asleep in another hour even if they do come in.....we¢re havin¢ good ol¢ beans and greens for supper with some leftover raw onion and bread.....we ate almost ALL of the $48.00 worth we spent on food yesterday!......the little stream here sounds soooo nice!*NOTES/OBSERVATIONS/COMPARISONS*2 miles....doesn¢t sound like much, but in ¢03, we always dreaded the last couple of miles for the day....they always seemed to be so hard....in 2006, however, we rarely felt that exhausted at the end of the day...therefore, our evenings at the shelters were much more enjoyable....*little vale.....you can see this place in our photos....just click (above) on journals ¢list¢..... scroll down to ¢side trip to thanksgiving¢ and click.....then click on our katahdin photo and proceed to ¢next¢ (there are about 5 photos you can click on to observe this area...they were taken this year as i was out of film in ¢03...*troubled by the roses....they were the aggressive, alien type that are known to be problematic in the environment....one more example of how human mismanagement and thoughtlessness has contributed to the disruption of native ecosystems....*weather forecast....it¢s amazing how hikers out in the middle of nowhere often ¢know¢ the forecast!....we learned to mostly ignore such predictions, however, preferring to rely on what we knew about wind direction,etc. and the general ¢look and feel¢ of the day....*windshield reflectors.....(for automobiles).....we used these in our ¢bedding system¢.....they held up exceptionally well (we used the same pair for both of our hikes)....the mylar reflectant material seemed to help distribute body heat...*tyvek....the cloth type that is used to make kites, signs, etc.....it¢s warm, soft and washable....*killeen......just a reminder that ¢paw¢, ¢paw-ee¢, ¢killeen¢ and ¢charlie¢ are all one and the same person.....my better half!...*t.s. eliot quote off my inscribed snot rag.....before our hike i had taken a white, polyester handkerchief and decorated it with all my favorite songs, scriptures and quotes....t.s. eliot made the cut with: "we shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time"...lenny, at the "blueberry patch" hostel said she thought my snot rag was beautiful!