Date: 2016-05-24
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Stealth Camp near Catawba
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

Fresh Breath snored all night long again. I actually had a dream that Faith's boyfriend met us on the trail and brought us an oxygen bottle and mask for Fresh Breath to help his snoring. Throughout the night is sounded like rain on the metal roof of the shelter, but more likely it was just rain water being blown off the tree leaves. I moved slowly getting up, tired from not getting much sleep with Fresh Breath's all night chorus. I was thinking it was only 6 miles to the hostel, a shower, and then see where I go from there. Little did I know that was some of the toughest 6 miles I wound experience on the AT. The morning was sunny for a change, and Faith was excited and declared it summer. As she drank her coffee she said, "You know it just feels like summer has begun". It was a really tough, tough climb up to The Dragon's Tooth. The trail was very rocky and a had lot of "climbing". The AT Trail Guide didn't depict the profile as being too difficult, only 1000 feet up, but everyone I met agreed it was a tough climb through all those rocks. Once on top of Cove Mountain and then on the Dragon's Tooth however we were rewarded with incredible views! This was truly a day of big views! The sun was out and visibility was great so I was glad once again I was slowed down and able to enjoy these scenes. The day before had been overcast and cloudy, and that would have made for a disappointing day on this mountain. Dragon's Tooth turned out to be a popular day hike location coming from the north side parking lot and there were all kinds of day hikers climbing the rocks. It really jolted me to see all these clean, energetic hikers carrying nothing but a bottle of water to complete their day hike. The girls seemed to all be wearing cute hiking clothes which was a real change after seeing nothing but backpackers and thru hikers for the last few weeks. I of course had to climb to the top of the Dragon's Tooth and was rewarded with 360 degree views of the valleys below and the surrounding mountains. I met Faith just as I got back from climbing Dragon's Tooth and she was exhausted from the rocky climb as well. I told her to dump her pack and go check out Dragon's Tooth; it would make that climb worth it. Going down Dragon's Tooth was equally challenging with a 40 pound pack, and in several places there are metal bars drilled into the rock cliffs so you can climb down. It wasn't until 3 pm that I was down to the road and made the decision to skip the hostel and head down the opposite direction to a convenience store another hiker had told me about. I got two slices of pizza, a Coke, and an ice cream bar and was in heaven! As a bonus, I got a ham sandwich that would be my dinner and started back up the road to get back on the AT. There was a small climb but then the trail went through several pastures, along some streams, and then up along a ridge. I kept looking for a camping spot as the sun was getting lower. I finally found a good one and made camp. I pulled out my ham sandwich and savored every bite as I watched the sun sink behind the mountains to the west. Dragon's Tooth was behind me and tomorrow I would be up on McAfee Knob, one of the most photographed sites on the AT.