Date: 2005-04-29
From: Watauga Lake Shelter

To: Double Springs shelter
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: light rain

This morning we awoke to rain coming down in sheets! I really didn't want to get moving, but as Bug reminded me, we had lots of miles to do if we were to meet our friends the next morning.Aside from making the ground softer underfoot, rain is great for making you take notice of things you might normally miss. As I looked out into the dreary morning rain, the trees and all of the plant life just seemed to pop out at you with this electric green hue; very much in contrast to the grey sky. I also began to notice later as we hiked, these beautiful little purple flowers. Not the wild violets that we had seen since before Erwin, but tall wildflower looking plants with multiple blooms per stem. From research I have done in the wildflower books, I would guess that it was chicory (yes, the same one that is an additive to coffee).It was a fairly quiet day overall, and we stopped a couple of times to rest and eat snacks. Our first stop was Vandeventer Shelter which was on top of a ridge. On a clear day, I can imagine you can see a beautiful view of the lake, but the day was extremely foggy. To be quite honest, the few times we did get views, we could see the lake and I quickly began to tire of it. Psychologically, it was bringing me down because for miles we could see the lake, and I didn't feel as if I was getting anywhere. Anyway, I digress....back to Vandeventer. Bug and I stopped for a Snickers break, and while there spotted a resident squirrel. We believe it was a flying squirrel due to its small size, and because of references made in the shelter register. He was cute as a button, but scared to death.For a small while the sun looked as if it might make an appearance, and we hiked on for another 3 hours. Sometimes conversing, other times enjoying our solitude and the quiet, and every once in awhile the songs of the birds. Shortly before Iron Mountain Shelter we stopped at a Spring to replenish our water, and it was then that we noticed the temps dropping and the clouds rolling in. We soon caught up to Retro in the shelter and also met Doc for the first time. Here we had a late lunch/early dinner (?) of tuna fish salad and desserted on Snickers with Almonds. As another hiker put it, "I don't eat Snickers, I take them as supplements." Just as we were packing up our things to hike our final 7.7 miles of the day the rain began to pour! I think Retro was a little concerned about us going out into the nasty weather, but we are due to meet Matthew and Rebekah at 9am tomorrow. As nasty as the weather was (and it was a booger), we were able to hike fast because of the terrain. It was mostly ridge-walking. We totally missed the Nick Grindstaff monument--- which was right on the trail--- due to the thick fog all around. When we crossed over TN 91, we entered into what I imagine is beautiful pasture land, but again, the fog prevented us from truly appreciating it. As we hiked back into the woods, it was only a 2 mile gradual climb up to the shelter. We anticipated having the shelter to ourselves because of the yucky day, but arrived to find Bassline, who was happy to see us. We had a fun time chatting as we cooked our dinner, and were overall amazed at how quickly we arrived at this shelter (7.7 miles in 3 hours). It is cold and ick out there, but tomorrow brings the promise of sausage biscuits.