Date: 2005-04-22
From: Mountain Harbour B & B

To: Mountaineer Waterfall
Miles today: 8.3

April 22, 2005Ending ¢ Mountaineer Waterfall 393.7   8.3Begin ¢ Mountain Harbour US 19E   385.4We had become a little community at the Mountain Harbour B & B. Our accommodations were nice and the food was great. We were a group of older guys resting up there and comparing stories of sore muscles and joints and trail memories. Halfway and I loaded up and we were on the trail about 9:30 am. The trail started with a fairly steep climb. Then the trail changed and we went through some cow pastures crossing several stiles.   Once we were resting in a cow pasture and enjoying the change in scenery and a young male hiker passed us. I watched him as he continued on straight up the trail. Two young women hikers passed us and I noticed that they went straight for a while and then made a sharp almost 180 degree turn and went up a hill into the woods. I hiked up and saw the mistake the male had made in missing the turn. I jogged down the trail a little and called out his trail name, which I have now forgotten. He heard me and returned. He said he had made the same mistake last year at that point and missed the turn.    A couple came up and we chatted with them. They were from Orlando FL and were celebrating their 48th wedding anniversary by hiking some of the AT. We were to camp with them tonight and see more of them tomorrow.    Halfway and I reached Isaac Cemetery and it was a nice place to stop and rest and have lunch under the shade of a tree. The trail crossed a paved road several times and passed a church.    At 2 pm the AT took a turn to the left. To the right was a trail to Jones Falls 0.1m. I was ahead of Halfway so I wrote 2pm in the trail and my name and hiked on. Since rain had started falling I stopped at that point to put on my rain gear. As I hiked I thought I could hear sleet from time to time hitting on the leaves in the woods. Hiking in the woods the rain does not bother you so much. When it was raining the hardest we were on a logging road that runs by the Elk River and we were out in the open. I came to some trees and rested there under a big one and waited on Halfway to catch up. It was tempting to camp out there but we decided to hike on.    6 pm we made it to Mountaineer Waterfall and the map on the wall of Overmountain Shelter had showed water and tent camping at this area. I saw nothing there and left my pack with Halfway and I hiked about 12 to l mile ahead looking for a good campsite and saw nothing. When I returned, Halfway said some others had arrived and they hiked up from the falls and camped out there. So we followed them. The couple from Orlando, Ninja, the biology major and several others ended up camped out there with us. The couple in the photo on this page is the couple from Orlando and their tent.This was Chilly Willy and Just Ray.   We found some fairly level places for our tents and pitched them. Ninja is the guy in a kilt that carries his camp stool with him (see photo in photo section). We got some rest that night and a good meal for our supper. Hopefully the rain will end and there will be good hiking tomorrow. Halfway is really having trouble with his shins and is taking the trail slowly.