Date: 2013-03-12
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Long Branch Shelter
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: clear sky

(In which I climb my highest mountains and hike into the night)I stay warm and mostly dry through the night. After a few hours I have to remove my jacket as I am getting too warm and sweating! In the morning I find the night must have been misty. The area around the air hole / window in my hammock's over-cover has picked up some condensation, but it is nothing terrible. The rain was supposed to stop early in the morning, but it continues to rain until after sunrise. I force myself to start moving, begin packing up. I pack slowly, trying to keep my gear off the wet and muddy ground until it is in dry bags. My gloves get soaked on my hammock's rain fly, and I start moving without eating so I can get warmed up.I walk until full function has returned to all my fingers and then stop for a quick trailside breakfast. I spend most of the morning walking alone, passing an older woman and Dahigh. Dahigh - Don't Ask How I Got Here - is the guy who had attacked the bunk at the Blueberry Patch Hostel the other night. He is not unpleasant - apparently that had all happened in a nightmare. Julian passes me, and during a snack break the Boston and Florida guys catch up to me. I draft them uphill and then pass them on the downhill - one of them has a weak knee and they descend slowly. We meet back up in Deep Gap, where Julian is waiting. Trisha and Leah are here with Rosco, and we all take a break here before beginning the climb up Standing Indian Mountain.I try to keep up with Julian, Trisha, and Leah but they are much faster than me uphill. They pull away, and when I stop for a water break Boston and Florida overtake me. I draft them uphill. The terrain is pretty easy, with the only challenge coming from the duration of the climb. Standing Indian Mountain is 5498 feet and Deep Gap is at 4341 feet, and the Trail steadily climbs out of the gap for 2.4 miles. I am able to follow these guys to the top with few stops. The Trail does not pass over the peak, but all of us take the side trail to the summit. It is beautiful atop the mountain, with a view back south looking over a multitude of peaks and low clouds. We take a long lunch break here, during which Cat shows up. Trisha and Leah leave first, and a while later I pack up and head out. My next goal is to refill my water in the next gap.The descent into Beech Gap is very gradual. I overtake Dahigh on the way down - he had skipped the summit. Eventually I reach the gap, where Trisha and Leah are just finishing up a break. I head down the blue-blaze trail to get water. I question whether there is water or if this is a proper trail, but eventually it crosses a stream. I filter a liter of water for immediate use and another for my pack. I pace the distance back to the AT, and it comes in at about 0.2 miles. I am frustrated that I wasted time here, as the Trail crosses a stream shortly thereafter. My first challenging stream crossing comes at a bend in the Trail somewhat later - the Trail is eroding right before the stream, and gives way under me as I get ready to cross. Fortunately I was pushing a low tree out of the way at that moment, and I can use this leverage to keep myself out of the water. I cross on a slightly different angle and remain dry.I take an uninterrupted snack break in Coleman Gap before pushing an easy 1.5 miles to Carter Gap Shelter. There used to be two shelters here but the old one must have been torn down in the past year. A vacant platform shows where the shelter had been. Blue Moon and Dahigh are here. The latter has much of his gear hanging out to dry after he had tented in the storm. I set out my hammock to dry a bit and take a prolonged break to write. I have plenty of energy remaining and plan to continue hiking. Boston and Florida arrive shortly after me, and Julian and Cat show up shortly before I pack up and depart.Leaving the shelter at 1800, I predictably encounter nobody on the Trail. I make good time to Betty Creek Gap, using the day's remaining light. Along the way I find rocks arranged in an arrow on the ground. This leads to a beautiful view that is not listed in the guidebook. I stop here briefly to watch the shadows creep across the mountains before continuing north. At this gap there are a couple folks tenting - they make no noise as I pass. Mooney Gap and a fire road come shortly after Betty Creek Gap, and this is where the Trail climbs toward Albert Mountain.The climb toward the top of Albert Mountain starts out pretty gradual and is not unlike past mountains. The difference here is that without my headlamp the surrounding scenery is almost complete darkness. If I let my eyes adjust to the dark I can make out faint silhouettes of trees and slopes. The Trail breaks out of the woods to steep mountainside, and the lights of nearby Franklin and other more distant towns join the scenery. If I look above me - not easy with the top of my pack right behind my head - I can see a wonderful clear night sky. The Trail holds elevation on the edge of the mountain but becomes a bit rocky and jagged.The Trail leaves the edge of the mountain and reenters the forest briefly. From here I can catch glimpses of the road up the mountain. The side trail around the summit splits off to the west and this is where Albert Mountain really makes itself distinct from past mountains. The Trail screams upward at the steepest rate yet, climbing over 400 feet in 0.3 mile. On paper it looks challenging, but in practice it is more formidable. Much of that gain happens rapidly, and the final approach to the summit is a gradual rise. I find myself holding my trekking poles at their midpoints and sometimes scrambling upward using rock and trees as handholds. Progress is slow but enjoyable, and it is not a long section. Scrambling upward seems to pass the time more quickly than walking up a gradual slope. I finish the ascent and lay my gear at the base of the fire tower.I loiter briefly, enjoying the view and taking a few long-exposure photos. On a warmer night I could see myself setting camp here and waiting for the sunrise. The cold spurs me to continue moving. I find the northbound exit from the mountaintop, what seems to be a woods road. It is an easy descent. My headlamp spooks an owl on my way down. I reach the site of the first shelter and am dismayed to see there is no longer a shelter here. I was hoping that two shelters within a couple miles of each other would make it easy for me to quietly slip into one of them.I continue to Long Branch Shelter over very easy terrain. The darkness and even terrain distort distance. A sample of ten paces feels just like the next ten paces and those feel like the next ten after that. The shelter is brand new, and I wonder if maybe no sign has been put up for it. Eventually I find the fresh blue blazes and the sign indicating that there is a shelter there. I slow down and move quietly, not sure how to most tactfully approach a shelter after bedtime. It is 2230 now - to think I could have stopped hiking six hours and eight miles ago! I see a red light source ahead of me, and think it is a headlamp.It turns out to be the embers of a fire, and the shelter is close next to it. I don't want to really set up camp and wake folks up with noise. Some may think a bear is in camp, and some of those may be disappointed that there is no bear. I drop my pack on the edge of the clearing and use my hammock and rain gear as a ground cloth. My sleeping bag is placed atop this, I place myself in the sleeping bag, and I adjust myself to the contours of the ground and go to sleep under the stars.Peace,