Date: 2011-06-01
From: Low Gap Campsite

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: few clouds

Cowboy camping works great, got a really good (unexpectedly good) nights sleep, and then another pleasant surprise, granola with instant powdered milks works great for brekkie, easy to make, no clean up, and tastes great!I head off a bit earlier than Bear Bait and Speed Demon, they don't seem to wanna get up, wanna get to Big Bald and enjoy the view, about halfway there's a side trail leading up to the top of the ridge, I decide to check it out, thinking there's probably a nice view up there, instead there's a little settlement of rather nice houses, the closest one has a huge blooming rhodie as high as the house, it's in the sun so has bloomed a little earlier, what a treat!Up up up to Big Bald, it's ona those times the AT goes along flat and then suddenly straight up the side of a mountain, it's woodsy for a bit and then suddenly the trees end and it's a meadow, still a little ways to the top.The summit is gorgeous, 360 views and a lovely cool breeze that reminds of the ocean, off come boots and shirt, it's covered in soft grass with no rocks so walking barefoot is not a problem. Bear Bait and Speed Demon arrive and a big cloud comes over, looks like rain and a little chilly without the sun, we just traipse around in the grass admiring the view and enjoying the breeze, what a feeling! We see a hiker way off in the distance on another part of the bald coming south, it seems to take him forever to arrive, and he doesn't even stop.This is a bald with a story-local legend has it that the bald is haunted by the ghost of a cantankerous hermit named David Greer, who lived there from 1802 to 1834. Spurned by a woman, he retreated to the mountaintop, vowing to have the least amount of contact with people, especially women, as possible.He found a shelf rock on the mountain that he was able to fashion into a crude house, and he dug a ditch so he could raise hogs. Residents of Unicoi were well aware of his violent temper and stayed as far away from the mountain as they could; this is when he received the nickname Hog Greer. One day he shot and killed a Higgins man over a dispute about wild cherries that Mr. Higgins believed belonged to him since they were on his land. The local police hauled him into town, but since there were no eyewitnesses, he was never formally arrested and was released back into the wild.Greer was killed in 1839 when he bought his tools for repair to blacksmith George Tompkins but had to wait because the blacksmith first began to repair his wealthy neighbor¢s plow. Enraged at being discriminated against, Hog Greer shot at the two men at the cabin, who shot back in self-defense and killed him. They were never charged.Off to the shelter for brunch, leaving ghosts and goblins behind on the mountain top. The spring seems to be another ghost, we can't find it, it's actually on the connector trail to the shelter, musta been really hungry and just missed it on the way in. The shelter is supposed to be one of the highest on the AT, it don't feel like it though, just another shelter in the woods, no view at all to give a sense of altitude.Off down the mountain the three of us traipse, we pass a nice campsite and debate which one it is, an unnamed campsite (further back) or Whistling Gap, further down the trail. Being the ever optomist, I argue for Whistling Gap, and of course we come on Whistling Gap further down the trail.We're at Spivey Gap now, there's a road crossing that's not too busy, we sit down to rest and snack and 2 more hikers roll up with a dog, they look like thru-hikers and are trying to figure out which way the road runs so they can flag down a car and try to get a ride into Erwin and take a zero.Out go the thumbs and soon someone does stop, and young guy in an old beat up looking car, Erwin is the other way so they ask how much for him to turn around and take them back, we can't hear the response but they yell "Yeahh, zero day" and they all 3 pile in, he does a quick uey, while the poor old car struggles back up the hill with all the weight.We never asked their names! Speed Demon is sure the woman is Smores, she's been reading her journal entries and knew she was close behind, she turns out to be right and we'll see her several more times over the next few days, the guy is turtle, never did get the dogs name, he growls at us a bit, unusual for a Border Collie, maybe some kinda mut that has an unfriendly part mixed in, Border Collies are known for being very friendly.We struggle up the 627' climb, then 4 miles to the shelter, it's a long 4 miles and I'm beginning to tire, not just from the day but generally, for the first time I can't really keep up with Bear Bait and Speed Demon. At the shelter Bear Bait starts talking about all the calories he's eaten since Hot Springs, he tallies it up and it's 23K, and truly phenomenal amount, it's only 3 1/2 days! It come to 6K a day, no wonder he's put on weight on the AT, 5lbs since Georgia and he's gotta go on a diet, Speed Demon tries to control it a bit in the supermarket so he don't buy so much, then she turns her back and he sneaks more stuff into the basket!A whole of jar of Peanut Butter gone, and now he's low on food and had to ask me for a power bar at Spivey Gap to fill in the hole.I've sucked the last few drops of water outa my bladder, so back down the trail to the spring to refill, starting to feel thirsty. On the way a hiker comes along, red headed woman, she looks like a hiker we passed earlier in the day, as she gets closer I can see it's someone different, then she asks "how far to the shelter", oh it's just up about 100 yards or so, and then it clicks, its Jelly Bean, indeed it is I know Speed Demon will be happy.The filter pump is getting more and more difficult to press, I'm really thirsty now and the thought of nice cool, clean spring water is just too much to bear so keep trying to push harder and SNAP, the filter handle breaks off, damn. What to do?Decide to fill up as best I can using the bladders horizontally in the water, the spring doesn't exactly gush and the water is shallow so gotta use one bladder to fill another as only a small amount will flow in each time. I drink some unfiltered as it's a spring and likely very clean, then have to go back and bludge some Aqua Mira off Bear Bait to make sure.Back to the shelter and expecting nice lively catch up conversation between the two women, rather subdued however, they're both a bit tired I think. Jelly Bean seems a very genteel southern girl from Birmingham, not exactly the trail type on first appearances, just shows how wrong you can be!Bear Bait thinks he's falling apart and should change his trail name to Train Wreck (which he eventually does!). His heels hurt, his knees are sore, walks down to get water and looks in serious pain, the three of us sit around writing and joking about this and that.The shelter has a resident mouse (at least one), it scurries around on the floor annoying the hell outa Bear Bait, they don't bother me too much unless they run over my hair, just gotta pack up your food so they can't get to it.I put on my head phones to listen to some music before going to sleep, apparently the others can just hear it and have a good time trying to figure out what it is, an eclectic mix to be sure, finally Jelly Bean decides to go try to check it out and as she leans over my corpse, they snap a picture, it looks like she's trying to get on top of me! I knod off to sleep while they stay up trying to chase the mouse away, Bear Bait never did like shelters.