Date: 2005-05-09
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Salt Log Gap
Miles today: 20.1

Miles hiked today : 20.1I woke up this morning at 6:30 a.m. after sleeping in two shifts. Around 3:00 a.m., I'd awoken to what sounded like screeching monkeys, though I'm sure it was a bird. I read for a little bit, then dozed off again. When I awoke for the day, I packed up, ate breakfast, filtered water, and hit the trail at 7:55 a.m.I reached Little Irish Creek at 9:30 a.m. and crossed it on a very bouncy suspension bridge, which was quite fun. I was expecting to soon cross the Pedlar River via the Pedlar Dam, though a recent trail relocation completely bypassed the river, so I only got to see it from a distance through the tree line.I reached Brown Mountain Creek Shelter at 11:25 a.m., having covered 9.3 miles. The area around Brown Creek was once the settlement of freed Black slaves who grew crops and lived off the land before selling to the Forestry Service in the early 1900s. The weather was so nice, that I took an 1 hour 50 minute lunch break. I also washed my feet and shirt in the frigid creek and even contemplated going swimming, though I could barely keep my feet underwater for 15 seconds before they began to freeze. After cooking lunch, I set out at 1:15 p.m.Oh how I wish that I'd stayed at the shelter. The temperature was in the high 70s and I was sweating terribly. I had 1.5 liters of water with me, though it was 5.6 miles to the next shelter, so I had to conserve my supply. I also had a 2,664 foot climb up to Bald Knob over 4.6 miles, which was incredibly unpleasant in the heat. Once in awhile, I'd catch a cool breeze, which felt so nice.It was very difficult to conserve my water, but I managed and reached the Cow Camp Gap at 4:00 p.m. I knew that the side trail to Cow Camp Gap Shelter descended over a 0.6 mile length and I really didn't want to have to climb back up to the AT, especially with the upcoming 600 foot climb of Cold Mountain.I was faced with the possibility of running out of water before reaching Hog Camp Gap (USFS Road 48), though I thought that sounded better than tacking an extra 1.2 miles onto my already difficult day. I rested for 5 minutes and then headed North on theh AT at 4:05 p.m., running out of water at 4:30 p.m. I figured it would take 45 minutes to reach Hog Camp Gap, though I arrived at 5:05 p.m. Just across the road, the water was down a 0.25 mile side trail. I hadn't cleaned my filter since the hotel in Troutville, so it was working very slowly. I filtered a single liter to drink and gathered two more liters in water bottles, which I treated with Aqua Mira. It's times like this that I'm glad I have a back-up for my filter, as it took at least 20 minutes to filter a single liter of water, whereas it should only take about 1 minute when the filter is clean. All in all, my 0.5 mile round trip side trip for water took 55 minutes.At this point in time, I was beat. I just wanted to pitch my tent and go to sleep. As it was only 6:00 p.m., I decided to push on so that my hike tomorrow to the Dutch Haus would be easier. I hiked another 2.2 miles, tackled a minor climb, and arrived at Salt Log Gap (USFS Road 63) at 6:50 p.m., which puts me less than 8 miles away from the Dutch Haus. On a side note, I passed the 800 AT mile mark at approximately 6:30 p.m.I found a campsite about 100 feet from the road and made dinner, then pitched my tent. I am sore today, especially my lower back. Probably due to the heat and shortage of water. The worst part of having to conserve water over an 8.1 mile waterless stretch was thinking about the hundreds of gallons per minute flowing down Brown Creek and how I left it behind to continue along the trail.I'm camped alone tonight for only the second time during my hike. It's somewhat nice, though I wish I were further away from the road for reasons of safety. As it is, I've only heard 2 cars go by in the last 2   hours, so I should be fine.Bedtime at 9:30 p.m.