Date: 2006-03-17
From: Stecoah Gap

To: Campsite at mile 159
Miles today: 11.5

After a good sleep I crossed the road and began a climb out of Stecoah Gap. This gap only went down to 3165 feet so the gain back to the mountain tops wouldn't be as bad as many. The next mile or so was pretty gentle until Sweetwater Gap and then it went straight up to an unnamed mountain top at 3720 feet. In a conversation about the hike up that mountain "Little Brother" said he calls it "kick Ass Mountain". A little over half way into the hike I stopped at Cable Gap shelter to cook some lunch. Shortly "Compass" arrived and took some time there with me. I took about an hour for lunch and filled up on Gatorade and water because I was out of water all morning. I had planned on staying at this shelter for the night but "Compass" said a group was headed there for the night. I figured since the weather was clear I would do better to sleep out again.   (See Cable Gap shelter right)This shelter only has about room for 4 on the floor unless they are very good friends.Here is a better shot of "Compass" who I met at several places over two or three days. He is from Atlanta, GA and worked at REI outfitters. From Cable Gap Shelter I continued on for another three miles to a small campsite near a stream that crosses the AT, giving me a total of 11.5 miles for the day. It was another 3.6 miles to the Fontana Dam Shelter and I knew that would be crowded so this was a good spot to stay.When I arrived there "Walk & Roll" was already there and we set up camp quickly. Next Kim arrived and got setup and we started cooking dinner. After a short time Boulder arrived and he to set up his tent and had something to eat. Later Bushwhacker arrived and setup right on the AT because it was the only flat area left. We were convinced no-one else would show so close to dark. We were wrong ! Along came Road Runner and Jazzy Pants who were determined to do a 22 mile day and make it to the Fontana Dam Shelter. They started encouraging others to break camp and continue on with them. Boulder, who really wanted to keep going, agreed to go with them if they would wait for him to pack up. They agreed and sat down to wait. By this time there was a lot of banter and joking back and forth with a lot of good laughs. Next thing you know, Bushwhacker was breaking camp and packing his stuff up too. By the time they were ready to leave, it was dark. After a bit of indecision it was agreed that Jazzy Pants would take the lead and with headlamps lighting the way off they went. I know that had to be an experience going down that mountain in the dark. At least one of them didn't have a working headlamp. I happily stayed put.After we were all in bed and either sleeping or close to it, along came another group of six down the trail yakking like a gaggle of geese. They tromped right through our camp jabbering all the way. With them on their way, finally we could sleep ! In the wee hours of the morning I heard a Great Horned Owl start hooting, and moments later another answered. Then they began a conversation of some kind with sounds that I had never heard before. One was very close by and was really loud. It sounded to me like they were doing some serious planning. Later that night I awoke shivering cold. After putting on most of my clothes and crawling back in the sleeping bag, I finally warmed enough to get some more sleep. Awake again just before light using my headlamp I had to dash back up the trail and into the woods to sprinkle the bushes. On my way back to camp I saw Kim heading down the hill toward her tent.....obviously doing some sprinkling of her own.All and all it was not what I'd really call a restful night !I have lots of good photos for this day if I can get them posted....check back.