Date: 2003-04-28
From: WALNUT MT. ROAD

To:  DENNIS COVE ROAD
Miles today: 12.7

OK eight forty eight in the morning. We are at Walnut mt road. we're going to hike over to Dennis Cove rd. Its 12 point seven miles, it is 55 degrees this morning, nice and cool. We left a car at Dennis Cove.. When we get here, car pulls up from Maryland, gentleman is hiking the same hike as we are. Probably see him again today. his wife is going to pick him up over at Dennis Cove. Did not get his name yet. We're on the trail, beautiful sunny day, and looks like a great day for a hike. Nine twenty four, and I am just trying to stay up with his seventy seven year old guy, who has got about three or four more days of hiking, and he will have hiked the entire trial. In 8 years, I think he said. And he's from Maryland, Bill and Caroline maybe from Maryland. Back in 1946 he was stationed out at Scott Air base. As a young guy at Scott his friends would go to St Louis and Close that town up and I then go to East St Louis and close those clubs. A fun talking time and hopefully we're seeing him again up the trail. Crossed Upper Laurel creek at the one hour mark so it's probably Two miles down from the beginning of this trial. And we will take a break when we get to possibly, the Bitter End road. Which is two point seven miles. Just a gorgeous day. Going over a gap with an old road at 10:08. Now we're going back down on the other side. we don't know what that gap was called there. OK it's ten sixteen, we are at that road crossing where you can go 4 tenths mile down to the paved highway. So we could have parked there and did this section. OK that's it. It was Steppenwolf we saw camping down at the big creek, back down the way about seven tenths of a mile. we talk to him right here at the road. So we're sitting down for a nice break at 10 twenty two. Did I say Steppenwolf was from Colorado University , living in and from Ohio. at ten thirty six we are leaving the road, 10 miles to go, four point two to the shelter. Still a fantastically beautiful day, lots of sunshine. Eleven forty three, down for a break, 10 or 15 minutes, something like that. Who knows where we are, but lets go to the shelter. Its about 12:13pm, we're leaving our little rest spot here and going to head for the shelter and take a short break there. See if anybodys there. OK we're leaving Moreland Gap shelter at one forty. we came over the little mountain before it at 1:00pm. very steeply up and then super steeply down to this gap. only took eight minutes to get down of this gap. you know, five hundred foot down or something. And now we're going to head out of here and it's five point eight miles. there's a spring at three point seven miles, a trail to the spring. Firetower two point seven from the end. and at one point seven from the end, is the Coons Den trail. so thats the markers to look forward to. At the shelter, Cindy called her dad and I read the shelter Journal here. Did not know anybody except for Foot Slaughter, who we had met last night down at Laurel creek campground. she had Came through here yesterday, I guess doing a seventeen miler because of that expanded section back north of 19E. Nobody else showed up or left a note. Sean O¢Reilly, even though he was at laurel creek, he didn't leave anything. and we didn¢t see any other name we recognized. Still a beautiful sunny day, very nice up here. Its a little warm when you're going up hill. So at 2:40pm we come to A huge deep gap in the trail, we are way down off the mountain. There's a blue blazed water trail going off, showing we're three point seven from the finish. And now We're going to try to hike out of this super deep gap. There is a poorly marked road leading up to the tower, the electronics tower. They need to do some marking there after cutting down all the trees. But you go right up and over the base of the electronics tower. At three o five. And now we got two point eight, Two point eight miles to go. I'm feeling pretty happy about five o'clock and so Down the hill we go. at 3:53pm take our last stop at Coons Den falls trail. and with one point seven to go, we're going to cool off here because it's kind of a long day, very sunny, Warm. We want our feet to be in good shape for this last hour. less than an hour to get to the car now. It's been seven hours and we have done eleven miles so far. And we'll have to talk about tomorrow. I don't want to do thirteen point four miles. Probably not. We're going down this dry creek bed at four thirty five maybe seven tenths mile to go. It Is a gently downhill to Dennis Cove. OK at 4:54 we are coming near Dennis Cove road. completed another day's hike. Yeah there's more advertising. Glad to be here. It was a long haul on a warm day. at Dennis Cove road At 5:07pm. I guess we went up to Roan Mountain State Park. And we Missed the ranger because we are trying to take showers and neither shower would give hot water. so we both come out of there to try a different shower. And we talked to the ranger, and he says yes try a different one. And if I don't get you tonight, I will get you tomorrow for the fee. and if you leave early it's free. Guess what, We left early the next morning. OK That night we had soup again and it worked out nicely. had just enough daylight to have soup. Even cooked up some oatmeal. And that was great. We got our hot shower. And then I slept even better that night in the car. I think I was more level.