Date: 2014-04-07
From: betty creek gap

To: winding stair gap / Franklin, NC
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: moderate rain

Monday, April 7: day 9Rainy day weather Got up at the normal camp time of sunrise. Around 7am. The rain was still coming down pretty hard from the night before and large puddles had formed on the trail. The trail is a bit lower than the surrounding landscape and makes today's journey a bit like puddle hopping. Put on my rain jacket, rain skirt, long pants, gloves, rain gloves, and 260 weight along sleeve merino shirt and headed out. I was hopeing to make it to Franklin, NC by 3pm. As a warmup activity, I have always been walking with more clothes on in the morning. Then about an hour in I'll strip down to a t-shirt and shorts so that I don't sweat to much as I hike up a couple mtns. Today, I thought I'd do the same & take off my long sleeve as I walked. But I should have just kept my short t-shirt on and not put on my long sleeve. With my rain jacket on I got hot way to quickly and had to take off my long sleeve in the rain. It got damp and that's not fun in the woods. The same thing with my wool gloves. I should have left them in my rain gear bag so that they wouldn't have become damp. Lesson learned. The rain gloves were/are are golden. Great gear that also helps when it's cold out. Acts like a winter glove over my wool gloves when it's below 40 out. I also had tyvek postal bags on my feet (dry booties), thinking they would help prevent my feet from getting wet. They did to a certain extent but the bags aren't totally waterproof and don't hold up well to a lot of friction from your socks and shoes. If I would use them again I'd super glue the seam and test them for I head outside. So, I was mildly damp and my feet got wet (from puddles and general rain) but it was a great day in the rain. Totally a cold and miserable day but great hiking. I didn't mind being damp and my feet being wet, though it did soften my feet a bit and the possibility of blisters was greater. But it was a fun day.I first had to climb Mt. Albert. A pretty crazy climb of 1000 feet in half a mile. With tiny streams coming from the side of the mountain and flowing into a larger stream downhill somewhere. It was really cool seeing the formation of tributaries from their beginning and watching the rain help form them. So, as I walked the side of the mountain, stepping over 20-30 tiny tributaries I still had to climb the rocks of Mt. Albert. The rock formation was pretty awesome. (Sorry, no rainy day pictures.) but climbing the rocks going 70 degrees vertical was a blast in the rain. Planning and watching every step carefully and placing it with precision was awesome. Looking over at the side of the mountain, streaming with water, and then looking at the other-side where it was completely white-out conditions from the rain and fog rolling up the mountain. A pretty exciting climb. After the rocks was a ranger's tower, where I caught Trish singing in the rain. She was having a blast too! If you didn't like the adventure, you shouldn't be out here. Well, by the ranger tower someone left some Fuji apples! Some more trail magic! I quickly scooped up an apple and gobbled it up. Very juicy and sweet, just the perfect snack for the climb. As I was about to bolt down the trail, Trish asked if I get ahead of her to wait so that she doesn't have to hitch hike alone. I agreed and took off. As the hours wore on the day got colder and dampened my spirits a bit. My feet got a bit cooler as I slowed down but it wasn't to bad. The trail kept going and so did I. Right around 2:30 or 3 I reached Winding Stair Gap, the highway into Franklin. I waited for 30 minutes or so for Trish so that I would keep my word. We went out onto the side of the road and for 20 minutes tried to get a ride. No luck. Then, an outfitter car drove by and stopped. Yes, a ride into town! We hurried into the car and thanked the driver profusely. Wet, a bit cold, and definitely tired, we tried a few hotels from the AWOL AT trail guidebook but no luck finding a room. We were kinda bummed that the motel the group decided to stay at was booked too, the Budget inn. So, we decided upon the MicroTel inn and the outfitter said it was right near his shop. We grabbed a room from the MicroTel and relaxed. A bit more expensive than the Budget but way nicer. A bed for each of us and room to dry and clean our wet camping gear. We walked to the outfitters. I grabbed a isobutane canister for my stove my parents would hopefully send me and Trish purchased a JetBoil system. I also looked for a new 2L Platypus container but they were all sold out. I got a small leak it it after I left it out side with tea inside. I knew it would happen but I didn't want the tea in the tent with in case bears were around. Some small animal chewed through it and made it leak a bit. I tried taping it up but that didn't solve the problem. For the last couple days I wrapped it in a sea-to-summit dry bag so that the leak wouldn't get over the rest of my stuff.After the outfitters we walked to Kmart and the laundromat. We resupplied and washed out dirty, damp clothes. I chowed down on 3 Little Debbie snack cakes (putting away 1000 calories as well). I grabbed some superglue from Kmart to fix my bottle when we got back to the hotel as well. As we left the laundromat, I decided I wanted pizza. So we ordered a $5 hot and ready pizza from the Little Caesar's inside the Kmart and walked back to the hotel. I could tell Trish was a bit bummed we didn't find the rest of the group but I was fine not sharing a room with 5 other people. One kinda stranger was enough. We grabbed some beer from the local gas station and went to chow down on the pizza while watching random sitcoms, Big Bang Theory amongst others, in our room. I finished the whole pizza, 2000+ calories in all, and washed it down with some beer and more snack cakes. A giant, 3500+ calorie dinner. Well worth the $6 and worth the stomach rumbles at the end. I think I've lost around 10 lbs this week from all the hiking. More dinners like that are bound to happen. After dinner I talked to my brother for a bit, recounting the days events and talked with a fellow hiker, Prophet, who just knocked on our door offering some free beers. It was a great gesture and I should have probably invited him in to enjoy them with us but I only thought about it after he left. I guess I was to excited by the free beer!We sat around relaxing and cleaning more gear before bed. I called a shuttle service to pick us up at 8:30am (I got the shuttle number from the hotel) and we dosed off around 10:30. A late night by hiker standards.