Date: 2007-05-14
From: Stealth campsite - near Rector Laurel Rd.

To: Whistling Gap campsite
Miles today: 18.6

After we got ourselves set up last night we ended up cooking and eating dinner by the light of our headlamps since it was already dark. I had a good night sleep with fortunately no ghostly visits from the nearby cemetery in the woods.Our campsite last night was at an elevation of 3000 ft. so right away our hike was mostly uphill. We hiked about 5 miles until we arrived at Hogback Ridge Shelter (4255 ft.) We decided to have lunch here even though this shelter was a good distance off the trail and you had to walk another 400 yds. to get water. Forgive me, I'm really not griping, but any distance which requires one to walk out here but does not move one further up the trail is mildly annoying. Continuing on after lunch I noticed that an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) had illegally driven up the trail. For the next 3 miles I noticed these tracks. It's hard not to notice them. These vehicles really dig up and scar the woods, flattening and ripping up all the vegetation on the side of the trail.At Sams Gap (8 miles into the hike) there was an unexpected surprise. I-26 crosses the trail here so you need to cross this road and follow the trail on the other side. As I was about to cross the road I saw Huck at the top of the trail as it re-entered the woods. He was waving to me and making a gesture as though he was drinking something. When I reached his location I understood what he was trying to say. Right by a fence along the trail was a cooler filled with ice and cans of soda, as well as a shopping bag filled with oreo and fig newton cookies. It was put there by 2 hikers called "Shuz" and "Sox". This is an example of what is called "trail magic", a sort of serendipity, where you encounter something needed at the right time. I had been low on snacks and so this was perfect. We had a soda and some cookies and were fueled for the rest of the afternoon. What was really interesting, was that we encountered another cooler about 4 miles later on the trail...a bonanza trail magic day! This time we were treated to homemade cookies, a thermos of coffee (big boost for me) and baby carrots.The day seemed to get better as the afternoon progressed. At one point the forest on either side of the trail was filled with clusters of small white flowers. This alone was beautiful, but in addition, I could hear a constant low buzzing sound which was made by the hundreds of bumble bees and honey bees collecting pollen from these flowers. By late afternoon we reached Big Bald (5516 ft.), which was another large open mountain summit with spectacular 360 degree views. The late afternoon light shed some unusual but interesting shadows on the surrounding mountains and added a kind of magical touch to this special location. We dropped our packs and enjoyed some quality time here before moving on. To the north was another Bald called Little Bald and you could see the trail where we were (on Big Bald) and the posts with white blazes slowly shrink to a tiny ribbon as it disappeared over Little Bald.We eventally continued our day's journey north and had to hustle a bit to reach our destination, Whistlers Gap, where we were the only ones occupying a spacious campsite. I built a fire, since the temperatures were dropping, and we set up for the night.Trail Magic is truly magical!