Date: 2012-04-24
From: Black Bear Resort and Hostel

To: Wilbur Dam Road
Miles today: 13.0

Very few if any hikers came in yesterday afternoon or evening. Most did not hike yesterday because of the weather. Black Bear Resort and Hostel was pretty full. I would guess there were close to 25 hikers here. I saw a number of hikers that I thought were ahead of me who in fact were behind me and caught up to me at the hostel. Long Skirt and I were shuttled up to Wilbur Dam Road this morning where she headed North and I headed South. I hope we run into each other again. I enjoyed her company. My hike started with a small up hill and then was pretty much flat for about 5 miles. The whole purpose of my hike today was to test my knee and see how it would do under the stress of hiking. The morning went well with only a little pain in the knee but the big test would come in the afternoon. It was a strange kind of day in that I could never get comfortable temperature wise. I started off cool so I added a jacket, then I got hot so I took it off. On one side of the mountain I would be cool because it was windy and on the other side I would be out of the wind and it would be warmer. Oh well such is hiking. For most of the morning I had good views of Watauga Lake from the trail. After about 5 miles I came across a picnic area and there were three people setting up for trail magic. There were going to cook and asked me if I wanted steak or chicken. Interesting. I would have had to wait about an hour for them to finish setting up and cook so I just asked for a sweet roll and moved on. Didn't catch their name. My bad but thanks anyway for the sweet roll. I crossed US 321 and the trail went up a total of about 1800 feet over about 3.5 miles. The ups usually don't hurt my knee and this one was no exception. There were a lot of switchbacks and the ascent was not that difficult. As is so often the case the ascent was followed by and almost identical descent. This turned out to be a good test of my knee. It was rocky, did not have a lot of switchbacks and my knee started to complain. Not a lot and not too bad but a little pain none the less. Since I was going South bound and all the hikers from the hostel were going North bound I passed them all over a period of a couple of hours. They wanted to know what was ahead and I wanted to know what was behind them. I finally got down the descent and my knee seemed to be OK. Not as good as I had hoped but OK. I then hit a really rocky section leading up to Laurel Falls. It was mostly up with some downs but it was all rocks. It paralleled the river which was nice but just before the falls I found that I was doing more rock climbing than hiking. I had to get rid of my poles and hold onto the rocks to pull myself up. When I got to the top I realized that I was not on the trail so I had to climb back down. Bummer The trail was not well marked but it went around a rock formation along a ledge next to the river. It was a little hard to navigate but I made it. After looking at the falls, which were not as pretty as I expected, I had to climb up and over about a hundred yards of boulders making sure that I was still on the trail. From there the trail was a walk in the park back to the hostel.Now the real test for my knee. Would it freeze up after I sat for awhile? The answer is no it did not. It was a little sore but nothing big. Unless something happens overnight I think I am OK to hike on to Damascus. The terrain looks pretty level for the next 30-40 miles. I hope so.I will be glad to get back on the trail tomorrow but sad to leave my new friends Mary Lee, Bob, Stephanie, and Brian. They made me almost feel like family while I was here. They have done a great job with Black Bear Resort and Hostel and I wish them the best in the future. Thank you for everything.NOTE: I have added all of my pictures and updated my Journal through today. Should be in Damascus in either 2 or 3 days depending on the weather and my knee.