Date: 2013-03-11
From: Hiawassee Budget Inn

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

"I spent a week hiking with Roosta. Any issues I had with flatulence were overcome." - DumbledoreThe forecast for today is rain. The forecast for tonight is more rain. While backpacking I have experienced all other normal weather, but I have never been out for a full day in the rain. Somehow I look forward to walking all day in the rain. It will be something new, I suppose. I am awake and writing at 0730. I finish yesterday's entry and get the last of my processed photos uploaded. My bag is packed, with my camera and lenses kept inside the main compartment this time. They can handle the weather, but I want to focus on walking today. The weather will make for poor photography outside of camp documentary-style stuff anyways.I join five other hikers for the inn's shuttle. I meet Whistle, who came out of Unicoi Gap. Dumbledore is going to the Blueberry Patch Hostel again to rest her injured foot. I hope to see her back on the Trail when I slow my pace for dances. The others and I are going to Dicks Creek Gap. We are dropped off there at around 1000. Gary drops off folks from the hostel minutes later, and wishes me luck. I head out northbound, starting uphill immediately. Uphill is the general theme of the day, with almost two thousand feet of elevation gain from here to the high point for the day. Fire Drill, a Connecticut hiker, quickly passes me. He is aiming for a 16-mile day to reach the third shelter up from the gap. I am thinking about the second or third shelters. It is slow going uphill for me. In addition to a tremendous amount of food, I have stored my camera and lenses in my pack. I have to carry that gear either way, but having them on my back instead of my hip makes the load seem greater. I am passed by two folks on the climb toward Buzzard Knob. I break for a snack and all my remaining water - my breakfast was not substantial. Refueled, I push on and reach the last hiker to pass me. I am surprised to find another New Jersey native, Cat. We have passed the bulk of the uphill section that precedes the first shelter, and talk New Jersey and our reasons for being on the Trail for the remaining distance.Plumorchard Gap Shelter is a magnificent shelter with three layers of sleeping platforms. There are five folks here right now. Cat's partner and an older South Carolina gentleman are on the bottom platform, two guys that look like brothers (but aren't) are on the middle platform, and I am surprised to see Johnny Cash on the top platform. Another surprise is that five of us are New Jersey natives - Cat is from Bergen County, her Trail partner Julian is from Somerville, and the almost-brothers are from Hopatcong. Naturally the conversation migrates to two New Jersey staples - pork roll and diners. I make sure to give Johnny Cash, the lone New Yorker here, a bit of playful grief. I also apologize to the South Carolina gent for us Yankees causing trouble in the South again. I eat a good lunch of summer sausage and mozzarella cheese in a flatbread, refill my water, and continue north.I don't see anybody for a while. I pass a handful of southbound section hikers and eventually reach a few northbound hikers who must have skipped Plumorchard Gap Shelter. The first says nothing and lets me pass, and I pull in behind the other two. One is from Boston and the other is from Florida. I talk cameras for a while with the Florida gent, who says it was a tough call not to bring his DSLR. We are on the lookout for the state line, which will come before the next shelter. Necessary jokes are made - wondering how the weather is in North Carolina and similar low-hanging fruit. Eventually we find the state line. It is not difficult, as Cat and Julian are resting under a tremendous overhanging boulder just uphill from the sign. We join them there and recharge on food and drink before taking photos and heading into North Carolina.There is little celebration upon entering North Carolina. Supposedly Bly Gap is just beyond the state line. There is no descent into a gap. A sign lets me know Bly Gap is here, but the Trail climbs without cease. It shoots uphill from the state line and immediately enters into the steepest climb yet. This is the first time I have really utilized my trekking poles to pull me uphill. I am drained by the steep climb but eventually a slight downhill gives me a chance to catch my breath. The Trail then climbs steeply up 4669-foot Courthouse Bald, my tallest peak yet. It is not a satisfying climb in these conditions - visibility must be around 100 feet up here. I press on down the steep and very muddy slope down into Sassafras Gap. A tiny bit of snow still hides here where the sun must have not yet shined this year.Sassafras Gap comes and goes. There is supposed to be a spring shortly after the gap, but I do not find it. I pass a couple streams that are not on the map as the Trail climbs out of the gap and toward the nearby shelter. Raven Rock Trail splits off from the AT as it descends toward the shelter, and this is not in the guidebook either. I think the shelter may be there, but move forward since I cannot confirm this. This is the correct choice, and the shelter is shortly after that side trail. The shelter is full but the roof has adequate overhang for me to hang my hammock on one side. I am pleased to see my setup method work flawlessly. I tie off one end to a beam, pull it out of its bag toward the other beam, and tie it off there. It comes out of the bag with the rain fly on top, no part of the hammock touches the ground, and I have dry shelter off of the ground in the rain.It is pretty early in the evening, barely 1700. I make dinner - same thing as lunch - and spend much of the evening being social. The rain has concentrated many hikers at this shelter. Blue Moon has zeroed here today. Cat and Julian arrived shortly before I did. Fire Drill did not press on to the third shelter, and is spending the night with us. A couple youngish gals I have not seen before are here, as well as their dog Rosco. I also meet Junk Food for the first time. He is a gentleman from Oklahoma, in his upper 30s or lower 40s. The Boston and Florida guys I had been walking with are here too. It is a pretty amicable group.Conversation includes a couple recent developments. The night after I stayed at the Blueberry Patch Hostel had been a lively one, and not in a good way. A hiker who started the same day as me was there and was snoring so loud it was worth mention. His reputation precedes him - without seeing him after my first day, I already knew about his snoring the next day. It is horrid enough that he has been assigned the name Earplugs. There was also commotion in the early morning hours - the hiker I had silently passed earlier today had awoken at 0300, screaming and punching the bunks. Fortunately he did not strike any hikers, but either way I am glad that I had an absolutely quiet night when I stayed there.The other conversation is more typical. We all talk about getting too much food at Hiawassee, and especially talk about cheese. Most of us have purchased blocks of cheese, and we are all thrilled about that. Somebody announces it is a cheese party, and between all the blocks of cheese and Mac and cheese that is an accurate statement. I kill time talking hammocks with Fire Drill, and then talking life in general with Junk Food. I manage to converse until 2000 - my typical Trail bedtime. I settle down in my hammock, dry and warm in spite of the day's weather.Peace,