Date: 2015-03-30
From: Flint Mountain Shelter 

To: Big Bald
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up to the sound of rain falling on the shelter. It's 7am. I decided that sleeping in was a great idea, considering the low temperature and rain combo, and fell back asleep. Eventually though, I got up and got my day started. Turns out Blackbeard and Hot Pants made it to the shelter, but it must have been late because they decided to tent rather than wake anyone up in the shelter. I left the shelter around 10am, behind Mozart and Signage. After what felt like a very fast couple of miles, I passed Signage as she took a short break, talking on the phone (I was instantly jealous of her Verizon cell service). As I continued the 1,500ft ascent to Lick Rock, I stopped to lose a few layers of clothing and again to send a few texts as a little cell signal found its way through the mountains. Biscuit caught up with me and we leapfrogged each other for a few miles until we both stopped at Hogback Ridge Shelter for lunch. Half an hour later, Biscuit and I were again leapfrogging when my phone went off a couple of times. I instantly pulled it out as a text from Evan was likely, and, although there was a text from her, my attention was quickly stolen away. There was a text from Blackbeard: "Signage fell and broke her leg. We are with her. Not going to make it to the shelter."My heart instantly sank and I was flooded with emotions; shock, worry, and the immediate desire to help all hit me at once. After a few minutes of coordination, we decided that Biscuit, who was trained in Wilderness First Aid and had more food than I, would double back to find them while I would continue on to the next gap (maybe a mile away) to act as a relay of needed and to possibly flag down any emergency vehicles if necessary. I arrived at Sam's Gap shortly and ran across a few good samaritans who allowed me to sit in their vehicle, out of the wind, and to charge my dying phone as I waited for a text. Eventually, I received the 'all clear' from Biscuit: "Signage broke her foot (or something). She was evacuated by the fire department." While this was undoubtedly good news, I empathized heavily with what she must have gone through and the road to recovery ahead of her. Although I assume she is fine and in stable condition, I believe this will be the end of her thru hike. Rest assured, I will find out more about her condition and everything else once I make it to Erwin tomorrow afternoon. With all of the above still swimming in my mind, I had steadily resumed my trek northward. I spent almost 2 hours waiting at Sam's Gap and would be hard-pressed to make it to Bald Mountain Shelter as I had planned. Instead I scrambled up to Big Bald right as the sun was setting for a few amazing pictures and a total of 17.7mi. The wind, strong enough to push me backwards a step or two if I wasn't mindful, proved too much for my tent to handle, so I took refuge on the northeastern side of the mountain where I was less likely to be battered by hurricane-force winds. Hopefully the temperature is kind to me tonight, but I have my doubts as I'm currently tenting at approximately 5,500ft above sea level. Fingers crossed!