Date: 2010-10-09
From: Wautauga Lake Shelter

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: clear sky

This morning came way too early for both Janson and I but we both knew wehad to get moving. The temperature dropped quite a bit last night but westayed very warm and slept well in our down sleeping bags. We heated waterfor tea and oats while still in bed and waited for the sun to come up. Signsaround the shelter warn about bear activity but we saw nothing of it. As weleft camp, we passed several grassy campsites along the lake shore. We'llhave to remember this for the next trip. The first section of our hikerolled gently along the lake edge and carried us over the top of WataugaDam. Early morning fog and sunlight made the view spectacular. Our firsthill climb came quickly after and proved to be a challenge for sore musclesand feet. With the weekend at hand, day hikers were out in force. Jansoncalls them "inspirational day hikers" because of their fresh faces, smallpacks and chipper attitudes. Either way the trail is hopping. Near the topof our climb we met "!Tic" and shared water with him. He's back on the trailafter a brief rest and ready to complete his flip-flop thru hike (currentlySOBO). We also met a section hiker named Bill and Glory (his dog). She was avery excitable golden and reminded me a lot of Ginger. We pushed hardthroughout the afternoon to try and avoid another night hike but the daysjust aren't long enough. Water has been a little hard to find in some placesso we stopped to pump with less than 7 miles to go. The sun was starting toset as we got back on the trail. We quickly came across a well placed aidstation serving up some much appreciated "Trail Magic". This station was inthe form of a 2'x3' steel box with three crosses cut into the top. The boxwas painted orange and securely fastened to a tree. Inside was a coolerfilled with cold drinks and oatmeal creme pies. Many thanks to the localBaptist church for providing this treat. With our bellies full of sugar andcaffeine we pushed on across an open field and caught another beautifulsunset. Climbing a couple of fence stiles we re entered the woods and outcame the headlamps. Hiking quickly we began scouting the woods for signs ofthe shelter. Janson stopped and pointed at a white reflection about 30 yardsin the woods. "Is that it?" he asked. "No, it's a bear!" I said. Two of themto be exact. They were moving in the opposite direction (SOBO) of us butparallel to the trail. We watched them for a second but the unfamiliarsurroundings and increasing darkness gave us both chill bumps so we moved on(more quickly now). Shortly after we reached the shelter to find two otherhikers already bunked down. We spoke to the other campers briefly andquickly unpacked and fixed supper. Our fellow shelter mates are sectionhikers from New Hampshire. I don't remember there names but they will beknown to us as "Mouser" and "Got2Go". We informed them of our bear sightingand decided that hanging the food tonight would be a wise decision. Theweather has gotten even warmer so the woods are teaming with activity andinsect noise tonight. Tomorrow promises to be a challenge for sore feet.Hopefully we'll get a good night's rest. -Josh