Date: 2005-06-03
From: Kincora Hostel 

To: Watuga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

The Road to Damascus - Day 6!The sun woke me at 6 this morning, shining through the window next to my bunk in the Kinkora Hostel. I didn't rush to get out of bed, as the plan was a relatively short 10.6 mile day, and every one else was still sleeping. I finally got up at 6:30, made coffee and ate the rest of the strawberries I cut up last night.As I was packing up out on the front porch, Jan Peoples came over and I had a chance to chat with her for a few minutes. She seems the perfect match for Bob, and just makes you feel right at home. I really want to go back to Kinkora after my hike. Besides, I promised Bob I'd come back and do some trail work with him after I get to Katahdin.I finally hit the trail about 8:30AM. The map indicated 2-3 miles of relatively flat trail, followed by 4 miles of up (Pond Mountain), followed by 3-4 miles of down. What I did not realize was the treasure in store forme within those first 3 miles. The trail headed for a place called Laurel Fork, and there were supposed to be falls along the way. I have seen a fair number of "falls" by now, but this one was the best yet. It was the biggest and most beautiful I've seen since Springer - by far. I hope my pictures turn out, and that they do it justice. And then the trail followed the river down stream for about a mile, and it was just a gorgeous little river to watch and to listen to, with lots of rocky gorges where the water rushed through in torrents of white water, and then wider spots that were quiet and almost tranquil. It made my day. It also made the hike up and over Pound Mountain more bearable, just having reminded me of the beauty that is mine to enjoy as long as I keep hiking the trail.The weather report this morning showed a 20% chance of showers, and itsprinkled some this morning as I climbed uphill. Then the sun came out while I was eating lunch at the summit, and accompanied me the rest of the way to the shelter.You have to go well past a rather inviting lake to get to the shelter - purposely so, or the local youth would take it over for party purposes. When that happens, the shelter usually gets trashed.I made it to the shelter around 5PM, took off my pack and boots, and changed into my camp shoes. While I rested a spell, it began to rain, which I assumed would be short lived. Not! It's 6PM now, and no sign ofit letting up. I'm thinking I might just set my tent up inside the shelter. There is only one other hiker here so far, a section hiker named Gene, and it is a 6 person shelter, so there would be room - provided no one else shows up. Meanwhile, I'll continue to work on my journal entries for he past couple of days until the rain lets up enough I can collect water to filter for dinner and tomorrow. Then I will then cook dinner and go to bed.Update: the rain stopped at 6:30PM so I did the water and dinner thing.   Just as I was finishing, Mike - the Brit who's doing his second thru-hike at age 75 - showed up. At that point, I decided to set up my tent near the shelter, and hope it's not raining in the morning.I also decided I wanted a fire. Fortunately, some thoughtful person had left a bit of wood under the shelter to keep it dry - just enough for me to get some coals going so that we could use wet wood later on. It turned out to be a nice fire, but before I could enjoy its full virtues, it started to pour again so we all dove for the shelter, or in my case, my tent. So I'm warm, dry, and happy once again.As you can tell, this has been another fabulous day on the trail.Today's hike is dedicated to Bob and Jan Peoples, hosts of the Kinkora Hostel -another very special place on the journey from Georgia to Maine.Stay tuned, LonghaulSent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com