Date: 2006-04-24
From: Damascus, VA then Massie Gap SOBO 

To: Lost Mtn. Shelter SOBO
Miles today: 15.1

Cell none.This is where I start to do some confuse everyone. My goal is to hike the entire AT in 2006. I¢m doing it from south to north or ¢Northbound¢ - abbreviated NOBO. There will be times when I will hike southbound for logistical reasons. Today and tomorrow are two of them. Sue is coming down to Damascus to be with me a few days, and we planned it to happen when we thought I would arrive at Damascus on Tuesday. Well, I arrived on Sunday afternoon - two days ahead of my expected arrival. One choice was to zero in Damascus on Monday and Tuesday; a second choice is to hike those days and quit hiking about the time Sue gets here. I chose choice two.The logistics of it is where it gets tricky. We¢re not exactly sure what time on Tuesday she¢ll get here or what time I¢ll get done. Also, the roads are not familiar to either of us, so finding me in the wilderness could be a problem. In order to meet in a well marked, easy to find location, we¢ve decided to meet in Damascus as originally planned. The best way to do that is for both of us to be heading for Damascus on Tuesday.I was shuttled 31 miles north and I¢m hiking south to Damascus. Usually when hikers take shuttles out and hike back, they leave their packs in town and get back by evening. That is what¢s called "slackpacking." I¢m carrying all my gear, and I¢m staying out one night, so I don¢t consider that slackpacking.Okay that was the explanation, now this is what happened. I was dropped off at approximately 10:30am at Massey gap by a driver from the Mt. Rogers Outfitter (for a fee). I had a half mile hike to meet the trail - that hiking doesn¢t count for anything except to meet the trail. I have to hike it again when I go back in a few days.Massey Gap is in the Grayson Highland State Park. In the park are wild ponies roaming around; if you are lucky you may see some. I was lucky, I did see them out in a field fairly far away. Then later in the woods I saw one on the trail ahead of me. As she walked off the trail, a brown and white foal came from behind a tree and followed her. They walked 30 feet away from me and stopped - they must be used to hikers because they did it calmly.Right after I saw the ponies I turned on the speed and started making some miles. I crossed a few balds, and stopped for a look at the view, then went back to hiking.I arrived at the shelter about 30 minutes before the rain. In that time I got water from the spring and started dinner. There were so few of us there we were able to cook, eat, and sit around without getting wet. The Lost Mountain Shelter seems to be fairly new and very nice. We had five people sleeping in it, but I bet three more would have fit. We are also back in a part of the trail where the shelters have privys; there haven¢t been any since Spivy Gap a while back. I wonder if an outhouse in Tennessee is considered indoor plumbing and must be associated with a home. Oh well, it¢s nice to have them again anyway.Goodnight.Old GoatMassey Gap Panorama - Click picture to see full sizeFat Man's Squeeze - Click picture to see full size Sue's Note: "Privy" must be a Southern thing - I've known them as "Outhouses" or "Latrines." For those not real familiar with back pack camping, having a Privy is a luxury...without one you pee in the woods (taking your toilet paper with you if you are female) and dig a hole for feces (about 6" deep)...then mix it with dirt and cover the hole completely. (True back pack campers "leave no trace!") Not much fun! Even when a Privy stinks, it's better than a "cat hole!"For my side of the visit, I'm going to type in a "Guest Entry" separate from Old Goat's Journal entry. To sum it up quickly, it was a fabulous few days and I'm so happy I went to see Old Goat!!!