Date: 2013-04-29
From: Black Bear Hostel

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: light rain

I thought I was the first one to get out from the hostel. First there was about a half mile of road-walk to get to the Trail. It really felt good to be going 3 mph or more, Instead of up a mountain at 1 mph!Then the next mile was on old railroad bed, so it went very quickly also. Then came the steps! Many stone steps-- hard to believe one can work up quite a sweat going DOWN steps! Laurel Falls on Laurel Fork Creek is one of the nicer waterfalls & not a sight to be missed (even tho there is a "high-water trail" in case the creek is up over the regular Trail). After a bit more time criss-crossing the valley, the real climb began, up & over a mountain. I didn't catch its name, tho there is a camping area on the top labeled "Pond Flats". Partway up the Mtn, Scout, a woman from Maine, caught up with me, & we walked 8-9 miles together. That's unusual for me -- walking with the same person that long. We had lots to talk about, but the best thing for me was that it helped me keep up a steady pace, a little faster than I would have done on my own. We'd both planned to do a long day today (& tomorrow), so it got me off to a good start. "6-7" & Johnnie Walker passed us, & I didn't see many other hikers, other than slack packers going the other way: Barbarossa in the morning & 2 Buzzards & Professor in the afternoon.When we got down the Mtn, we stopped with Six-7 at Watauga Lake for a snack. Most of the picnic tables were flooded because the lake was so high, but we found one high enough to use. I used the last of a loaf of home-made bread baked before I left home-- more than a month old, no preservatives, but still usable after you scrape the mold off! The others thought that was a little strange. Then I stopped in a mile or so at Watauga Lake shelter to cook a more substantial lunch. In between, we had a bit of road walk because the lake was so high it covered part of the Trail. The others went ahead of me at that point, & I walked the rest of the day alone. On a previous hike here, around this same time, I had found a treasure trove of wild flowers growing in a sheltered cove about a mile beyond the shelter, so I had high expectations. Not nearly so many this time, tho there were some. Everything is leafing out at lower elevations -- I especially noticed Solomon's Seal & Poison ivy. The Trail crosses the dam & then goes up on the ridge for most of the rest of the day to Damascus. There was some construction going on below the dam; that may explain the artificially high water level. The rest of the day was lots of ups & downs along the ridge. I stopped at Vandeventer shelter, to have supper, & tried to talk some of the others into going farther. No luck. Sassafras & her dad were there already in their sleeping bags; also Dragonfly; Johnnie Walker was fixing supper too. About 4 miles after the shelter there is a campsite. When I stopped to get water, I was surprised to find Scout had her tent set up already: obviously wasn't doing the 24 miles we had talked about!In 3 more miles, it was getting dark, but I still had time to clear some deadfall off the trail, just before the Iron Mtn shelter. Six-7, Misery, Jabberwocky, & a couple of others were there, all planning to do the 26 miles into Damascus tomorrow. Jabberwocky helped me get my bear rope over a very high branch. The only other person in the shelter was Feet, who had been quite sick on the Trail, spent a few days on hospital, & was now recuperating out on the Trail. Sounds like a hard way to go! He didn't snore, but he talked & made many other noises in his sleep. Such things don't bother me a lot.