Date: 2016-03-31
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Wayah Road
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I mentioned yesterday that we might replan our hike today because of weather. A front is moving through the area and triggering several bands of rain showers. Rain alone wouldn¢t be a problem, but early this morning the forecast called for periods of intense rain, high winds and possible thundershowers. At 5:30 AM it was quiet outside, so we decided to do a shorter 5 or 6 mile hike that we should be able to finish before the bad weather arrived. So we resolved to hike from Winding Stair Gap to Wayah Road (Rte 1310). Princess hiked it SoBo and I hiked NoBo from Winding Stair. The hike itself took each of us less than 2 hours. But with the key swap strategy, each of us had to drive from one end of the hike to the other. In this section, the AT follows a ridge, but the access roads run up and down the mountains. So the drive from one end to the other goes down one mountain road to a valley and then back up another mountain road to the other point on the trail. It took each of us over half an hour to drive from one end to the other. It wasn¢t a major problem, but it illustrates one of the challenges associated with slack-packing. Driving distances can be much much longer than the associated hiking distances.Regardless, the hike was fine. The rain waited until we were finished, and in fact it was still dry when we arrived back at the cabin. But the weather weenies were right, an hour or so later it started raining and now it¢s coming down pretty hard with gusting winds. Now, since we¢ve had a couple of short days, we need to insert an extra hiking day into our plans. So Princess went to work and rebuilt our schedule. She arranged for us to stay one more day than planned here in the cabin and then she was able to move our reservations in Bryson City to a day later. So tomorrow (Friday), we¢ll hike from Wayah Rd. to Tellico Gap, and then on Saturday from Tellico Gap to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). And since we¢ve been key-swapping for several days, she arranged a shuttle for us so that we can hike together from Tellico into the NOC. All of this takes time on the phone, so one downside to slack packing is all the logistics and arrangements that are needed.Anyway, the hiking itself was great. The trail through this area is in good shape. It¢s been dry for a while (until today), so the trail is firm and there¢s no problem with footing. The maintainers are keeping the blazes fresh and the trail clear of debris and blowdowns. I haven¢t visited any of the shelters, but I haven¢t heard any complaints about them. My hike today consisted mostly of climbing up gradually to Siler Bald at about 5,000 ft and then descending more rapidly to Wayah Gap. Besides Princess, I only met 2 other SoBo hikers and didn¢t pass anyone going NoBo. We think a number of hikers elected to take a zero because of the weather and are staying in Franklin. Right now, that seems a good choice because it¢s raining hard. If it continues at this rate, it could cause a problem on the trail if the water level rises in the creeks and streams that we cross. A few have actual wooden bridges, but in many cases the only ways to cross are to rock-hop or wade (ford). But if the water levels rise significantly, neither method is attractive. So check in tomorrow and I¢ll let you know how that goes.