Date: 2006-06-04
From: Day 18-Siler Bald Shelter to Cold Springs Shelter

To: Day 18-Siler Bald Shelter to Cold Springs Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

June 4, 2006 Siler Bald Shelter to Cold Springs ShelterDay 18. Siler Bald Shelter to Cold Springs Shelter (12.6 miles)Once again during the night, we heard owls and awoke to a bird symphony. However, when we got up and started moving around we found out it was really cold! So, I put on an extra layer of clothing, had breakfast, packed and got ready to leave camp. The last thing I did before we left camp was to take off the extra layer of clothing and stow it in my pack because I knew it would get warm quickly as soon as we started walking. The Highsmiths told us they intended to reach Cold Spring Shelter by evening. The 12.6 miles would be their longest hike yet.One thing we didn¢t realize about our Loop Trail was that it was a very steep climb in the morning to get back to the AT. The Blue Blaze Trail and the AT met at the base of Siler Bald. And, there was a trail up to the top of a grassy bald that supposedly had an excellent view. However, the grass was too wet for us to wade through it, so we continued north along the AT.Today¢s trail had more steep sections than we expected. Our goal for the morning was to reach Wayah Bald by lunchtime, which would be slightly more than half way to our next shelter. It was an extremely steep climb to the Bald. Wayah Bald has the John B. Byrne Memorial Tower built at its summit. This tower was built in 1937 by the CCC and has an excellent observation area on top. One of the unique things we could see from the observation area was Albert Mountain, where we had been a few days earlier. It was slightly over ten miles as the crow flies from where we were now standing. We were sitting on the ground, leaning back on our packs having our lunch of Slim Jim sausages, a bag of chips, cookies, jelly beans and a package of crackers when we saw a group of four women with full packs heading off down the Trail. Wayah Bald has an elevation of 5,342 feet and from there we headed down, down, down! We passed the women later as they had stopped along the Trail to take pictures of wildflowers. We walked through Lick Log Gap and continued on to Burningtown Gap at an elevation of 4,236 feet. So, we had walked down approximately 1,100 feet. From there the climb up to the shelter was going to be about 700 feet in the next 1-1/4 miles.   So, we decided it was time for an eating break to refuel our bodies.   However, about ten minutes into our break, ugly storm clouds started rolling in. So, we were up and moving in a hurry. We headed up the steep trail toward the shelter and the lightning and thunder began! Since we sometimes walk a hundred yards or so apart, we stopped to help each other get out our respective rain gear just in case we needed it before we got to the shelter. While we were getting our rain gear ready, the four women walked past us heading for the shelter. Because wearing the rain gear makes us so hot, we decided to carry the rain gear even though the storm seemed imminent.   Our pace increased as we tried to outrun the approaching storm. I rounded a curve and there adjacent to the Trail was the shelter! Hallelujah! No Blue Blaze Trail (that means a side trail) was required. The shelter was built in 1933 by the CCC and would only accommodate six people! So, we were glad when we got there to find that the four women were the only ones there. We rounded out the capacity of six! Then the rain began! It was a horrible storm for about an hour. Denley and I placed our ground cloth and sleeping bags along one side of the shelter. And, we waited to see how the evening would unfold . Shortly after the storm started, a lone hiker arrived at the already full shelter. His name was Chris (trail name was Snake) and he was probably 23 years old. And, he was COLD and WET! By this time, the women were discussing whether or not they were going to stay in the shelter or move out into one of their tents. One lady set up a solo tent just outside the shelter. This was good news for Chris because then there was a spot for him. Before the rain stopped, two more men arrived and they moved on up the Trail about a hundred yards to find a tent site. Then a family group of four (not the Highsmiths) arrived and they, too, moved on up the trail to find a tent site. It was a very busy place! The Highsmiths never showed. Several thought they had decided to stop early and set up their tent. As we started to cook our dinner, Denley and I named the group of four women (we didn¢t tell them, of course). We called them the Hiking Gourmets. When these women hike, one person is the designated cook. Tonight they had an appetizer and red wine while she was preparing the meal. The main course was shrimp scampi with fresh shallots, garlic and dill. Most of the ingredients had been in a separate package, but the accompaniments were chopped on site! This main course was (naturally) served with white wine!   They baked a cheese biscuit concoction to go with the meal and later prepared some kind of cake with chocolate frosting. Really roughin¢ it! We settled for our Lipton teriyaki noodles and sausage. (PS The Hiking Gourmets also had coffee at the end of their meal!)Before we settled in for the night, we had a chance to talk with Snake and found out he is a very polite North Carolina born young man who just graduated from college in Nashville, Tennessee. He already has a job waiting for him at the end of his 500-mile section hike. Back to the sleeping arrangements¢¦We now have Denley, Snake, Three Hiking Gourmets and me in a VERY small shelter. We have what amounts to about 24-30 inches of sleeping room per person. We won¢t get cold! As I said earlier, this is a very old shelter, a structure made out of logs and definitely made for short people. I had to be careful or I would have pulled a David Reames and knocked myself out cold! The bear cable system at this site had been damaged and would not work. So we had to improvise by throwing rope up and across the primary cable and then hanging our food bags from these ropes. I slipped in every direction while trying to hang the cables but did NOT touch the muddy wet ground with any body part except my hand. As we got ready to get into our sleeping bags with only about two and a half feet of space per person, I had to crawl up my own bag, and then slip into it and slide back down. Chris was the buffer between us and the women, thank goodness. I think they let him sleep there because he was young and cute! One of the disadvantages of these old shelters is that they are slanted inside, with the head area being lower than the foot. Denley thrashed like a wild man all night until he switched ends. After that, it was fairly uneventful.