Date: 2011-05-15
From: Beauty Spot Gap

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

In the morning, Aunt Janet and Uncle Al drove us back up the Forest Service Road to Beauty Spot Gap, an incredibly difficult place to get in and out of. We were getting a late start, breakfast was wonderful and hard to rush. Unaka Mountain was a tough rocky climb. It was rainy and foggy so the vista offered NO view. Grrrr..... But there was a lush dense spruce forest on top. It was wonderful to skip through puddles in such a pretty place. LOL I was solo hiking on ahead (with Mouse Hunter) of Fat Grandma and Brianna as I already had my trail legs and Fat Grandma's back was giving him trouble. At one point, I had to go under a huge fallen log, fell and landed on my back. I had to take off my backpack to be able to stand back up. No one saw me, so I claimed it never happened, right? ;-)Lunch was at Cherry Gap Shelter. I arrived first and found Grasshopper there. We caught up on last night's storm. He had camped out on the trail to get out of the rain. The shelter was small but nice. There were some really nice tenting sites with a beautiful high canopy of trees. Brianna and Fat Grandma arrived and ate. I wrote in the shelter log and then we all moved on.A little further down the trail, I ran into a grandfather, his grand-daughter, and another male companion. I believe he said his trail name was Backwards Bob. They also were Section Hiking but SoBo. They also were staying at the Holiday Inn Express. I arrived at Iron Mountain Gap, TN107, NC226. It wasn't raining then. I crossed the highway, pulled out Mouse Hunter's sleeping matt, sat down and stripped off my boots and socks. A snack was in order. Within 10 minutes, Fat Grandma and Brianna came across the highway off the trail too. They were standing there trying to decide if they should drop their packs or not when Aunt Janet and Uncle Al drove up in their SUV. Their timing was amazing!!! They brought Brianna some hiking poles, each of us something to drink, a rain cover for Brianna's pack, and a box of Moon Pies. We handed 2 Moon Pies to a couple that popped out of the woods and crossed the highway.Shortly thereafter, Aunt Janet and Uncle Al headed out and we all headed down the trail. The remaining hike to the Shelter was uneventful. I was tasked to go ahead to the shelter, get my tent setup, and start water for dinner. Greasy Creek Cap was a bit confusing because MOST people will depart the trail here and head for the Greasy Creek Hostel. We wanted to stay on the AT. Thankfully, none of us got lost.Finally, Mouse Hunter and I arrived at the shelter. Tent sites weren't good and water was far, far away. I got my tent setup and kitchen setup just as Fat Grandma and Brianna arrived. That couple from Iron Mountain Gap and another couple that were their friends were already at the shelter. They had already eaten and hung their food bags and were climbing into their bags on the upper loft level in the shelter. They were thru-hikers and had a pretty good routine down, including a good game of cards before bed. I got water going and we all ate dehydrated meals. I hadn't eaten too many of those. I'd started liking the Easy Mac w/ chunks of cheese added or Lipton Soup with chunks of chicken and crackers. But the hot food tasted good. Brianna and Fat Grandma went for water while I got the bear rope up and over a limb. Fat Grandma helped me hoist the packs and we all crashed hard. It rained on and off all night. :-(