Date: 2007-04-09
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter, NC

To: Derrick Knob Shelter, NC
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Ok,so I would have to call last nite a 99% warm nite. I had 4 hand warmerstotal and 1 canteen of hot water. I was wearing my merino wool socks, thermals,fleece pants, long sleeved shirt, Montbell down jacket, polypro glove liners,balaclava with knit cap over it. I had my silk sleeping bag liner, and I usedmy Micropuff Vest around my head as a pillow\insulator. I was also using myBuff as a neck gaitor. I know, sounds like a lot, but I was in bed for 12 hrslast nite. Perfectly warm for 9 of those, about 4:00 a.m. I woke up and neededto water the leaves, but decided to just wait. At this point all of thehandwarmers and water bottle were pretty cool. I got minor chills, but wasstill able to go back to sleep until 7:00 a.m., only waking a few times. Thewind totally died down, so I have my thermometer hanging outside my hammock nowto see an outside temp. Inside, it said 27 degrees, but it is definitely colderoutside.Also a group of owls came thru camp, doing their calls back and forth. Onelanded on the tree the footend of my hammock was tied to. Man was that owlLOUD! LOL It could have been standing inside my hammock for all I knew. So @ 7:30 a.m. the outside temp was 23 degrees, and since the coldest part ofthe nite is a few hours before sunrise, I have no doubt it was in the mid-teenslast nite. It was again, a slow start. Right after I got up I went and got water. Thelittle jaunt down and back up the hill made my stomach queesy. I ate breakfastand drank some water and it calmed down.Persistent and Eric were moving slowly too. Finally @ 9:45 a.m., I headed off. They said they'd catch up to me. I fully expected them too.The first half of the hike was really easy. I see why bears live here. Partsof it look like a black bears dream playground. Lots of down trees, someclearings and green clovers all over. I expected one to jump out at any moment,but no such luck.Today, I hiked in mud, water, leaves, dirt, rock, ice, and snow! It was a littlecrazy at times. Lots of sliding around for sure.I stopped for luch around 1:15 p.m. No Persistent or Eric yet. I had beenhiking by myself all day, and it was really cool actually. I downed my tuna,peanut butter, and melba toat crackers (I know disgusting..stuff you'd never eatat home) and got going again around 1:40 p.m. The second half of the day was a bit harder with a few climbs. I will say thatI am getting my trail legs, because I am taking less breaks and my cardio hasimproved as well. No hiker appetite yet though. I did find this awesomedownedtree to take a break on though. It was so big I could stretch out on it. Ijust sat there and reflected on the day so far, appreciating the beauty of themountains and living in that moment. I climbed 5,440 ft Rocky Top and had incredible views. I counted 10 layers ofmountains, and I bet I could see 100 miles away. It was hazy, but not too bad. I just sat on the very top of this mountain, all by myself, in awe of the beautyand enormity of the landscape. I took a bunch of pics. You go along and all ofa sudden, you are in this grassy field. There was a lot of ridge walking todayand yesterday come to think of it.One thing about hiking in this park is that the signage isn't that great. Youhave to be very careful because there are a lot of other trails that conect tothe AT. It is easy to get on the wrong one if you're not paying attention.After Rocky top, it was 5,527 ft. Thunderhead Mt. No view from this one, just abuch of Rhododundren tunnels. I didn't realize horses were allowed, but apparently they are in parts of thispark. I had to keep stepping over horse doo! LOLBy 5:30 I was getting pretty tired. I kept plugging along, still by myself bythe way, and finally at 6:45 p.m, I made it to the shelter. I was a littleworried that I had not seen Persistent and Eric all day. They showed up an hourafter me. Eric was really hurting, but that is to be expected. He's quite atrooper.Lots of great hanging trees @ this shelter. It is supposed to be cold againtonite, so I built up duff as usual. We'll see how it goes. It is about 10:00p.m. and I bet it is in the low 30's already. My fingers are freezing rightnow, so I best get zipped up. I am using one hot water canteen and 2 handwarmers tonight along with all the clothing from last nite.      ~Certain