Date: 2008-11-03
To: I 40 to Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

It has been awhile since I have been off the trail and I have missed it tremendously. I know that most people do not understand the pull of the AT unless they have hiked a lot of the it, but I sometimes feel like I don¢t fit in anywhere except when I am out hiking or backpacking.I traveled down to Knoxville on October 12 and met my hiking buddy, Helene, and we set out from Interstate 40 in TN for a few days walking to Hot Springs, NC. I felt good to be out in the woods especially at this time of the year when the leaves were at their peak. As I was walking up Snowbird Mountain I was lost in thought about the last time I walked this path. This was the day I met up again with Hobo and Calamity Jane and met Flint for the first time. And later that day MA and Marshal also joined up with us again. We became hiking buddies for many miles after that and I have fond memories of that time of my 2007 hike.   Ground Hog Creek Shelter became a crowed place to be on this cool afternoon with 13 section hikers arriving before dark. Luckily Helene and I got there around 3:00 and put our paraphernalia out, as we did not bring tents this time (I was very nervous about this decision but it worked out in the end). The conversation around a roaring fire ranged from camp food, equipment, hogs and bears, to the politics of the times. It was an enjoyable evening but we all retired early, as it was dark by 7:30.Day two found us walking up and over Max Patch, which has got to be a favorite place for all hikers and did not let us down today. Although the wind was blowing and the clouds were darkening we could still see forever even if we could not spend a lot of quality time on top. But I had forgotten how beautiful these woods were with their many rhododendron tunnels and wide smooth paths. After hiking Maine (which I loved), the trails here reminded me how lucky I am to live in the area.In 2007 I had a short break at Roaring Fork Shelter but this time we spent the night. It is a nice long shelter which helped, as when we arrived at 3:00 there were already five people with their bags out and the two of us obtained the last two spots. These five hikers turned out to be all related to each other and some were on their first backpacking trip. An experienced hiker, their leader, had held them to 26 pounds with food and water! This would certainly make their first time out much more pleasant, as Helene and I passed many section hikers with huge packs and very tired legs. The temps were dropping quickly so we again had a wonderful fire, excellent conversation, and then went to bed once again feeling a part of the trail experience.It was dark and cold in the morning and with the short mileage in front of us and good company at the shelter we did not get on the trail until 9:30. We said our goodbyes and were glad the day was going to be spectacular for their trip over Max Patch. The day was warming us up quickly so we stopped to remove some clothing. We met many day hikers going up to Max Patch for the day. We arrived at Walnut Mtn Shelter before we even had second lunch. Because we has so much time we did some exploring in the area and had an early dinner and fire. We climbed back up to the open field where we found the apple tree we had been told about, but thought we missed, and watch the sun go down behind the beautiful blue mountains. We went back to the fire as the temps were again dropping quickly.I remember the night I was here in 2007 as about 11:00 PM we were sound asleep and a terrible storm came up with thunder, lightening, and strong winds. Hobo, Flint, Calamity Jane and I jumped out of the shelter, grabbed our packs, put out the fire (Hobo) and got back in to prepare for the worst storm I had experienced so far that year. In the morning everyone who had tented, MA and Marshal and others were soaked. This time it was somewhat the same with tremendous winds but no rain. Helene woke me to say she was shaking and could not stop. She put an emergency blanket on her and that helped some but at 4:00 AM we decided we better get up and walk, as she was just too cold. So I had my first experience night hiking. Besides the wind and cold the night was beautiful with the moon and stars covering the sky. When we got down below, we stopped and ate breakfast in the middle of the trail and got some hot food into us both. We then watch the sun come up over the mountain as we climbed Bluff Mtn. Again I found it much easier then I remembered. Another first for both of us was getting in to the middle of a bear hunt! As we walked down into Garenflo Gap, Helene said she thought she heard dogs. Now I was still dressed in black rain pants, black vest, and black balaclava on my head; essentially all in black and up the trail came a young man with rifle and three dogs straining on their leashes! Yes they were bear hunting and I of course looked like a bearJ Just behind him was another young boy with dogs and rifle. They had walkie-talkies and we suggested they contact their mates and tell them to be careful. They replied of course and that they first tree the bear with the dogs and then shot up into the tree. I was defiantly rooting for the bear. Later we saw two older men that were attached to the two younger and they had a small puppy in training. When we got to the gap we changed into lighter weight and lighter color cloths hoping the hunters would not find out changing spot. The weather had changed from cold to much warmer but still had a good breeze on the windy side of the mountain. We got to Deer Park Shelter and had a snack and break. When we left the shelter both Helene and I remembered that the trail went down into Hot Springs but apparently we had remembered wrong as it went up for a while before we started the downhill part. When Calamity Jane and I had done this part, we called it the Hot Spring¢s Twilight Zone as it seemed to go on forever but this time again it did not seem so bad.We arrived in Hot Springs and went to the outfitters it get a few things and then to the Smokey Mountain Diner to have a good meal and wait for Kim to pick us up. We met the bear hunters but they had no luck bagging their bearJ So another part of the trail done for the second time at a much more leisurely pace, and a good time was had by all. Helene and I then planned our next trip from Springer to Dicks Creek Gap, Hiawassee, GA in March! Anyone out there want to join us? And does anyone know about Cloud 9?