Date: 2010-04-20
From: Wayah Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

It struck me today how incredible it is that this little sliver of trail exists, so well defined, all the way from GA to ME, mostly anonymous other than a small white blaze occasionally painted on a tree. Traversing truly remote and rugged wilderness that, at times, is so thick to the left and right of me, or on a hillside or ridgeline that is so steep above or below, it's difficult to imagine how someone conceived its path, much less forged it.Today was a first, with rain firmly predicted in the forecast. I hear the first small, soft taps on my tent around 5:00a, a sprinkle so light that you can hear the individual drops. Someone mentioned the night before that the rain won't pick up until later in the day but I still harbor anxiety about breaking camp in the rain so I rise at 5:50a to begin this chore. Rising around 6:00a has already become a habit though and I'm usually first up at this time. The rain is still a non-issue at this point though and by 7:20a I'm on the trail.A downside to being first on the trail in the morning is that by default I become 'Avatar - Devourer of Webs', haplessly snapping each little strand, usually with my face it seems, spun so diligently the night before. I doubt following hikers even give thought to who bulldozed the trail clear of these webs. The rain begins shortly after I hit the trail and even then is only a sprinkle. The trail is still mostly dry at this point and occasionally a larger drop will strike a bit of leaf causing it to jump in a flipping somersault before resuming its place. I glance at my clothes and the drops are barely noticeable, and the hat I wear keeps all rain off my head. I hike in this drizzle for 2 hours before it starts to have more effect at which point I retrieve my pack cover to cocoon my burden from the rain. I hold off on my rain jacket though as the rain is still not hard enough to merit, plus I've read that hiking in a rain jacket can get quite warm.In the meantime I enjoy this wet, new trail. There's a hush over the forest, a stillness, as the rain deadens and muffles all sound. I walk near the cloudline traversing the mountain range under foot, sometimes emerging above the cloud that is raining on me, for a spell, before descending back into it and the rain within. Although the weather is touch and go I'm occasionally treated to a view revealing only mountain tops with thick swirling clouds skirting their ridgelines. I have Scottish ancestors and imagine my forebears walking through a similar misty, rocky highland. By 10:00a the rain has picked up and it's time I reach for my rain jacket. This was one of the nicer gear pieces I bought for the hike and I have been looking forward to testing it on the Trail. The rain picks up for a while, then ebbs, back and forth. I manage this wet trail well with one exception. For 12 days I've used the rocks and roots on the trail as levers or wedges to either push off or brake my stride. Today the rocks generally hold true but the roots are a completely different story, becoming veins of black teflon stitched into the trail. On more than one occasion my shoe instinctively hits a rootonly to suffer betrayal as my foot shoots forward beneath me. I never hit the ground but each slide serves as a reinforcing reminder of the caution necessary in this wet condition.Around 1:00p, at the 11 mile mark, I pause for a break, girding myself for the remaining 5.5 miles with a Clif Bar and 4 Advils. The remaining hike into the NOC is mostly uneventful excepting a very large tree that has fallen across the path forcing the decision of over or under, with neither option obvious or appealing. Under means getting low to the ground with a pack on your back and crab crawling through the grime, over means determing first how to get on top of this mammoth girth and then subsequently how to get back down to the narrow, slippery bit of trail without injury or otherwise sliding down the hill. After my internal debate I decide slogging through the mud is the less appealing option and decide for 'over'. Everyone has to decide at this tree and my informal poll reveals that so far I'm the only one to choose the over option. I arrive at the NOC around 3:00p, check in, drop off gear in my bunk room, and head to the restaurant for the 'Boathouse Burger' and a beer. Looking forward to my first zero day tomorrow, lazing by the river in the sunshine and watching the kayakers dance in the current.