Date: 2010-01-14
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Miles today: 0.0

I¢m starting to feel a little rushed trying to nail down a final gear list and complete preparations to leave. In the middle of all of this Martin and I decided to go hiking. What better way to decide what works and what dosn't than to field test it. Our old test grounds is only an hour from the house so on Wednesday we jumped in the 4-Runner and headed for the Uwharrie Mountains. Now the Uwharries are not much for elevation. The highest hill is less than 1000 feet, but somehow the trail manages to go up and down all day long. In many places it is as steep as or steeper than anything I remember from the Georgia section of the AT.At 9am we arrived at the north trailhead near Ophir, NC. The Uwharrie Trail starts with a rocky climb straight up to the saddle of Dark Mountain. We both fell into a 3 mile an hour pace and took our first break near Panther Branch Campsites. We continued on, crossing Morris Mountain where Martin (while waiting on me) talked with a couple of other backpackers headed for West Morris Mountain Hunt Camp. Just before the 109 trailhead I had to stop and eat. String cheese and jerky can literally pump the life back into you. Just after noon we stopped at a stream crossing for lunch. Shirts were hung on branches to dry the sweat and dry jackets were donned to shield us from the cold. We reloaded with water and continued north and passed a sign at Dusty Level road indicating we had covered 11 miles. When we got to the intersection of the Dutchman Creek Trail we decided to continue on the Uwharrie Trail and use the Dutchman Creek Trial as a path back north the next morning. By late afternoon we were closing in on the 24/27 trailhead. We had not passed any other campers besides the ones Martin saw earlier in the day. It was strange to have the whole forest to ourselves. At 24/27 Martin checked the trail map. He informed me we had completed 21 miles. There was a cyclist in the parking lot getting ready for a ride. He looked a little strange with a huge light mounted on his helmet. We took a short break and headed north on the Dutchman Creek Trail. At about 2 miles we found and acceptable place to spend the night. I would have preferred some place with a little more elevation but it was almost dark and we didn¢t have a lot of options. We set up tents and started supper. It was so cold the butane lighters had to be warmed so they would work. The meal was a combination of chicken, apples, onions and stuffing. Martin said we could fix this a couple times a week. I agreed it was delicious and not just because I was hungry. Nights are so long this time of year. I actually get tired of lying under my quilt waiting for the sun to come up. And of course it is always fun watching ice crystals form on the inside of your shelter. Finally as the sun made its appearance I called to Martin and suggested a mobile breakfast of Probars and a hot breakfast at Dutchman Creek Flats. He agreed. We packed, grabbed some water and hiked on. On Lick Mountain we called home to see how things were going. We wanted to suggest an Old School Funky Chicken Pizza from Mellow Mushroom for supper. The suggestion was well received. By 11:30 we were at Dutchman Creek Flats laying out our damp gear to dry. We had potatoes with bacon and cheese for a meal. The best part was that the temperatures were on the rise and the warm sun felt so good.Two miles later we were back on the Uwharrie Trail retracing our steps from yesterday. Only 11 14 miles to go but I could tell it had been awhile since I hiked this kind of mileage. I was getting tired and my feet were starting to hurt from the rocks on the trial. At the 109 trailhead I told Martin I needed a short break. We sat on some steps in the parking lot and watched a crew work on the road. I finished off my cheese and granola bars and chugged down a half liter of water. There were some trucks in the parking lot and we thought we might see some other hikers near Spencer¢s Creek but when we arrived there we didn¢t see a soul. We continued over Morris Mountain and down to Panther Branch where we stopped to refill our water bottles one last time. We were only 4 miles from the car.The last big climb was over Horse Mountain. It seemed to go on forever with one summit after another making Tower Road a most welcome site. From there it was an easy walk to the ridge of Dark Mountain. We followed the ridge up to the first peak and down into the saddle to where my Scout Troop had prepared breakfast just a month earlier. All that was left was to walk down the rocky slope to the car.In the end we hiked 44 12 miles in two days. There were no blisters but some sore feet from all the rocks. All in all it was a good trip if for no other reason the trail was frozen and we didn¢t have to trek through mud!I got back to the world of internet and cell phones this morning. It seems my fellow hikers that are starting the AT near the same date as Martin and me had been busy. My inbox was filling quickly with messages. This morning¢s discussion was on a symbol we could leave so we leave in journals to identify ourselves. I was able to take some ideas others had described and put together a quick logo. They seemed to like it. I'll be looking for it as I hike the trail this March!