Date: 2009-05-12
From: Base of Pond Mountain

To: Damascus
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: scattered clouds

I awoke in my hammock, cold from the cool air settling in the ravine, and moist from the spray of the rapids. I made tea while packing up, and tried to limber up for the long climb up Pond Mountain. I hit it slow and steady, and soon my lungs were heaving from the effort and I had sweat streaming down my face. The trail went up for hours. It was switched back in places, in others very steeply pitched. The trail climbed for 3 miles, topping out at Pond Flats at 3780 feet, a climb of approximately 2000' from where I camped. When I got to the top, I never saw the turn off to the shelter, and blew right past it. I did see two guys camping in bivys, with a big dog between them. I did'nt want to wake them, so I kept walking. Eventually walked 3 miles down the other side, and popped out on US Hwy 321 by Watauga Lake. The trail was blocked by highwater, and I did a roadwalk around the flooded portion. A few older guys were cutting weeds on the detour, and told me Bob Peoples was up ahead getting ready for the Hardcore volunteer project. The trail wound around the lake, and started a gentle climb up the ridge above it. The lake was beautiful, and reminded me so much of Kentucky Lake, where dad and I fished when I was a kid. After a while I came to Watauga Lake Shelter, where a couple was packing up ready to get back on the trail. He was just coming down with the stomach flu, and asked me several quesions about it. Bear's theory that it was food poisoning from Bob's Dairyland was broken here, because this guy never stopped at Bob's Dairyland to eat. There was also a dad backpacker and two boys about 12 with little backpacks. The boys looked exhausted, the dad nervous. The trail climbed some more, then went down and crossed the earthen dam of Watauga Lake. It was very impressive, and quite massive. Across the dam was a very steep roadwalk of about 1/2 mile. I missed the turn off, went over the hill, and had to backtrack back up. Then the trail really got steep. I knew Pond Mountain was steep, but my guide book said nothing about Iron Mountain. It doesn't even look that bad on the elevation profile. But it is one steep mother. And it's about 4 miles long. I was leapfrogging with a guy named Redbeard all day, and we were both amazed at the difficulty of Iron Mtn. After Pond Mtn, it was just a heartbreaker. At one point it was so steep it was almost hand over hand. This is where the Hardcore project is this year, and I almost followed their red markers out into the woods where they are laying out switchbacks. Redbeard said he was going to volunteer for hardcore, and Bob P. had told him he could paint his own personal white blaze if he did. Pretty cool. I finally, finally, finally reached Vandeventer Shelter, were I met Vegemite, an Aussie and former thru-hiker out for a section. I asked her if she was the one who named thru-hiker Duffy. I had heard there was a thru-hiker behind me, who was hiking with an Aussie who couldn't pronounce his name, so she had started calling him Duffy. Vegemite said it wasn't her, but wouldn't it be odd if there were two Vegemites on the trail also? I said I thought it was quite a coincidence just that there were two Aussie ladies within a day or so of each other that had never met. The two kids came hiking in as I pulled out, then the dad, and now he looked exhausted. I went on down and up and down the mountain another 3 or 4 miles to a bubbling sping where 3 older section hikers from Ohio had set up camp. They had a climbing rope over a pulley up in a tree for hanging bear bags. Vegemite was setting up there also, so I hung my hammock and made dinner. Several other hikers wandered in and began setting up. The mass migration to Trail Days was in full swing now, as we were only 30 miles or so from Damascus. When I sat down at the campfire to talk, there were so many food bags tied onto the climbing rope I told one of the old dudes I was afraid that when I went to lower my bag in the morning the counterweight would pull me up into the tree. He said no problem, just holler and they would lower the whole pulley with me attached.