Date: 2009-03-20
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap/Franklin NC
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

March 20, 2009I'm not certain where to begin or even how to write this entry. Please bear with me. This may be a long one. Yesterday afternoon was a fairly difficult hike--the climb up Albert Mtn. The group I stayed with the night before was spread out as usual. Everyone arrived at the shelter and was eating dinner when a lone hiker arrived. Sometimes you get bad vibes and I had them immediately. From the very beginning he had nothing but negative comments about our gear, how far we hiked, and what we were eating - My water purifier didn't really work as well as the company and different testing organizations claimed,somebody else's stove could be improved by 100% by adding something to it, another's food was full of preservatives and would adversely affect their hiking performance. The list could go on. We basically ignored everything he was saying but it was still annoying. After we finished eating a few people began playing cards. I'm not certain what he was doing because I tried to ignore him. Typically, when it gets dark it¢s time for bed so everyone climbed into their sleeping bags and got ready to sleep. At this time he said it must be lights out time and switched from his white light to a red light on his headlamp. The red light doesn't effect a person' night vision as much as white light does. But instead of coming to bed he began pulling plastic bags out of his backpack. When there isn't any other noise this can seem loud, especially when you're trying to get to sleep. I couldn't see everything he was doing but it didn't take long to figure out he was eating. There were maybe six or seven baggies on the table and he went from one to another constantly, each time rattling the baggies. This went on for at least 45 minutes. Finally around 2145 he was finished and started cleaning up, a process that involved opening other baggies and putting the dinner baggies in them. Then he began going outside the shelter and appeared to be taking some of his bags to the side of the shelter. Other bags were put in front of the shelter. Finally he climbed into his sleeping bag around 2200. Within ten minutes it sounded like a B-52 was taking off. The walls were almost shaking. This kept up all night except at around midnight when nature must have called. Up he jumped and went outside. Problem was he didn't go very far because I/we could hear him urinating. Then back to bed. There was no reason for him not to go further away from the shelter. By this time I heard other people sighing. I must have dosed off for a couple hours but not more than that. Around 0330 the snoring reached a peak and I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and began packing. Earlier I had thought about setting up my tent but I couldn't remember any flat spots nearby and I didn't want to go stumbling around looking for a spot in the dark. By 0420 I was packed and ready to go. When I went to retrieve my food bag from the hanging area I noticed a bunch of garbage in the fire pit, plus more along the side of the shelter. None of it was there when we went to bed. Putting two and two together, he must have put it in both places. Just before leaving the shelter I put a note in the shelter log book hoping to meet the group in town today and then left. I'm pretty certain I know his trail name but I'm not positive. Until I am positive I won't reveal his name. Normally I wouldn't consider night hiking an option, but I did it once before on the MST. The main point to remember is to keep your head and headlamp pointed down, and go slow. Off I started. I did this section of the AT before and I didn't remember it being too difficult, at least the first 5 or so miles. The only place I had a little trouble was where the trail followed a creek for a very short distance. The footing was a little tricky and I had to keep watching for where the trail left the creek. There was also a good climb out of Wallace Gap. I watched the sun come up and soon arrived at US-64 (Winding Stair Gap). It took exactly four hours to do 9.1 miles. I went much faster than I expected. About 20 minutes after I arrived at the gap Trail Angels arrived and passed out hot drinks and snacks.Around 0900 Ron Haven arrived in his mini-bus. He runs a couple motels in town that cater to hikers. He's also very active in integrating local businesses into the hike community.   After dropping of people at his places he took me to the Microtel Motel. I like this place, lots of room to lay out your gear and dry things out. I recommend no matter where you stay to ask for some old stained towels and use them to clean any gear. Don't use the normal guest towels. It¢s now evening. This afternoon I washed my clothes, bought a couple things I needed at K-Mart and the outfitters, and ate. My feet are better than ever but they feel damp soon after I begin hiking. I think it¢s the orthotics. The hard plastic is covered with leather. The leather doesn't have time to dry before I begin the next day. I'm going to try alternating the orthotics with a pair of SuperFeet insoles. Hopefully this will help. Tomorrow I plan to take it easy and go to the store to get a few things I'll need for the next 28 miles to the NOC.Min Temp: 28.9Max Temp: 53.5Weather: Dark, then sunny after sunrise