Date: 2013-04-01
From: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn

To: Camp Creek Bald
Miles today: 15.0

(In which I find it difficult to leave Hot Springs but break away from town)I have a sluggish start to the day, mostly repacking my backpack before the breakfast bell is rung. I quickly join the others downstairs in the dining room. It is surprising to see how few others there are. Elmer and his two assistants make up half of the party, and a North Carolina couple and myself make up the other half. The couple are visitors - I am the only thru-hiker here this morning. I have fallen into the void behind my old bubble and the folks delayed by the closure of the Trail in the Smokies. Dante, one of Elmer's assistants, was a 2012 southbounder and knows at least the names of the 2012 hikers I know. I am surprised to hear Dozer will be arriving tomorrow, figuring he would be far ahead by now.I finish breakfast and finish packing. Downstairs I pay for my stay, and I remember I haven't photographed the house at all. It is a Victorian building from the 1800s, the first building in town. I dart about shooting some interior photos before I depart. I am not done in town yet. Elmer's has no wifi so I sit outside the library and use their internet. While here I chat with two folks, one a local and the other a visitor. The local suggests they would help me get to the trailhead if they could rearrange things in their car. I decline troubling them, as I figure it will be easy to hitch out of town.I retrace yesterday's steps, walking through town and across the river. Instead of hopping the guiderail I continue along the road, hoping I can get a ride. It is a while before I get a ride. This is frustrating, walking along the highway in the hot spring sun. After I have walked over a mile away from town, a red car with New York plates pulls over. It is John, headed back to where he had been coming from yesterday. I had not taken note of his car in the dark last night, and he sees me without my rain jacket today. We are surprised to see each other again. He gives me a ride back to the trailhead, and I suggest I will buy him lunch if we cross paths again.The day's hiking now begins. There is a steady ascent of over a thousand feet to near the top of Rich Mountain. Some day hikers pass me on the way up, while I am taking a break. I later pass then, and inquire on their destination. They are going to the lookout tower, adding that at least they think it is this way. I can tell them with certainty that it is less than a mile away. A side trail leads to the lookout tower, so I park my gear at the intersection. Unfortunately, a road also leads to the lookout tower. The trash and vandalism that accompanies easily accessible spots takes away from the satisfaction, as does the adjacent cellular tower. I shoot some photos from the tower and return to my pack.The lookout tower is the highest point for a while. I drop into a gap and climb to vacant Spring Mountain Shelter. After this the Trail trends downward, stopping to throw in a few small climbs along the way. It bottoms out at Allen Gap and a state road. I follow gentle terrain north to Log Cabin Road. In sight to the east is what I imagine to be its namesake log cabin, half concealed by the contour of the land. I fight the urge to investigate the rustic structures in sight, as there may be an owner nearby to upset with my intrusion. From here there is steady climbing to the next shelter, too, and I don't want to arrive very late.Little Laurel Shelter is surprisingly a flurry of activity. The shelter is full and several folks are camping around it. I chat briefly with Truck Surfer and watch the antics of a couple conspicuous girls. What is remarkable is their girly behavior, the likes of which I have not yet observed firsthand on the Trail. I could see that kind of behavior coming from section hikers on a spring break trip, but am startled to observe it in folks that have been hiking for a month already. In passing it is amusing, but I feel like being around folks exhibiting such antics would become tiring quickly, just as it would off the Trail.There is still plenty of light so I decide to keep moving. My target is Camp Creek Bald and its lookout tower. I figure this is a great opportunity to situate myself for sunset and sunrise photography from a mountaintop. It also gets rid of a steep climb I would otherwise have to start tomorrow with. I announce my intentions to the folks near at hand and press on uphill. It is indeed a tough climb, but I make it to the side trail well ahead of sunset. There is a sign to mark the side trail, and on it graffiti expresses dismay at Awol's guide and notes that the tower is locked.I am used to locked towers, as most I encounter up north have the lookout platform boarded over. When I reach the mountaintop I am dismayed by what I see before me. It is a pincushion of communications towers of all shapes and sizes. The bald patches are neither meadow nor bare stone, but are trampled dirt, gravel, and grass. Indeed, the largest bald area that is not occupied by a structure may be the parking lot next to the largest tower, an ominous steel castle of a thing with many steel grid platforms. The lookout tower itself I eventually find while circling back toward the highest point. It has been repurposed to a communications tower and stands as a dwarf next to the taller towers. Razor wire clutters the upper part of its staircase, and a collapsed, formerly two-floor structure of concrete block is the only open structure to be found.I set up my hammock between the two most viable trees while waiting to see if I can get any kind of sunset photos. It winds up being an opportune spot, with a boulder I can leave my shoes on right under the hammock. I do not get a sunset photo, as the largest tower is in front of the sun. Instead I wander around the mountaintop complex for a bit looking for photos that I can use the towers in. I have limited success here before returning to my hammock to rest.Peace,