Date: 2007-04-06
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Camp Creek Bald
Miles today: 20.9

The Alpine Court Motel provided a good place to sleep last night. Mr. Ed was up at 6:00 AM and on the trail by 7:15 AM. That was after he stopped on the way out of town at a convenience store and purchased two egg biscuits and coffee for breakfast. The trail followed the French Broad River for 1/2 mile. It was a pretty walk. Then it turned up hill for most of the morning. The temperatures were in the 30's. Good hiking weather if you are properly dressed. Mr. Ed is having one problem. His nose drips like a faucet in this weather. He stopped at Spring Mountain Shelter for lunch. There he met a young man named Seth from the Poconos in PA. They passed two girls on the trail. They walked to Allen Gap, NC. There they found a sign that said, "Trail Magic for thru hikers - Belgian waffles with pecans, barbecue with potato salad, drinks, ice cream, and other desserts - Just 300 yards away. Sincerely, Fal and Hercules". They were thru hikers in 1999. Mr. Ed was not hungry since he had just eaten lunch two hours earlier. (Maybe I should say he did not think he was hungry.) But he also was not stupid. This sounded too good to pass. He walked 300 yards off the trail and found a nice driveway with a beautiful log home. Hercules greeted him and directed him to a bathroom where he could clean up. Seth and other young hikers were already at the table. Fal served him a rootbeer float to start the meal. It sure tasted good. Then Fal just kept bringing more food for Mr. Ed to try. He had some of everything, including ice cream and coffee cake. He thought to himself that he would not need to cook this evening after a meal like that. He stayed from 3:00 PM to 4:30PM. He probably could not walk. Fal and Hercules offered their guests a chance to slack pack for a 20 mile trip and stay over and go to Easter services with them. Mr. Ed was tempted, but he wants to make Maine before mid-August. The trail called his name, and he answered. He will never forget the hospitality of Fal and Hercules.Mr. Ed hit the trail hiking fast. By 6:30 he had gone 5 miles. He was energized and not worrying about an evening meal. He came to Little Laurel Shelter, but he was not ready to stop. The shelter was already full with several tents around it also. He decided to move on without looking at his book to see what was ahead. (Not a good idea.) He climbed and climbed. One hour later he came to the top. It had started snowing at 6:30. By the time he reached Camp Creek Bald, elevation 4,750 feet, there was one inch of snow on the ground and more coming. The temperatures were in the 20s. Now, Mr. Ed thought, I will really get to test my sleeping bag. So far it had been a great day. He was on the 291.6 mile marker. It was still snowing when he called me at 9:00 PM feeling very definitely snowed in. He was wearing his down jacket and huddled in his sleeping bag. He could hear snow hitting his tent. But he was warm and comfortable and still feeling like a lucky man. He even told me that he loved me before the trail but even more now that I was supporting him on this journey. Sleeping in a tent alone on top of a mountain in freezing temperatures with snow falling all around can do funny things to a man. Or maybe it was all that food.