Date: 2016-03-30
From: USFS 67 on Albert Mtn

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: clear sky

Yet another beautiful hiking day. I didn¢t meet a hiker today without a smile on their face (well, except maybe for a few who were trudging uphill). It was absolutely perfect. Cool start, no clouds, warming sun, peaceful in the woods - about all I could hear was the rustling of leaves, a few furry natives, some woodpeckers and several drumming grouse. The trees at lower elevations are starting to show shades of light green, the redbuds are fluorescent, and green shoots are sprouting all along the trail. Today¢s trail had all sorts of variation in terrain, it included a couple of climbs - notably Albert Mountain at 5,250 ft including the fire tower atop the summit. We did another key swap today and my starting point was the FS road about a quarter mile short of the top on the south side. I was hiking NoBo, so I started with the final ascent to the top. This last part is also the steepest, so it was a good warmup and parts of it reminded me of some New England climbs. I did get the impression that the trail managers have done a little rerouting, but it¢s still challenging. The fire tower is impressive, I¢m not comfortable with climbing these things although I did go up a couple of flights just to get a better view. The top is crowned with groves of rhododendrons (and perhaps laurel), so it¢s shielded. However, the viewing platform offers a clear panorama of the surrounding valleys and mountains toward the east. I¢ve included a photo of the vista from the top and believe me, the photo doesn¢t do it justice. These views from the top make me feel like I¢m on the top of the world, the mountain ranges seem to stretch forever. Another important feature of the tower is that it marks the 100-mile point on the NoBo trail, an impressive milestone. I got there just after 8:00 am and there were still a couple of tents in place around the base of the tower. I talked with one young lady briefly, and after that, I didn¢t see another soul for about an hour and a half. On the other hand, Princess coming from the other direction, saw a lot of hikers - mostly just after she started at Winding Stair Gap. Later in the morning when Princess reached the fire tower at the end of her SoBo hike, she saw Shaggy (we think that¢s his trail name). We know his parents back in Norfolk and met him a couple of times with them. I¢ve included a photo she took of him at the tower.After a couple of longer days, we had a short hike today - only about 10 miles. Later when we were back at the cabin, we sort of regretted not hiking longer since the day was so beautiful. The rain that¢s been forecast for tomorrow seems to be shaping up to be worse than we hoped. It will likely start several hours after we start and may be heavy at times. The system looks fairly well developed and may generate rain lasting through Friday and perhaps into Saturday. It triggered some replanning on our part and we¢re considering several options over the next 4 or 5 days. We don¢t have much flexibility in accommodations since we¢ve already made arrangements, but we may rearrange the order of our hikes and come back to pick up a section near here after the weekend.After our hike today, we drove into Franklin for lunch and to get some groceries. When we stayed in Franklin in 2014, Ron Haven took us to Fat Buddies Ribs & BBQ. And today marks the third year in a row that we¢ve eaten there (Ranger is a fan too). We even took a carryout order of ribs home for dinner. I guess I¢m an easy target for BBQ ribs. Princess has whomped up chili for tomorrow, that should go well after a chilly, rainy day. I hope the weather will be better in your neck of the woods.A quick thank you to those who have been leaving a note in our guest book. In the past, I¢ve tried to reply to as many as I could. I¢m afraid I failed at that last year. But I am trying to respond with emails to those with specific questions, and I really appreciate the suggestions you¢ve passed our way. Our experience this year is considerably different from the past 2 years, so clearly we have a lot more to learn and we can learn a lot from others.