Date: 2014-04-28
From: Burningtown Gap

To: US 19/74, Nantahala River
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light rain

More trail magic in the morning, these guys are amazing! We gorge on fruit, doughnuts and coffee around a newly built campfire, relaxing for a while before packing up.Lunch on Wesser Bald DeckWe have 2 climbs for the day before reaching an iconic AT destination-the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) on the picturesque Nantahala River with rapids.It's gonna be a longer day for us, 12.9 miles, we wanna get there though because it has a brewery and real food, and we can stay in a cabin.Our first climb is up to our original destination for yesterday, to Cold Spring Shelter and Cooper Ridge Bald, about 700', it goes surprisingly easy, barely breaking a sweat. There's a nice spring at the shelter so we stop to use the privy, brush teeth and replenish our water supply while a German couple pass by.Twinkle Toes and Thespian on WesserIt's on to Rocky Bald next, it isn't really a bald so we just pass by, now it's a climb up to Wesser Bald, about 800', it also barely raises a sweat, it's small but there's a nice observation deck on top that works perfectly for lunch with the blue ridge mountains marching off into the distance. Thespian and Twinkle Toes show up again to keep us company and snap some pix.I'm puzzled why yesterday was such a tough day, abeit with a very happy ending, maybe the food in Franklin, or the heat or just some kinda energy cycle?True to form the AT is now on the ridge tops of the Blue Ridge and bumps up and down with the ridge line before a short climb up some unnamed peak, there's no view there but as we head down towards the Nantahala River there's a nice view called the Jumpoff as we roll through the 4000' mark.It's steep down but we do it easily, packs are a bit lighter now and we hit the Rufus Morgan Shelter around 3:45, 5.7 miles from Wesser in 2 hours and 25 minutes.Still a Wintery Scene on the High RidgesIt still looks very wintery on the ridge tops, bleak without any leaves on the trees, the landscape starts to get the first bits of spring as we go down, there are Trillium and Violets in bloom, the first flowers in the spring.Thespian passes us slackpacking and Twinkle Toes comes up behind too, we hike about the same pace but we stop more and let him go by.Getting hungry and tired now, it's only three quarters of a mile from the shelter to the NOC, always seems to take longer when hunger gnaws at your innards.Finally we're down on the river, it's a great spot with many overlooks to a kayaking course that looks pretty tough, there's the Rivers End pub sitting right on the water so naturally we go in for brews and chews, a trout cake burger and salad, the cold wet veggies taste great.Kayaking Course on the NantahalaTwinkle Toes rolls in and we recognize 2 more backpackers from the trail magic the day before, this is a place for hikers to gather and have a party by the river.We gotta call the owner of the cabins to get us checked in, we get the number from the NOC and call, no answer so leave a message and she calls back quickly, she comes to pick us up in Mini Cooper of all things, she'd locked her keys in the trunk.The cabins are cheap and basic and I have work to do, it's real estate woes, gotta fill out an addendum to a lease, hopefully it'll be doable out here in the semi-wilderness and we can get in some white water rafting tomorrow.