Date: 2006-04-11
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

11 Apr 2006 - Destination: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter(10 Miles)I slept very bad last night, tossing and turning from about 23:00 to 04:00. Up just after dawn, got breakfast and finished putting last night's fire out. We still had hot glowing and smoking coals left. Felix, et. al. claimed a big animal of some kind (bear? deer?) was walking around outside their tents last night. I saw and heard nothing. We talked about their annual weekly section hikes and Felix noted that they were ending this season in Daleville. They inquired and I told them about the layout of the interstate and the parking lot on 220. They pulled out about 08:30 after playing frisbee for 10+ minutes and giving me some hot water for hot chocolate. I'm leaving about 08:45. I can't seem to find the balacava, but I'm sure it will turn up.9:05 56397 - At the crossroads where the trail to the shelter branches off of the AT. It has taken me a half an hour to negotiate that half a mile. My left knee is starting to twinge. by 09:25 I am at the 0.5 mile sign, and by 09:33 at the Punchbowl Overlook at the BRP. I cross the road and deposit the metallic trash in the litter barrel. This is a pack off break, for water and gorp refreshments.NOTE: Walking up and walking down reasonable ( 2-5% grades) slopes are at about the same pace, but many fewer rest stops on the way down, which means rouphly 1.5 times as long to go up as down.NOTE: Soy bacon bits overpower all other tastes and smells in gorp.The blue ford which was parked at the overlook yesterday is still there. 09:45 - break over, got fresh bag of gorp from bag and started up. Just after the overlook someone had stuck an uncovered roll of toilet paper in the crotch of a tree, but out of sight from the overlook. It cannot have been there too long, as there was no indication of water. Somewhat further on there were a couple of green covered trash cans, with a sign saying 1 mile to the Punchbowl Shelter.10:10 56515 - Crossed "Little Irish Road" = 311.10:42 - Pack down break. Just passed a hunter coming down the trail. It is gobbler season here, now, and for the next several weeks. TIME FOR BLAZE ORANGE.11:15 56730 - I appear to have reached the crest after two steep climbs. Pack off, water refill, pb sandwich. This is the last of the original pb sandwiches. I am sitting on a split log at the side of the trail, quietly listening to the woods, where occasional limbs are falling off trees, there are soft rustling sounds, and the birds are tweeting and singing (and a plane is droning in the distance). A gentle (< 5 mph) breeze from the north is drying my sweat and cooling me off. There is a lovely mountain ridge in the distance toward the east. Started moving again at 11:35.12:45 57187 - Appear to be near the crest of Rice Mountain. Pack off break.14:13 57579 - Pack down break. Gorp, water, nap, been daydreaming of her. (Pack down means I don't take the pack off, but am resting with something else supporting the pack weight.)15:30 - Fifteen scouts and their guides heading south, uphill. They will probably camp on top of Rice Mountain There are two relatively slow adults following, and they ask me to so inform them (which I did when I passed them about ten minutes later). I talked for a while with several of the scout guides (M & F) and they wanted to know if there were any good camping spots before the shelter. The best I could say was at the crest.15:55 - Little Irish Creek. Got 2 liters of water. About 5 miles to go.17:03 58594 - Pack off break - "easy" uphill hike besides lovely blue water (James?) with river houses occasionally on the other side. Pb sandwich.17:40 58735 - Fallen tree blocked path. Could not go around so pack off, crawl under, pull pack under, rehoist pack and go. There was about 18-24 inch clearance from ground to tree, and it was impossible to go over because of multiple branches and thickness of trunk (around 20-25 inches). The whole thing was on a thirty degree slope amid lots of brambles.08:45 60227 - Found the shelter 30 minutes after dark, after crossing a flat log bridge right in front of the shelter, in the dark.The Brown Mountain Creek Shelter is your basic 6 person shelter with a fire ring out front, an uncovered picnic table and a privy up back and to the right. It is in a mountain hollow, and is embedded in a stand of pine trees with the Brown Mountain Creek right in front. The water is easily accessible.I am alone in the shelter!!! I found the balacava in the sleeping bag, so only the catscoop has actually been lost. The shelter appears to be in a radio dead zone and there is also no Globalstar connection available, as of 21:36. Given the location of the water, I will do my preparations tomorrow.