3/25

Left Cloud 9 around noon, started back on the trail about 12:30. I was a bit unsure how I’d feel after sitting on my butt for a day, but I felt great. Cranked an easy five miles and made Plum Orchard Gap before it was even thinking about getting dark. If I was by myself, I’d have pushed on another mile or two, but there were a lot of folks I knew heading here, and we’ve all had a great time hanging around the table – Equinox and Solstice are a couple in their early 20’s, Cool Breeze is a heavily bearded guys looks around 45 or so, Stinger and Swamp Dog are two hiking buddies, 73 and 61 respectively, etc. These last two, especially, I enjoy very much. They’ve already completed the entire AT in sections, and they’re back to do a Springer-to-Fontana Dam section.

Bad news is I made a really bad goof – I knew I was low on stove fuel, but I didn’t realize how low … my dinner was barely warm before the fuel gave out. Thankfully someone else loaned me the fuel for dinner, but unless that happens again, it’s cold dinners for the next couple of nights until Franklin.

We’ve got a fire going in front of the shelter, and the conversation is more interesting that writing this journal. G’night!

On the MP3 player for tomorrow – “Can’t you just hear the sunshine? Can’t you just feel the moonshine?”

3/26

Crossed into NC today – passed the famous oak tree, and went up Sharp Top and Courthouse Bald. Made Muskrat Creek by 3 pm and called it an early day. – 1500 feet of uphills today.

Spending my zero day in Hiawassee validated my decision to take it slow and easy for the first month - I counted five people who had passed me earlier who were now knocked off temporarily or permanently with blisters, knee pain, etc. I’ve had no pain of any kind – I feel better than I did ten days ago.

Lot of the same crowd here as last night – Cool Breeze, Bilge Rat, Nonstop, Guns. Another good campfire going.

3/27

Today I got to the area I did in my warmup hike in Jan/Feb – I get off the AT at Deep Gap with Big Dipper, an 18-ish guy who also did this section earlier – we drop down the Kimsey Creek Trail, which is the prettiest walk I’ve had so far. It’s a downhill that runs right alongside a creek the whole way, and there are a number of really pretty spots. I’m awfully tempted to just set up alongside the creek and waste a few hours enjoying a gorgeous day. I don’t because I’m hoping to get into and out of Franklin today.

Unfortunately, even once we get down to the campground in the valley, it takes us two hours to get a ride into town. The upside of this is that I end up eating dinner in Franklin with Ron Haven and Baltimore Jack. These are two trail legends. Ron runs two motels in Franklin, and is well-known as a guy who will go out of his way to help any hiker. Terrific, terrific guy. Baltimore Jack is a hiker who has done something like 7 complete thru-hikes, as well as numerous heavy section-hikes. To get a chance to sit down with these guys is a pleasure.

After dinner Ron offers me a deal – if I stay in his motel for a night, he’ll throw in a free shuttle to Wayah Bald tomorrow morning – this will enable me to do a 10-mile section of the AT southbound, and mostly downhill. I take him up on it, even though this makes my second unscheduled motel night in 3 weeks, and I’m seriously over budget.

3/28

Back to the misty, cloudy, drizzly weather. I get up to Wayah around 11 am, and start walking south toward Winding Stair Gap. Disappointing, because there are supposed to be great views from Siler Bald, but visibility is about 200 yards. I climb the side trail to the peak anyway, and dance in the clouds for awhile.

3/29

Camped about 2 miles short of Winding Stair Gap last night, and walk those two miles in a steady rain. At the road crossing there are a couple of welcome sights – one is a whole bunch of people I know, all waiting for rides into town, and also a canopy under which the good folks of First Baptist of Franklin were passing out coffee and cocoa.

Ron Haven’s people pick us up and drive us into town – I’m staying with him again tonight, splitting a room with Cool Breeze and Nonstop.

After a day of showering, laundry, and errands, Ron is sponsoring a “Hiker Bash.” A band and, more important, free food, in the parking lot of one of his motels.

3/30

Get shuttle back to Wayah Bald, but not until 1 pm. Six mile walk down to Cold Spring Shelter. Run into Lotus and Thinker – hadn’t seen them in almost 2 weeks. They took 4 days off in Franklin with injuries.

3/31

First ten-mile day – Cold Spring Shelter to Rufus Morgan shelter. Walked a good part of day with Lotus & Thinker, who helped me keep a good pace – made 10.7 miles in 7 hours. Tough, steep, ankle-twisting downhills mostly. Made shelter by 4:30, very tired and with a sore ankle, but otherwise fine. Lotus is having serious knee & toe issues, all those downhills must have been agonizing. She’s one tough Flower.

Bilge Rat rolls in about 7 pm – he has really been doing some miles – 10 uphill yesterday, and 16 downhill today.

4/1

Very disjointed day today. Start with a mile walk into the Nantahala Outdoor Center, a rafting / outdoor center located at the intersection of the AT and the Nantahala River. We all get a great breakfast there, and discuss the weather. The forecast is for heavy rain, but it is a glorious morning; warm, with white puffy clouds. I’m strongly tempted to stay a day here (there is a bunkhouse), first because the weather is supposed to be bad, then because it’s so nice. The NOC is really a beautiful spot – a shallow, rocky river in a narrow valley. So, I split the difference, sitting by the riverside, reading and drying out my stuff until 2 pm. After that, I head up the trail. It’s a 7-mile uphill out of the NOC, gaining 3000 feet along the way.

The weather, however, finally rolls in around 6 pm, and I have to set up camp after only going 5 miles up out of the NOC.

On the MP3 player: Alison Krauss, or as I call her “the future Mrs. Markley.”

4/2

Very, very hard day. Very steep uphill first 2 miles, then 9 more miles of hard up-and-downs all the way to Brown Fork shelter. Trail maintainers in NC don’t seem to believe in switchbacks – the trail goes nearly straight up and straight down, often at angles of 30, 40, even 50 degrees. They also seem determined to go up every single hill and knob they possibly can. Again and again, they seem to go out of their way trying to add another steep up-and-down wherever they can.

Weather good today – view from Cheoah Bald was spectacular, and a bunch of us spent some time up there sunbathing. Hiked on, and finally made my goal by 7 pm. Caught up w/ Lotus, Thinker & Bilge Rat.

On the MP3 player: Ennio Morricone, and U2’s “Walk On” about 16 times.

4/3

Another hard day of up-and-downs, this time in rain every step of the way. Sometimes drizzle, sometimes mist, sometimes showers, but rain from 8 am – 8 pm. Considering that in many places the footing is nothing but rocks, roots, and wet leaves, this is hard. Finally flop into Fontana Dam Shelter, utterly spent, around 7 pm.

4/4-5

Taking not just one, but two zero days at Fontana Village. The last four days, averaging 10 miles on what I’m told is some of the tougher miles of the AT, have wiped me out. There’s also a big front rolling through, and I don’t want to start into the Smokies with rain on the first day. Splitting a motel room here will only cost $60 for 2 nights.

Since I have a little bit of time, I probably need to catch up on something I said previously I’d explain – Trail Names. Basically, most everybody out here goes by an alias – either one they chose for themselves or one that’s chosen for them. The idea is usually that the name says something about them or some interesting trail story.

New York Minute is from New York and he walks fast. Bilge Rat works as an engineer on dive boats. Five stones is a biblical allusion (David v. Goliath). Butterfly Moon has a tattoo of you-can-guess-what located you-can-guess-where.

I’ve had several proposed for me, but I’m not crazy about any of them. For awhile, I was “Nosebleed,” after a day in which my nose bled off and on for several hours. But that didn’t keep up, so I didn’t keep the name. “Happy Gnome” was suggested, but there already is somebody out here going by “The Gnome.” The latest proposal comes from one of the rare nights when I elected to actually sleep inside a shelter, and Bilge Rat slapped me awake at 3 am, telling me to “turn off that damn chainsaw!” Given that he snores louder than I do, it’s ironic, but lately I’ve been answering to “Chainsaw.” But even that doesn’t seem to fit. Too macho.

All of the obvious ones are taken, so it definitely takes some creativity. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

Off to the Smokies tomorrow . . . .