April 9, 2009 Hike #1
Well, the sun is out today. That makes a whole two days in a row. Turns out, this two day streak of good weather will be the longest during this 9 day trek. After two days of hiking south to north, I am hiking north to south today. Generally, I hike south to north because it makes it easier for Lynn to pick me up at a trailhead she has already been too. But now that I have less than 100 miles to go, it's more fun to hike toward my goal of Springer Mountain rather than away from it.
When I try to figure out when Lynn should pick me up each day, I have a little formula that has worked well. Count up the miles for the day, divide by two, and then subtract 1 to 2 hours. That has worked well for me for the entire trail, but I mentioned yesterday my knee was a little sore, so today I just divided the number of miles by two to come up with how long it would take. It was tough because today's up and downs were fairly gentle, and I would love to have run some of the trail.
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I met today's first thru hiker at Betty Creek Gap
He told me his trailname but I couldn't seem to get it.
I asked for the spelling, but that didn't seem to help.
"How did you come up with that?" I asked.
"It's my name backwards," he said.
I reversed the letters in my head, but that still didn't help.
"I see you survived the snowstorm," I said.
"Yes, but it was rough," he said. "It was so cold I had to get in my sleeping bag at 5:00 p.m. I don't start my day until 7:00 a.m. I laid there and wondered what to do for fourteen hours."
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Endless blue ridges from Little Ridgepole Mountain.
The sun was right in front of me so the picture is kind of overexposed.
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I had the spot to myself for a few minutes before being joined by Road Runner, Spear Tip, Spartacus.
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I had one of them take my picture.
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The next thru hiker I met was Bobby.
"How are you doing so far?" I asked.
"Great except I have a bad knee," he said.
I knew what he was going through since my knee was starting to bother me.
"Did you start with a bad knee or hurt it along the way?" I asked.
"I hurt it. I went too far too fast."
I was guilty of the same thing. This was a reminder to me to take it easy today.
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My next stop was at Carter Gap Shelter which was slightly off the trail
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I've seen shelters with an upstairs for overflow but this was the first one I saw with a basement level which could sleep an additional two hikers if necessary.
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I met Ancient Ruin from Australia.
"When did you start?" I asked.
"April 1st," he said.
This was good news. This was the first time I asked this question and the response was the same month I was currently in. This meant I had to be getting close to Springer Mountain.
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Next I began the long, gradual climb up to Standing Indian Mountain. My knee was starting to hurt so I went at a slow pace. I checked Runtrails' website last night and got a heads up. The road where Jim had to pick her up had a locked gate. I gave Lynn a heads up on this. It meant I may have two bonus miles at the end of the day. Another reason to take it easy on my knee today.
Nearing the top of Standing Indian
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I could hear a couple hikers coming down.
"Still no view," one of them said.
This bummed me out. I was really hoping for another great view today since the forecast for tomorrow was rain.
I met some more thru hikers. I didn't get all their names but there was Mocking Bird and Scarecrow.
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As I neared the top of the mountain, I realized that the A.T. didn't go to the top. I saw a renegade, unmarked trail so I took it. There was still some snow left from the recent storm as I neared 5500 feet.
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Here are a few early spring flowers that survived the snowstorm.
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I found a nice grassy spot on the top of Standing Indian, the last 5000 footer I would climb on my A.T. journey.
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There was a great view from here as well.
It was only an extra minute or two from the A.T. To bad it wasn't marked.
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As I began my descent I met Free Bird. He asked if there was a view at the top.
I recommended the short side trail and told him where it was.
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Standing Indian Shelter was a little off the trail. I stopped in anyway, but there were no Indians.
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Over a bridge
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With the leaves not on the trees yet, I could see the parking lot at Deep Gap. There were cars there. Yes, that meant the gate was unlocked and Lynn could drive all the way in. She wasn't there yet but she drove in exactly as I reached the parking lot. It was the best timing we had ever had. The long downhill from Standing Indian really made my knee flare up. I'll try to give it extra rest tonight.
Miles to go: 82
I have a few miles of North Carolina left, but Lynn and I moved to a motel in Hiawassee, Georgia today. Once we got settled, we had time to spare so we were off to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia.
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