Appalachian Trail, Days 21-25
The trademark AT weather created a week of highs and lows: a sleepless night in the torrential rain followed by dreamless sleep in the shelter and another night of pleasant camping. There was also so much wonderful and unexpected trail magic. Big Bald was the hiking highlight of the week, but there was also a fun scrambly ridge line that I tackled in the fog.
Day 21:
Start: Hot Springs, NC (275.0)
Stop: Spring Mountain Shelter (286.2)
Miles: 11.55
Elevation Gain: 3752
Total Miles Hiked: 307.37
It was Memorial Day and I had to resupply in town, so I wasn’t sure what was going to be open. I decided to start with the farthest options and work my way closer to the hostel. Luckily, everything was open, so I didn’t have to make do with Dollar General. I hit up the outfitter and got some dehydrated meals. Then, I stopped at the Hillbilly Market for the rest of the resupply, and even got a sandwich to pack out for dinner. Lastly, I got breakfast from the Smokey Mountain Diner, an establishment sent by the gods for hungry hikers. Afterwards, I made my way back and spent some time organizing my groceries on the porch talking to Kate, the caretaker of the hostel. Shortly after, I was ready to head out again.
I put my pack on and walked across the street to the AT, which doubles as the sidewalk through town. I traversed the Main Street, crossed some train tracks, and a bridge across the big river. Then I dipped down from the Main Street and followed the sandy trail along the river. After about a mile, the AT veered to the left, cutting up the hill and ascending from here. The climb was punctuated by rocky outcroppings that would afford a look at the town and river below. It started drizzling on the way up, something that would continue off and on for a lot of the day. Despite this, the fog didn’t fully roll in, so I could still see across the valley along the way. I passed through a meadow, and then walked along an ancient dammed pond. As I neared camp, the fog rolled in for the evening and it started feeling a bit gloomy and eerie. I got to the small shelter, already occupied with a group of 4 section hikers. They made a half-hearted attempt to offer me a space inside, but whatever, that’s okay, I guess I’ll just set up my tent. I ate my packed out sandwich at the wet shelter picnic table, then settled into my tent as the sun set and the rain started.
Day 22:
Start: Spring Mountain Shelter (286.2)
Stop: Jerry’s Cabin Shelter (302.1)
Miles: 16.5
Elevation Gain: 4222
Total Miles Hiked: 318.92
The rain never stopped. I couldn’t sleep at all as the wind whipped and the raindrops splashed back under the rain fly of my tent misting everything in fine droplets. As I sat in my misery, I fantasized about the shelter denizens being tormented by mice throughout the night as payback for not being more enthusiastic to make space for me. But at least my tent wasn’t leaking, and I was relatively dry and warm. I managed a tiny bit of sleep around 6am, and as one last parting gift, they yelled “Happy Trails Bullseye!” as they were leaving and woke me up. Packing up, I tried to move my wettest items into the shelter to dry as much as possible before I stuffed them in my pack.
As I started hiking, things began to turn around, I even got some sunbeams burning through the fog and a carpet of fallen mountain laurel blooms. But there was also Peggy the cookie lady, who has a cabin just off the trail and bakes cookies for the passing hikers out of the goodness of her heart. I even got a slice of warm peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream. That kind gesture was a real morale booster. Thank you Peggy! The hiking highlight of the afternoon was an exposed ridge walk that had a lot of fun scrambly bits. I could sense that the views were probably epic, but unfortunately for me, all I got was an endless expanse of clouds. But just the change in terrain was welcome, although it was getting to be a bit late in the day for my slowed pace over the rocks.
One last stretch along a misty old carriage road flanked by tall grasses, and I was at the shelter. I wasn’t taking any chances with the weather tonight, I was sleeping in that shelter. But luckily the crew there welcomed me in. There was even a fire going in the stone shelter fireplace to make things extra cozy. I met Tetris, Swiss Army Man, Snoop Todd, and Nicole and we all made dinner at the little picnic table and talked as we ate dinner. It was nice to encounter some new faces. Rain was in the overnight forecast, but I felt confident I would stay dry and get a good nights sleep in the shelter.
Day 23:
Start: Jerry’s Cabin Shelter (302.1)
Stop: Hogback Ridge Shelter (317.6)
Miles: 17.07
Elevation Gain: 3667
Total Miles Hiked: 335.42
It did indeed rain throughout the night, but i slept GREAT. We all packed up quietly and filtered out one by one. As I was passing the tent sites up the trail, Nicole, who was camping, was also putting on her pack to head out. So we hiked together for a few miles in the fog and drizzle. It wasn’t long before we reached Big Butt, a landmark for obvious reasons. Besides the name, Big Butt is a formation of large boulders amongst the rhododendron. Maybe there’s a view as an accompaniment on a clear day, but it was all fog for us. We did pass a huge monolithic stone slab with a crack in the middle, maybe that was the big butt?
A misty morning turned into a warm sunny day. The afternoon hike was mainly twisting and turning through the woods, but it felt so good to be hiking in pleasant weather. I arrived at the shelter and there were already a few people there. A section hiking crew of 4 women (Megan, Victoria, Brittany, and Alice) had already started a campfire. I set up my tent in the dappled sunlight, then returned to my place by the fire. Eventually Swiss Army Man and Nicole arrived, as well as the family of 7, making this the largest groups I’ve camped with so far. I cooked dinner and hung out with the rest of the crew near the fire and the picnic table until after dark.
Day 24:
Start: Hogback Ridge Shelter (317.6)
Stop: Spivey Gap, US-19W (333.4)
Miles: 16.63
Elevation Gain: 3930
Total Miles Hiked: 352.49
There was no rain, and I packed away dry gear! I was slow as I got hiking with things drawing my attention to photograph and thoughts occupying my mind to jot down. I took a short blue blaze to a vista. I walked along a gnarled barbed wire fence with aged wooden posts. I passed under a highway and up the hill on the other side, a “Welcome to Tennessee” sign was visible atop the on ramp.
As I made my way up the mountainside towards Big Bald, the clouds started rolling in again. It was a long climb, but eventually I broke through the tree-line revealing the meadowy summit. It was very beautiful. With my warped perspective on the climb, the trail pointed straight into the cloudy sky like a runway and made me feel like I could take off. I reached the top, with views in all directions. I could see the oncoming rain across the valley, like a dour muted curtain, creeping in my direction. With the encroaching rain, I didn’t spend too much time at the top of the bald and made my way down the other side. From there, I sailed up the sloped meadow I saw from the summit, vividly colored wildflowers flanked the trail. Just as I dipped back into trees it started to drizzle.
I was close to the next shelter as the rain started to pick up, so I popped in to have lunch under the covered porch. I made a lavish hot lunch of pad Thai with a packet of peanut butter mixed in (highly recommend). It seemed like maybe the rain was starting to ease as I was leaving, but nope. The wet grass car wash soaked my shoes almost immediately and it was very muddy. Things were quickly becoming pretty unpleasant and the rain was forecast to continue through the night. I studied the map trying to figure out how I could get into Erwin a night early. Luckily Steve from Unicoi shuttles could pick me up at Spivey Gap.
When I met him at the trailhead, he said the four women he drove into town before me wanted to take me out to dinner. This turned out to be the crew I met at the shelter last night. He dropped me at the Super 8, and they were hanging in the lobby. I was absolutely soaked and filthy, but I tried to ditch my wet gear and shower as quickly as possible. The ladies were wonderful company and it was such a thoughtful gesture for them to invite me out. Afterwards, we all walked back to the hotel through the misty post-rain evening, from the small main drag where the restaurant was into the wide open commercial corridor with fast food restaurants and big box stores.
Day 25:
Start: Spivey Gap, US-19W (333.4)
Stop: Uncle Johnny’s (344.5)
Miles: 11.11
Elevation Gain: 1669
Total Miles Hiked: 369.12
I had time to kill in the morning so I had plenty of hotel coffee and took my time organizing my gear. I had everything carefully packed and ready to go when Steve arrived at 11 am. Still raining profusely, I decided to slackpack about 11 miles from Spivey Gap to Uncle Johnny’s Hostel that’s right on trail. Swiss Army Man was already in the car with the same plan. As we drove up to the trailhead, Steve told me that there was a whole crew from Uncle Johnny’s on board for karaoke tonight (I told him about my karaoke-blazing endeavor during the ride yesterday). There would even be a special hostel shuttle to take us back and forth! So Steve was really able to make my dreams come true within the 12 odd hours since the last time I saw him.
He dropped us at the trailhead and we got started hiking. Swiss Army Man was trail running so he passed me almost immediately, and I moved a bit more quickly without my full pack. The rain did begin to slow and eventually stop a few miles into the day. There’s not much that was too notable about this stretch of trail, but there were some nice views down to the Nolichucky River as I approached the descent to to UJs. Reaching the road, there was a parade of dump trucks waiting to access a one-lane road. Someone said they were delivering gravel to help repair the railroad tracks that were damaged during the hurricane. The flag guy posted at the intersection greeted me enthusiastically. I met Jackie, my karaoke co-conspirator, at the front desk and she got me all checked in. I turned the corner and saw Fireball and Nicole on the porch, it was so nice to see them again! Plus there were a ton of new people that I haven’t met yet!
We all piled into the hostel van for a resupply run into town. I toured the aisles of Food City, selecting the items that will carry me to Damascus. Afterwards, Roach and I decided to get some fast food. Pals Sudden Service, an establishment with no windows and doors (except for the drive-thru) that caters solely to motorists, would seem ominous if it weren’t painted in a pleasant baby blue. We had no choice but to walk through the drive-thru, so we waited our turn in the queue of cars. With nowhere for patrons to eat, we took our food over to the Bojangles next door to meet Fireball and Nicole. Getting back to the hostel, everyone congregated on the covered porch talking and drinking until it was time to leave for karaoke.
The were probably 9 or 10 of us that packed into the van for the drive to Cowboy Rendezvous. There was a haze a cigarette smoke haunting the dive, wafting into you as you stepped inside. Melissa, the host, kicked things off with the Beastie Boys and I knew it was going to be a good night. We ordered drinks and as the bartender brought them over, a dog appeared from behind a curtain behind the bar, proudly showing off her dog toy. There were a handful of regulars who already had their requests submitted. I sang Nickelback, and I think it went over well with the crowd. Roach brought over 3 “beaver drinks” + a cup of coffee to try and get himself in the mood to sing. Of course when he finally did, he had an older couple up and slow dancing, the highest compliment a karaoke performer can achieve. Before the end of the night, Banjo and Swiss Army Man joined in on the fun and I sang a total of five songs. This was a massively successful karaoke night. We drove home listening to “get low” by lil John & the Eastside Boyz in the back of the shuttle.
