Day 35 - Campsite before Campbell Hollow Rd. to White rocks Mtn. - 16 miles (408 miles total)
Aside frm the kid riding the ATV down the trail right past our tent last night before we went to bed, it was a quiet night/morning. Eventually the people who we saw at the shelter the night before caught up to us as we were taking our time breaking camp, and we had a chance to fully explain to them what had happened with the dog. It turns out that they thought he was just a drunk local scoping out the area looking for trouble, so they were weary of everyone involved. Most of the day felt to mike like we were just wandering around a viewless labrynth in the woods. Some really cool highlights of the day were Jones Falls and Mountaineer Falls, as well as relaxing on the bank of Upper Laurel Fork. We really appreciated the sheer awesomeness and almost modern look of Jones Falls and are looking forward to seeing more waterfalls up the trail. Later, we passed some unfamiliar thru-hikers who were staying at the Moreland Gap shelter, but because it was still light we opted to look for a secluded spot on White Rocks Mtn.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Day 34
Day 34 - Ash Gap to campsite before Campbell Hollow Rd - 21 mi - 392 total
What a crazy day! Hiked through snow and ice to reach the top of Roan mtn. this morning, took a break to hang out where the old Cloudland Hotel used to stand (a late 19th century resort for ailing urbanites), then popped out of the woods and onto the road crossing at Carvers Gap. There we met "Reverend" a past thru-hiker who lived in Hampton TN (41 trail miles away). He was a little drunk and taking a 100 mile bike ride. He offered to take any trash of ours that could fit in the back of his bike shirt but we declined and dumped our trash off at the restrooms. From there it was up the well-used gravel walkway to the top of the first bald. 5 in total, the balds of the Roan Highlands stretched for about 9 miles and were very unique. We'd already been to a couple of balds on this trip but to hike over so many in a row was a neat experience. We took the time to hike a blue-blaze up to Grassy Ridge, the only natural 360* view above 6000' on the trail. It was nearing the end of our day, just after we had stopped for snacks past an old barn-turned-shelter, when we started noticing a jingling noise as we walked. Laura kept turning around and looking at Mike thinking it was him and Mike thought it must be something on Laura's pack. Eventually Mike turned around to find that the jingly noise we'd been hearing for the past half hour was a little dog following us. Apparently she'd been back there for a while. She was young looking and mostly white with a few black spots, a tiny bit skinny. Thankfully she had a collar on her and we were relieved to find a phone number on it. At a loss (we are definitely not dog people), we thought the right thing to do would be to try and contact the owner. Since it happened to be Laura's mom's b-day, we'd been going from peak to peak anyway looking for phone service. Once we found a bit of signal Laura called her mom and we watered the thirsty dog. Mike then dialed the number on the collar, unsure of what to expect or who would answer. After a number of rings, thankfully, someone answered. It was really hard for Mike to understand the guy on the line and he apparently didn't even know which dog of his was missing. When Mike described the dog to him he seemed confused and kept asking what color the collar was. The guy offered to come meet us where we were on Hump Mountain, but since meeting strangers in the woods wasn't what we'd had in mind, Mike convinced the man to meet us at the next road crossing where the dog could be exchanged in a more public setting. Hanging up, it all felt somewhat surreal realizing we were now responsible for this dog until we gave it back, that the owner didn't seem to care about the dog or he'd know which dog of his was missing, and that we now had to tack on another 5.5 miles onto our day and it was already late in the evening. Despite these things we hurriedly set out to cover the ground and return the dog. Initially, the dog, who we then began calling Green Collar, was well-behaved walking behind and alongside us as we trekked up and over the last of the highlands. Green Collar's cuteness powered us for a couple of miles and we embraced the novelty of hiking with a borrowed pet. As it started to get darker and the miles added up, the cuteness wore off as the dog became fatigued and increasingly moody. First it whined. Then it started throwing child-like tantrums where it refused to walk any further. At this point we jerryrigged a leash using a carabeaner and our bearbag rope which proved to be an excellent idea when little Green Collar turned crazy when she saw some deer up on a ridgeline above us. (So very) Tired and ready to say goodbye to our foster pet, we finally reached the Apple House Shelter which was only .5 miles from the road. At this point we could hear someone down the trail yelling and whistling and it was confirmed with the people at the shelter that it was the guy looking for his dog. Rudely, they told us to go and not let the guy come back, so off we went, annoyed at the lack of understanding with the shelter people, to return this darn dog. Not a quarter mile down the trail we found the owner, Mack. To our surprise it was immediately apparent he had been distraught about the dog because he became a bumbling fool as soon as he saw her. It also didn't help that he was completely tanked. Thru slurred speech and a very thick southern accent, he introduced himself ("Mack" was pronounced exactly the same as "Mike"), thanked us many many times, and handed Mike a can of Bud Lite from his pants pocket insisting that he'd "been able to tell from his voice over the phone that he'd be wantin' a beer". The three of us and his girlfriend (the sober one whodrove him to meet us, but unfortunately we never got her name) walked to the road where she told us how he'd been loosing sleep over this, and they actually had 3 dogs that had run away which explains why he didn't know which dog I had found when I called. They said they were headed to the convenience store and offered to give us a ride to get some snacks. On the way back to the trail, she stopped at a drive-thru bar and bought us a 12 pack of cheep beer to split with Mack as payment for our good deed. As they drove away in their Jeep that was about to fall apart, we checked the time (it was almost 9:30pm and completely dark), so we agreed to camp at the first available spot we found. Too bad that wouldn't be for a few miles- all uphill and in the end the spot we found was no even close to being called 'flat'. By now it was 10:30 and we were both completely exhausted so we drank the spoils of our day and sat in disbelief of what had happened before falling asleep.
What a crazy day! Hiked through snow and ice to reach the top of Roan mtn. this morning, took a break to hang out where the old Cloudland Hotel used to stand (a late 19th century resort for ailing urbanites), then popped out of the woods and onto the road crossing at Carvers Gap. There we met "Reverend" a past thru-hiker who lived in Hampton TN (41 trail miles away). He was a little drunk and taking a 100 mile bike ride. He offered to take any trash of ours that could fit in the back of his bike shirt but we declined and dumped our trash off at the restrooms. From there it was up the well-used gravel walkway to the top of the first bald. 5 in total, the balds of the Roan Highlands stretched for about 9 miles and were very unique. We'd already been to a couple of balds on this trip but to hike over so many in a row was a neat experience. We took the time to hike a blue-blaze up to Grassy Ridge, the only natural 360* view above 6000' on the trail. It was nearing the end of our day, just after we had stopped for snacks past an old barn-turned-shelter, when we started noticing a jingling noise as we walked. Laura kept turning around and looking at Mike thinking it was him and Mike thought it must be something on Laura's pack. Eventually Mike turned around to find that the jingly noise we'd been hearing for the past half hour was a little dog following us. Apparently she'd been back there for a while. She was young looking and mostly white with a few black spots, a tiny bit skinny. Thankfully she had a collar on her and we were relieved to find a phone number on it. At a loss (we are definitely not dog people), we thought the right thing to do would be to try and contact the owner. Since it happened to be Laura's mom's b-day, we'd been going from peak to peak anyway looking for phone service. Once we found a bit of signal Laura called her mom and we watered the thirsty dog. Mike then dialed the number on the collar, unsure of what to expect or who would answer. After a number of rings, thankfully, someone answered. It was really hard for Mike to understand the guy on the line and he apparently didn't even know which dog of his was missing. When Mike described the dog to him he seemed confused and kept asking what color the collar was. The guy offered to come meet us where we were on Hump Mountain, but since meeting strangers in the woods wasn't what we'd had in mind, Mike convinced the man to meet us at the next road crossing where the dog could be exchanged in a more public setting. Hanging up, it all felt somewhat surreal realizing we were now responsible for this dog until we gave it back, that the owner didn't seem to care about the dog or he'd know which dog of his was missing, and that we now had to tack on another 5.5 miles onto our day and it was already late in the evening. Despite these things we hurriedly set out to cover the ground and return the dog. Initially, the dog, who we then began calling Green Collar, was well-behaved walking behind and alongside us as we trekked up and over the last of the highlands. Green Collar's cuteness powered us for a couple of miles and we embraced the novelty of hiking with a borrowed pet. As it started to get darker and the miles added up, the cuteness wore off as the dog became fatigued and increasingly moody. First it whined. Then it started throwing child-like tantrums where it refused to walk any further. At this point we jerryrigged a leash using a carabeaner and our bearbag rope which proved to be an excellent idea when little Green Collar turned crazy when she saw some deer up on a ridgeline above us. (So very) Tired and ready to say goodbye to our foster pet, we finally reached the Apple House Shelter which was only .5 miles from the road. At this point we could hear someone down the trail yelling and whistling and it was confirmed with the people at the shelter that it was the guy looking for his dog. Rudely, they told us to go and not let the guy come back, so off we went, annoyed at the lack of understanding with the shelter people, to return this darn dog. Not a quarter mile down the trail we found the owner, Mack. To our surprise it was immediately apparent he had been distraught about the dog because he became a bumbling fool as soon as he saw her. It also didn't help that he was completely tanked. Thru slurred speech and a very thick southern accent, he introduced himself ("Mack" was pronounced exactly the same as "Mike"), thanked us many many times, and handed Mike a can of Bud Lite from his pants pocket insisting that he'd "been able to tell from his voice over the phone that he'd be wantin' a beer". The three of us and his girlfriend (the sober one whodrove him to meet us, but unfortunately we never got her name) walked to the road where she told us how he'd been loosing sleep over this, and they actually had 3 dogs that had run away which explains why he didn't know which dog I had found when I called. They said they were headed to the convenience store and offered to give us a ride to get some snacks. On the way back to the trail, she stopped at a drive-thru bar and bought us a 12 pack of cheep beer to split with Mack as payment for our good deed. As they drove away in their Jeep that was about to fall apart, we checked the time (it was almost 9:30pm and completely dark), so we agreed to camp at the first available spot we found. Too bad that wouldn't be for a few miles- all uphill and in the end the spot we found was no even close to being called 'flat'. By now it was 10:30 and we were both completely exhausted so we drank the spoils of our day and sat in disbelief of what had happened before falling asleep.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Day 33
Day 33 - Low Gap to Ash Gap - 18 mi - 371 total
We awoke to blue skies and frigid temps so we took our time packing up and laying our wet clothes in the sun to dry. Josh and his dog passed us as we were drying out. He told us how he had spent the night on top of Unaka Mtn and was miserable with all the snow and hail. We didn't see him again until we reached Iton Mtn Gap and then again as we were taking lunch at Apple Orchard Gap. Today was a quiet day, not a lot of other hikers on the trail around us as we made our climb up the neighboring ridgelines (with little or no views) on Roan Mtn. In the late afternoon we were finally rewarded with a view from the top of Little Rock Knob and could see that Roan Mtn was still covered with snow fom the previos nights storm. Excited to reach the top, we set off on our final steep climb. We made camp just as daylight was fading at Ash Gap, about one mi from the top. Looking forward to the highlands coming up.
We awoke to blue skies and frigid temps so we took our time packing up and laying our wet clothes in the sun to dry. Josh and his dog passed us as we were drying out. He told us how he had spent the night on top of Unaka Mtn and was miserable with all the snow and hail. We didn't see him again until we reached Iton Mtn Gap and then again as we were taking lunch at Apple Orchard Gap. Today was a quiet day, not a lot of other hikers on the trail around us as we made our climb up the neighboring ridgelines (with little or no views) on Roan Mtn. In the late afternoon we were finally rewarded with a view from the top of Little Rock Knob and could see that Roan Mtn was still covered with snow fom the previos nights storm. Excited to reach the top, we set off on our final steep climb. We made camp just as daylight was fading at Ash Gap, about one mi from the top. Looking forward to the highlands coming up.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Day 32
Day 32- Erwin to Low Gap - 13 miles (352.8 total)
On the way out of town we were lucky enough to get another ride back to the trailhead, this time from Uncle Johnny's shuttle. In the van we met a few new people and saw our acquaintance Josh and his dog Marius, who were also headed out. We gave the driver a few bucks for the ride, and then headed out of gown on Josh's heels who we chatted with briefly at a railroad rossing as we waited for a train to pass. Just after that we stopped to hard boil some eggs we bought, and didn't happen to see anyone else the whole day. We ducked under a tree, ate snacks, and had a beer as we waited for the eggs to cook. Afterwards, we hiked our way up to Beauty Spot from he river- the only hike that the emo kid (who gave mike a ride) had ever done. As we hiked the threat of rain loomed, but we seemed to be avoiding it. At one point the temperature read 80* and we were cooking in the sun in our short sleeves. In very little time as we were reaching Beauty Spot the clouds rolled over us and the temperature dropped. From there we could see our next climb, Unaka Mtn, shrouded in clouds which were being whipped thru the gap by winds. Deciding to continue, rain started which quickly turned into hail. The hail piled up and as we climbed further the hail eventually turned to snow. By the time we reached the summit everything was under a blanket of white - it was the storm we had expected earlier (most likely in the Smokies) but thankfully we still had our winter gear. We love the groves of red spruce that covered the summit. It felt like a winter wonderland and reminded us of the northwest simultaniously. Although we were tempted to spend the night right there, we chose to do another couple of miles and head for lower ground in search of a campsite not covered in snow. By the time we reached Low Gap it was getting dark, the snow had turned back to hail, then rain, and we were ready to call it a night. We made camp there and warmed up in our tent.
On the way out of town we were lucky enough to get another ride back to the trailhead, this time from Uncle Johnny's shuttle. In the van we met a few new people and saw our acquaintance Josh and his dog Marius, who were also headed out. We gave the driver a few bucks for the ride, and then headed out of gown on Josh's heels who we chatted with briefly at a railroad rossing as we waited for a train to pass. Just after that we stopped to hard boil some eggs we bought, and didn't happen to see anyone else the whole day. We ducked under a tree, ate snacks, and had a beer as we waited for the eggs to cook. Afterwards, we hiked our way up to Beauty Spot from he river- the only hike that the emo kid (who gave mike a ride) had ever done. As we hiked the threat of rain loomed, but we seemed to be avoiding it. At one point the temperature read 80* and we were cooking in the sun in our short sleeves. In very little time as we were reaching Beauty Spot the clouds rolled over us and the temperature dropped. From there we could see our next climb, Unaka Mtn, shrouded in clouds which were being whipped thru the gap by winds. Deciding to continue, rain started which quickly turned into hail. The hail piled up and as we climbed further the hail eventually turned to snow. By the time we reached the summit everything was under a blanket of white - it was the storm we had expected earlier (most likely in the Smokies) but thankfully we still had our winter gear. We love the groves of red spruce that covered the summit. It felt like a winter wonderland and reminded us of the northwest simultaniously. Although we were tempted to spend the night right there, we chose to do another couple of miles and head for lower ground in search of a campsite not covered in snow. By the time we reached Low Gap it was getting dark, the snow had turned back to hail, then rain, and we were ready to call it a night. We made camp there and warmed up in our tent.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Day 31
Day 31 - Erwin, TN - 339.9 miles total!
Another cloudy morning with on again/off again drizzling. We made good time as we descended down to the river. When we reached the valley and the road, we saw the hostel we'd been hearing about right across the street. We saw soda machines on the porch, so we decided to check it out. Took a look around after a chat with "Uncle Johnny" and decided we'd head on into town and fend for ourselves. While walking what we thought would be an easy couple-of-mile jaunt to town, an SUV pulled over an the guy driving asked if we wanted a ride. He was very friendly, and offered to take us around town to wherever we wanted to go. He said he has a rafting business (USA Raft) and since he was his own boss he could be late to work if he wanted- very convienent for us. Also, he and his wife hiked the AT as their honeymoon in 2004. After a quick tour of half the town, we hopped on the 'highway' and headed to Wal-Mart (which the hostel said would cost us $15- but we got there for free-awesome!). Mike was in need of a Wally World to find a new pair of hopefully adequate shoes (his were falling apart at 100 miles & only Super-Glue to repair them + 240 more miles= totally worn out). We were also looking to get a new camera since ours died halfway through the Smokies. Our new friend waited in his car and worked on his laptop while we shopped (got a new camera but no shoes) and afterwards he was even nice enough to drop us off at the CHEAPEST motel in town. We settled in, got our chores done (Mike did the laundry at an eatery/gas station/carwash/laundromat next door) and had some time to relax. Aside from the shouting between the owner and a disgruntled match Laura overheard, it was a quiet afternoon. Strangely enough, eventhough we were surrounded (kind of, but not really) by a Grocery store, a dollar store, and a convience store, the only place to buy beer was at another convience store which a little over a mile away. So at about 5pm Mike walked there (and saw a dejected looking Uncle Johnny) and was lucky enough to get a random free ride from some 16 or 17 emo kid. It was starting to rain harder so he was thankful for the ride back to the motel. We ate junk food, ordered a pizza, watched dome trashy TV (i.e. Wife Swap), and went to bed in one of the junkiest beds we've slept in a while. (For the record, the room had limited outlets; the microwave was stacked on the mini-fridge in the bathroom- hilarious)
Another cloudy morning with on again/off again drizzling. We made good time as we descended down to the river. When we reached the valley and the road, we saw the hostel we'd been hearing about right across the street. We saw soda machines on the porch, so we decided to check it out. Took a look around after a chat with "Uncle Johnny" and decided we'd head on into town and fend for ourselves. While walking what we thought would be an easy couple-of-mile jaunt to town, an SUV pulled over an the guy driving asked if we wanted a ride. He was very friendly, and offered to take us around town to wherever we wanted to go. He said he has a rafting business (USA Raft) and since he was his own boss he could be late to work if he wanted- very convienent for us. Also, he and his wife hiked the AT as their honeymoon in 2004. After a quick tour of half the town, we hopped on the 'highway' and headed to Wal-Mart (which the hostel said would cost us $15- but we got there for free-awesome!). Mike was in need of a Wally World to find a new pair of hopefully adequate shoes (his were falling apart at 100 miles & only Super-Glue to repair them + 240 more miles= totally worn out). We were also looking to get a new camera since ours died halfway through the Smokies. Our new friend waited in his car and worked on his laptop while we shopped (got a new camera but no shoes) and afterwards he was even nice enough to drop us off at the CHEAPEST motel in town. We settled in, got our chores done (Mike did the laundry at an eatery/gas station/carwash/laundromat next door) and had some time to relax. Aside from the shouting between the owner and a disgruntled match Laura overheard, it was a quiet afternoon. Strangely enough, eventhough we were surrounded (kind of, but not really) by a Grocery store, a dollar store, and a convience store, the only place to buy beer was at another convience store which a little over a mile away. So at about 5pm Mike walked there (and saw a dejected looking Uncle Johnny) and was lucky enough to get a random free ride from some 16 or 17 emo kid. It was starting to rain harder so he was thankful for the ride back to the motel. We ate junk food, ordered a pizza, watched dome trashy TV (i.e. Wife Swap), and went to bed in one of the junkiest beds we've slept in a while. (For the record, the room had limited outlets; the microwave was stacked on the mini-fridge in the bathroom- hilarious)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Day 30
Day 30 - Spring past Sam's Gap to campsite N of Temple Hill Gap - 21 mi - 337 total
We were glad to be alive this morning and not squished under any downed trees. Thankfully the rain had stopped and as we packed up we were able to hang our raingear up on nearby branches and mostly dry it out. Just before we were ready to go a little old lady came hiking up the trail towards us. "Grandma", as we so affectionately dubbed her, stopped as she got to us and insisted that we go ahead of her since we were "most certainly faster than she was". Still in morning-mode, we weren't totally prepared yet for the mile or two of uphill climbing ahead of us, but we weren't going to argue with Grandma and we started hiking anyway. A good 15 minutes later, after a good loooonnggg uphill battle and lots of huffing and puffing, we looked back to find Grandma practically on our heels. Damn! That lady was moving! Now feeling even more pressured than before (and with our egos at stake) we found it in ourselves to ramp it up and leave Grandma behind in the dust. The rest of the day was spent looking over our shoulders, pretending she was after us. Our hard uphill climb eventually took us to the top of Big Bald but it was too windy to hang out for too long so we headed down the north side and up the grassy slope of Big Stamp to the "treeline" where we stopped. After a while of sitting and eating we noticed people on top of Big Bald so we took off so we wouldn't get caught up talking to them. About 6.5 miles later we crossed US 19W at Spivey Gap and took another break at the Ogelsby Branch (a stream) to rest and have a snack out of the sun- it was hot: in the 80's. Refueled and re-energized we set off in hopes of getting close to Erwin to make it easier to get into town in the morning. We found a great spot on a ridgeline overlookng the town as dusk approached. Mike set up the tent while Laura built a small fire and hung the bear bag (and she did an awesome job!). We sat by the fire and eventhough there weren't really any stars out because of the clouds, we're dry for now. Tomorrow looks like rain, and hopefully we'll dodge in by going into Erwin, but who knows after that!
We were glad to be alive this morning and not squished under any downed trees. Thankfully the rain had stopped and as we packed up we were able to hang our raingear up on nearby branches and mostly dry it out. Just before we were ready to go a little old lady came hiking up the trail towards us. "Grandma", as we so affectionately dubbed her, stopped as she got to us and insisted that we go ahead of her since we were "most certainly faster than she was". Still in morning-mode, we weren't totally prepared yet for the mile or two of uphill climbing ahead of us, but we weren't going to argue with Grandma and we started hiking anyway. A good 15 minutes later, after a good loooonnggg uphill battle and lots of huffing and puffing, we looked back to find Grandma practically on our heels. Damn! That lady was moving! Now feeling even more pressured than before (and with our egos at stake) we found it in ourselves to ramp it up and leave Grandma behind in the dust. The rest of the day was spent looking over our shoulders, pretending she was after us. Our hard uphill climb eventually took us to the top of Big Bald but it was too windy to hang out for too long so we headed down the north side and up the grassy slope of Big Stamp to the "treeline" where we stopped. After a while of sitting and eating we noticed people on top of Big Bald so we took off so we wouldn't get caught up talking to them. About 6.5 miles later we crossed US 19W at Spivey Gap and took another break at the Ogelsby Branch (a stream) to rest and have a snack out of the sun- it was hot: in the 80's. Refueled and re-energized we set off in hopes of getting close to Erwin to make it easier to get into town in the morning. We found a great spot on a ridgeline overlookng the town as dusk approached. Mike set up the tent while Laura built a small fire and hung the bear bag (and she did an awesome job!). We sat by the fire and eventhough there weren't really any stars out because of the clouds, we're dry for now. Tomorrow looks like rain, and hopefully we'll dodge in by going into Erwin, but who knows after that!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Day 28
Day 28 - Campsite north of Log Cabin Drive to spring past Big Butt - 12.6 mi - (301 total)
Today was exceptionally beautiful and hard hiking and we were in a bad mood despite it being our 300 mile day. Highlights of the day included: neat cliffs! Walking over a section of cool exposed ridgeline! Rocks! Great views! Hikng to a place actually named Big Butt! We found a really nice campsite that night close to water which passing hikers seemed jealous of. Mike was unsucessful at building a fire (everything was damp from showers the night before) but Laura used her Survivorman knowledge and got one going later. Went to bed as wild dogs made jungle noises in the night.
Today was exceptionally beautiful and hard hiking and we were in a bad mood despite it being our 300 mile day. Highlights of the day included: neat cliffs! Walking over a section of cool exposed ridgeline! Rocks! Great views! Hikng to a place actually named Big Butt! We found a really nice campsite that night close to water which passing hikers seemed jealous of. Mike was unsucessful at building a fire (everything was damp from showers the night before) but Laura used her Survivorman knowledge and got one going later. Went to bed as wild dogs made jungle noises in the night.
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