[at-l] N. Georgia Hike - October 16

October 16
Basketball Jones (Sean) was up and out of the shelter before 07:45.  Maybe the triple snoring
machine drove him away, but snoreing can't be anything he hasn't encountered before so who knows why
he rushed off. Personally, I didn't mind his early departure since it ensured he wasn't going to
smoke in the shelter. While he might not have slept well the rest of us did. I doubt the temperature
dipped below 40 degrees. I turned my sleeping bag into a quilt and slept under it in my silk liner
quite comfortably. Ron and John were shedding layers of clothing to prevent themselves from
overheating.

We left camp at 09:00 on this clear pleassant fall day. We were heading north twoards Unicoi Gap,
retracing the hike we did the day before, and I was not looking forward to the descent. As we
descended the rocky trail of Blue Mtn. we came upon Flounder heading south towards Springer Mtn.
Flounder is the area ridge-runner and he confirmed what we had heard about the availabbility of
water further north. Water did not exist, according to him, anywhere before Adis Gap which is a good
10 miles from Unicoi Gap. We had 2 gallons of water cached at the gap so we were not too concerned.
We might not have cooked meals at Deep Gap Shelter, but we would have enough water. As we approached
the road we came upon a note addressed to us from Coosa letting us know that 4 gallons of water were
cached just behind a tree. We were going to get to handle Coosa's jugs (water that is) after all. 

We reached the gap at 10:20 or so. I was surprised that it only took us about 90 minutes to make the
descent from the shelter to the gap.  I had been sure it would take longer since  we were descending
a rocky trail. We spent a good hour at the gap, drinking Coosa's water, filling our water bladders
with water, and deciding whether we would take a side trail to a woods road where water was not far
away (Ron had a small snit at that point as we wondered about the distances involved).  I was
surprised we spent so much time at Unicoi Gap, but time flies when you are doing things and avoiding
the start of a steep climb.

The day had wamred up considerably and we had a 1,000 foot ascent of Rocky Mtn. ahead of us.   We
started our climb, let a fast moving lady day hiker pass us, and plodded up the mountain. I actually
pulled ahead of John and Ron moving steadily up the trail. The treadway was pretty good and I felt
strong.  At 12:10 I reached the summit of the mountain and settled down to wait for the others to
arrive. The summit was toasty warm, a bit buggy, but had some good views. Eventually Ron ambled into
my campsite and John followed a few minutes later on. All in all, I was able tp spend 90 minutes
there having lunch and relaxing before we all decided it was time to descending the southwestern
slopes of Rocky Mtn.

Those slopes had some really good views and the trail was not too bad. It was rocky in places and my
paced slowed, but it was still a bit easier descent than Blue Mtn. had been.  

Even though we had been taking breaks we were getting tired. After all, each of us was carrying 6
pounds of extra water. My G4 pack is not meant to carry so much weight and my 4 liter Platypus was
leaking a little bit.   When we reached Indian Grave Gap we discovered why I had a small leak. The
top on the platypus was not the right type of top (later we found that the bladder itself had a leak
too, so maybe that was the real culprit). We poured my water into Ron's Big Zip Platy (instead of
just switching tops like we should have) an that solved the problem.   It was now time to start
climbing Tray Mtn.

I must say the beginning ascent of this mountain was tiring. Maybe I had taken too many breaks or
the extra weight was gtting to me, or I had not drunk enough water, but I was feeling it. When I
reached the first crossing of Tray Mtn. Road I stopped to deal with a hot spot and the others caught
up with me. I then  began asending again and soon came to the Cheese Factory. This was once, a very
long time ago, a dairy farm run by some tranplanted northerners. Today you can't see any signs that
something was there. At least I saw no signs that anything was there. I continued to climb up the
mountain. At 15:35 I reached Tray Gap (?) and that was a view  that was well worth the effort. In
the distance you can see, facing  easterly, the peak of Tray Mtn. resplended in color. As you cast
you eye towards the setting sun you could see over mountains fading into the dstance. It really was
a good view. Ron caught up with me perhaps 5 or so minutes after I arrived and John was on his
heels. This was an ideal spot for a snack break and we sat there for about 30 minutes (well I got 30
minutes). But, the shelter still beckoned and we pushed on.

There were about 1.5 miles to go including the side trail to the shelter. About 0.8 miles of that
was the final ascent of Tray Mtn. We first had to walk to Tray Gap (I think I have my locations
slightly mixed up, but the view I mentioned in the previous paragraph was 0.2 miles south of the
road crossing prior to the 0.8 mile climb) and then make our final climb. I actually felt quite
strong as I made that final climb to the summit of the mountain. The trail was moderately steep, but
the footing was pretty good and I just was moving well. When I got to the summit I let out a good
yell, neglected to take a photograph, and then continued on down the slightly rocky descent towards
the shelter. I had covered the mile to the summit in just 35 minutes. It took another 20 minutes to
walk the last 0.5 miles to the shelter which I first saw at 17:17. Ron showed up some 15-20 minuts
later and John came in several minutes after that. 

This has been a tough hiking day. It isn't the toughest day I have ever had. But, having to carry
all that extra water was not enjoyable. However, I feel confident that if I had had to go further I
could have done so (especially if I had taken fewer breaks and we must have taken 4 hours of
breaks).  

John, Ron, and I are here with two other people who are hiking for a few days (Mitch and Verlie). We
were actually a bit surprised to see them mosey into the shelter around 18:45 since they seemed to
be having a tough time of it when we last saw them at Indian Grave Gap.

©copyright 2000, Kenneth Knight
**  Kenneth Knight    Web Design, IT Consultant, Software Engineer  **
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