[at-l] 12/29/02 Wine Spring

[spurhiker@pocketmail.com (spurhiker@pocketmail.com)]

The shelter floor seems to grow harder as the night progresses. I sleep wel=
l till about midnight, then toss and turn on sore hips and aching shoulders=
 till dawn begins illuminating the forest surrounding the shelter.

Around 7 AM I stir and begin dressing and packing. Ready needs till about 7=
:15 before rousing to harmonize her circadian rhythm with the new day.

The night was much warmer than the previous, and the morning feels mild in =
comparison to yesterday. It's about 35 degrees out now, and that feels rela=
tively pleasant.

We pack and eat quickly, then reenter the long, green rhododendron tunnel a=
bout 8 AM. It's a pleasant rambling descent down to Glassmine Gap, then aft=
er a brief climb an easy 2-mile glide into Rock Gap.

I stop at the shelter here briefly while Ready goes directly to our car whi=
ch waits for us in a nearby parking lot. She's told me already this morning=
 that she's game to go on and finish the walk into Nantahala, so we'll just=
 be resupplying a bit here and then hike on northward.

When I reach the car 10 minutes later, I learn that she has first changed h=
er mind about hiking on and decided to drive home, then right afterwards ch=
anged her mind yet again and will continue the hike.

I hasten about my chores hoping to get back underway before she changes her=
 mind any more. My main task is to reload all my gear into another pack whi=
ch I brought along and left in the car.

So far on this hike I've been using an Ultralight Adventure P-2, a 2-1/2 lb=
. pack which I've beefed up by adding a one-lb. Gregory hipbelt. I used thi=
s unit on our 90-mile PCT warmup hike last April, but opted not to carry it=
 on the PCT because it lacked a lid pocket. I prefer having a lid pocket be=
cause it allows convenient access to frequently-used items.

Since we left for the PCT, ULA came out with a retrofittable lid pocket for=
 the P-2 which I saw at the Gathering in WV in October. I bought one and at=
tached it, but having walked 26 miles with it, I find myself less than impr=
essed. It does carry small items up top on the pack okay, but the method fo=
r attaching the lid to the pack seems improvised at best. The lid sits way =
forward in the direction that cantilevers all its contained weight far out =
behind my back. Not only does it look funny, it makes the whole pack carry =
heavier than if it were properly fitted. Maybe we can reengineer the attach=
ment method when we get back home.

My alternative pack is a small Kelty Glide 3200 which I got as a closeout a=
 while back for under $40. I loaned it to Straycat for her AT thruhike this=
 year, and she returned it with a better hipbelt than the one it came with,=
 a bonus bit of gear she scored from a vendor at Trail Days last May.

With this excellent hipbelt it still weighs in at only 3-1/4 lbs. Not quite=
 as large as the P-2, it's just big enough for my usually lightweight load.=
 Even the extra fleece items I'm carrying for this week's cold-weather camp=
ing all fit inside nicely, along with my 2-person tent, 20-degree sleeping =
bag, other clothes, food, water and miscellaneous small items. It has not o=
nly a nicely-fitting lid but 2 zippered sidepockets as well. It reminds me =
of the little German Deuter pack I wore out on the AT in 2000.

The Kelty pack loads quickly and we saddle up and lock the car, only to fin=
d that Ready's missing her gloves. She took them off just before I turned o=
ff to the shelter, and since I was walking behind her the entire morning be=
fore this last stretch (where I took a different shelter-loop back to the A=
T on the way to the car) we deduce she dropped them about a hundred yards b=
ack.

I use the opportunity to trail-test my freshly-loaded pack walking back up =
the trail, find the gloves just where we figured, then return to a hero's w=
elcome.

Quite pleased with how the Kelty pack is carrying, I join Ready and we set =
out again towards Wesser around 11 AM.

The day warms up nicely as we pass through Wallace Gap and head down to Win=
ding Stair Gap where the AT crosses US 64. I find Ready waiting for me here=
 near the piped spring which gushes out of the mtnside.

We pause for a quick lunchbreak sitting on our packs next to the highway, t=
hen start the climb out of the gap. The first 2 miles are mostly easy walki=
ng till we pass through Panther Gap, then there's a fair climb up to Siler =
Bald which takes us up over 5000 feet.

I stop and gaze up towards Siler Bald's summit, whose sidetrail I climbed o=
n the 12th day of my 1999 thruhike to make camp for the night at the top. I=
 recall it was our first 17-mile day, and the spot where I first successful=
ly serenaded a rabbit with my harmonica.

Today we move on past, aiming to log at least 4 more miles before calling i=
t a day. The weather is still gorgeous out here, temperature up in the mid-=
60s, the sky bright and clear. I'm now hiking in shorts and a T-shirt. Thou=
gh it's the end of December, one couldn't hope for a nicer day in the middl=
e of spring.

We drop 2 miles into Wayah Gap and cross the highway, then climb a steep 11=
00-foot grade another couple miles up to Wine Spring Bald, where the Bartra=
m Trail joins the AT on its way over Wayah Bald. Wine Spring flows at this =
junction, so we load water and pitch our camp on the snowy ridge nearby aro=
und 5 PM, completing a 17-mile day through the Nantahala Mtns.

A pretty pink sunset lights the western sky as we heat up couscous for supp=
er. A young southbound couple hikes purposely by as we're about to eat, obv=
iously intent on reaching refuge before the sun disappears completely.

Now less than 20 miles from the Nantahala River, we contemplate a long day =
tomorrow to take us most if not all the way. An early start will mostly det=
ermine how far we can hike on our next short winter day.

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