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[at-l] Trip Report: Sam's Gap to Nolichucky, July 23-25

Will delurk long enough to post this report on a recent trip.  

I have just returned from a glorious three days on the trail.  My friend Scotty
and I had talked about going over Big Bald for two years and it didn't
disappoint.  But while we expected Big Bald to be wonderful, the trip had dozens
of small surprises that made this perhaps the best trail trip we have ever had.

Before beginning, let me comment about allegations hostility to hikers along the
TN/NC line.   As was also true of all previous trips to this area, we
experienced no problems, tense moments or unpleasant encounters.  Everyone we
met was wonderful.  Our innkeeper at the Best Southern Motel was gracious and
helpful, seeming not to mind our late arrival Tuesday night, providing a map and
good directions to the Nolichucky Campground, and giving us a couple of fine
suggestions for breakfast.

At the Deli next door the next morning, we had friendly service, a great egg
sandwich and a terrific cup of coffee for under $2 each.   A front-page story in
the Erwin paper reported that the Erwin Chamber of Commerce has become the first
chamber to join the ATC and is working with the ATC to identify ways that the
town can become more helpful to the many, many thru- and section-hikers who go
out of their way to patronize Erwin businesses.

Wednesday, July 23.

Using Wingfoot's Appalachian Trail Page to obtain a list of people who are
willing to help with transportation, we arranged with the folks at the
Nolichucky Campground to drop us off at Sam's Gap and take my car back to the
campground.   Construction of I-181 is changing the face of the landscape
through this area.  While the road seems mostly complete on the Tennessee side,
there's still a lot going on in NC.  I've never seen a western strip mine, but I
can't imagine that it could be any worse than the rearranging of the landscape
that is taking place to accommodate that road.  For the present, though, hikers
must still compete with the 18-wheelers and cross US 23 on foot.

Our first nice surprise was the weather.   The report that morning was less than
encouraging.  According to the Weather Channel, the remnants of tropical storm
Danny would head northeast out of Georgia.  The worst weather was to be over the
Appalachians.  Severe thunderstorms, heavy rains and flash flooding all were in
store, depending on how the storm tracked.  Locally (Erwin-Tri-Cities) there was
an 80 percent chance of rain Wednesday and 40 percent on Thursday.
 
But as an old college professor of mine once said, "Sometimes all you gotta do
to win is show up."  Deciding to bet that the bad weather would stay south and
east of us, we set off about 9:15 a.m. under cloudy skies.

The second nice surprise was the climb up Big Bald. None of it was rugged, and
the few steep pitches were  brief, mercifully in view of age (50+), infirmities
(osteoarthritis in the knees) and few extra pounds.  The climb was fairly steady
with a few easy descents providing a pleasant a change of pace.  Because of the
threatening weather, the humidity was quite high.  The high overcast, however,
kept the woods from being too steamy.  Periodically, it would grow dark,  the
wind would pick up and we'd begin thinking about our rain gear, but the rain
never came.  In fact, by the time we reached the summit of Big Bald, the ceiling
and visibility were such that we had a bit of a view.  

Atop Big Bald we encountered the only people we saw all day since we left Sams
Gap.  The threesome had arrived by car and accommodated us by taking our picture
next to the Big Bald sign (we had to stand it up and rearrange the rocks at the
base where it had either fallen or been pushed over.)

The next surprise was the abundance of wildflowers.  While the spring ones
(bloodroot, solomon's seal, etc.) were long gone, the flowers were wonderful.
Many were familiar -- yarrow, coreopsis, rattlesnake plantain, Turk's cap lily,
crimson bee balm, hoary mountain mint  -- but some I'd not seen before --
campanula and a small white 5-petaled flower with a yellow center with the
unmistakable smell of pineapple.  The bee balm was particularly cheery in the
sometimes dark and gray woods.  For two of the three days of the hike, the
flowers were wonderful and plentiful.  The rhododendron, through which which we
passed near the top of Big Bald,  was also nearing its peak.  

We camped Wednesday night just north of the Big Bald shelter.  While the site
could easily have accommodated several tents, we had the place to ourselves
except for a couple of curious rabbits who were sniffing around our gear when we
returned from getting water.  They seemed unconcerned by our presence and grazed
in the undergrowth for at least 5-10 minutes while we watched them.  

The trail from the campsite down off the ridge to the spring was not marked but
easily followed.  Water was plentiful.  

Fearing that the weather would not continue to hold, we ate, cleaned up and
turned in early.

Thursday, July 24.

Up the next morning by 6:30, we found ourselves in the clouds.  I particularly
like walking through misty woods.  That morning we walked for an hour or more
before either the ceiling lifted or we descended below it. The weather did not
look as threatening as it had the day before but there was still no sunshine.
Temperatures in the 80s, and no relief from the humidity.

While the highlight of the previous day's walk had been the open meadows of Big
Bald, this day the trail took us through hardwood forest, stands of hemlock and
much more of the beautiful rhododendron.  At times it looked like old fashioned
peppermint ice cream with the deep pink of the buds against the lighter pink and
white of the open blossoms.  In places fallen blossoms covered the trail like a
carpet.

Mushrooms were everywhere, some of which were enormous.  Under the hemlocks we
also saw clusters of the ghostly Indian pipe.

We stopped for lunch at the junction of the blue-blazed trail to High Rocks.
(In the interest of time and likely limited views, we did not take the side
trip.)  After a short break, we continued on.  The trail around High Rocks is
rocky, steep and hard on old knees, but the tough stretch is very short so the
pain doesn't last very long. This is a beautiful area -- a huge rock cliff looms
to the right of the trail and rhododendron abound.

The descent from High Rocks is first by switchbacks and then more gentle slope.
Stopping for a pit stop, we saw a doe about 20 yards to the right of the trail.
She stared back at us for a minute or more before bounding away.  As she did, a
second one who had been lying unseen in the undergrowth, leapt away as well.
What a treat!  We had seen lots of fresh deer tracks and supposed that the noise
of our approach had frightened them away.  Apparently, we had been just quiet
enough this time to keep from giving them a start.

Shortly after we crossed US 19W at Spivey Gap, a small brown bird flew across
the trail, just a couple of feet from the ground.  Stopping to see if I could
identify it, I heard a rustle in the leaves from which the bird had flown and
saw a tiny baby bird.  Mom had crossed the path, and she was not at all happy
that an intruder was around.  While I was never able to get a good look at mom,
I think she was a winter wren.  Baby fluttered from branch to branch before
finally making it 10-12 feet across the trail.  Mom's chattering grew less
intense, and shortly she and baby disappeared.

We planned to camp that night near the No Business Knob shelter, where we found
two men were stopping for the night.  These were the first hikers/backpackers we
had seen.  We pitched our tent some distance away.  As we were enjoying a
libation of warm cider with a dollop of something stronger, a northbound
dayhiker came through.  She was "Snow White," who had completed most of a
thru-hike two years ago (all but VT, NH and ME plus this section between Spivey
Gap and the Nolichucky).  An injury had forced her to interrupt her trip.  She
had done the Vermont sections this past spring and hoped to complete NH and ME
later this year.

After she left, we settled down to enjoy the quiet of the woods.  Unfortunately,
we began to hear the sounds of an approaching throng of teenagers -- 20+ of them
in fact -- who were on a camp backpack.  They had started two days earlier from
the Beauty Spot and had one more day to go.  One of the leaders realized that we
were less than enthusiastic about sharing the campsite with such a large (and
loud) group.  Fortunately for us (and the guys in the shelter), there was a
another campsite a tenth of a mile or so north of the shelter so around they
turned and headed back in the direction whence they had come.  Once again, quiet
descended on our home for the night.

Just at bedtime, the rain finally moved in.  How long it lasted, I can't say.  I
drifted off to sleep listening to the drops on the tent.  During the night I
heard the whistle of the train that runs through the Nolichucky Gorge -- a great
sound.

Friday, July 25.

Slept until nearly 8:00.  The two men who had overnighted in the shelter and the
throng of teens passed us heading south as we daudled over our second cup of
coffee.  By the time we had packed up and were ready to move, it was 10:30 or
so.  The day clearly promised to be a scorcher, and we were not disappointed.
While the rain had chased away the clouds and the sun finally came out, the
temperatures did not moderate and began climbing to 90+.

Few wildflowers along the trail, but we startled two more does and caught a
glimpse of some type of hawk.  A leader of the teen group had alerted us to a
copperhead who was in a den close by the trail about a mile north of our
campsite, but we didn't see it.  

High on the ridge above the Nolichucky we snacked on blueberries.  Further down,
nearer the road, we enjoyed the blackberries

Our destination -- the Nolichucky Campground -- was just over a mile away from
the point at which we crossed the river.  We had a choice: hike down the road to
the campground or stay on the trail which cross the railroad tracks and climbed
up to a bluff overlooking the Nolichucky.  Two days earlier our shuttle help had
said, "Yep, most folks get up on that trail and say to themselves, 'Now why
didn't I take that nice road down there?'" We opted for the trail and were glad
of it, although I must admit I might have approached the short pitch along the
cliff that, according to the trail guide, was cut from the rock with a
jackhammer with a bit more enthusiasm if I had been a little less tired.

We got back to the campground and our car about 4:15.  After a couple of hot
showers and a cold soft drink, we headed for Atlanta and home, exhilarated by
our terrific three days on the AT.    

Our commendations to the members of the Carolina Mountain Club and the Tennessee
Eastman Hiking Club who maintain these two sections of trail.  

Back to my lair where I will lurk until my next trip.

Ciao.

Grace
"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows;
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass;
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night. . . .
A poor life this if, full of care, 
We have no time to stand and stare."
--William Henry Davies

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