Re: [at-l] trip report--long--some NONSENSE-no FLAMES

["Alice Kauzlarich" <kauzlar@madison.main.nc.us>]

Enjoyed your report...and enjoyed being a small part of your hike.

 The Highlander

                                                  

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> From: SaraSW@aol.com
> To: at-l@backcountry.net
> Subject: [at-l] trip report--long--some NONSENSE-no FLAMES
> Date: Saturday, November 21, 1998 9:41 AM
> 
> My husband John, Hopeful, Plodder, Plodder’s son Wirlwind and I took a
four-
> day, 35-mile trip from Hot Springs to Devil Fork Gap recently. If you’ve
> already read Hopeful’s account of this trip, you may think you’re
experiencing
> deja vue all over again. Not so. We just figured that our perceptions and
> perspectives might be so different, nobody would know we were on the same
> trip. ;-)
> 
> And then too, he might tell some things I wouldn’t--and vice versa. ;-)
> 
> John and I drove through pouring rain all the way from Kentucky into Hot
> Springs, where Hopeful said there had been no rain at all--until we
arrived.
> It was dry when we pulled into town. Then it poured. Sometimes I feel
like
> that Lil Abner character with the rain cloud over his head.
> 
> However, Wednesday dawned bright and clear, and we had a great day for
hiking.
> The first night was to be at Spring Mt. Shelter, 11 miles off. The climb
out
> of town is a brief, steep up to Lover’s Leap, where the view back over
Hot
> Springs was great, and there was just enough color to make us feel we
hadn’t
> totally missed the leaves. The trail is pretty level for about the first
six
> miles and we made pretty good time to Mill Ridge Pond and then Mill Ridge
> itself, where we had a nice rest stop, stretching out like turtles in the
sun.
> 
> When we started across the overpass for US 25 and 70, I whooped. John and
I
> are new enough at this backpacking business, that I still get pretty
excited
> about small victories and things that are old-hat to the rest of you
folks. I
> was remembering a year earlier when we had traveled 25 and 70 because
I-40 was
> closed due to part of the mountain collapsing on it. As we drove, I had
been
> thinking that I’d really like to be walking in those woods. Then we went
under
> an overpass and realized it was the AT. And now here I was--on it. Well,
hey,
> I’ve already admitted it doesn’t take much, trail-wise, to get me
excited.
> 
> Once we crossed the road though, I had other things to occupy my mind.
Like
> going up--and up--and up. After very much going up (or so it seemed to
me), I
> asked Hopeful, our trail boss, what the terrain was like up ahead. “Well,
uhh,
> er, well, it’s mostly up,” he says. Mostly up?!? Mostly??? Well, if
mostly
> means absolutely, t-totally, no-two-ways-about-it up, then it was
“mostly” up.
> I asked him later how he could tell such a bouncer, but he swore he was
just
> trying to keep me from being discouraged.
> 
> It did give us a defining word for the hike though. Things were mostly up
or
> mostly down or mostly hungry or mostly tired or--in a drenching downpour
on
> the fourth day--mostly wet.
> 
> I seem to do fine on the flats and downs, but on the ups, I go into what
John
> calls my double low, Caterpillar bulldozer, granny gear--grinding out the
> steps. Nevertheless, even I eventually got to the top of Rich Mountain
and its
> fire tower. We dropped our packs by the side of the trail and went up for
the
> view, making our first attempt at locating Mt Mitchell. We all remembered
that
> the guidebook spoke of seeing Mt. Mitchell from somewhere along the trail
and
> at each view stop we’d get ourselves convinced that this was it. We still
> don’t know if we ever really saw it. But we did see magnificent views and
the
> extra little climb was well worth it.
> 
> We dropped down to Hurricane Gap and headed up the other side. It was
then I
> realized that in the AT guidebooks, the word “ascend” can be deceptively
> innocent and as much an understatement as “mostly,” because that climb
was
> mostly up. I blessed Jim Owen once again for his lecture on attitude and
tried
> every mind game I knew to keep going. To really understand this, ya hafta
know
> that my previous mileage record was 10 miles, and that was on the TN
Turnpike
> south of Damascus and hardly counts. But I finally made it. Phew!
> 
> The next adventure came the next morning when my cohorts wondered aloud
> whether I could pass the height test for the privy. Do what?!? “Well,”
they
> said, “you know how some rides in amusement parks have signs saying you
must
> be this tall to ride this ride.” “Yeeeeeees.” “Well, the privy seat is so
far
> off the ground there’s a line on a tree and a sign saying you have to be
tall
> enough to reach the line to use the privy. We’re not sure you pass.”
Drat!
> However, a good vertical leap can make up for height, so it was OK.
> 
> Thursday morning we started out for Little Laurel Shelter, 8.5 miles, and
the
> way was mostly down till we reached Allen’s Gap. Water was low all along
the
> trail, and we hadn’t taken the time at the shelter to fill all the
bottles,
> but waited till we got to the store at the gap. We had also eaten a gorp
> breakfast because of the low water and so decided to eat our supper at
noon
> and not bother with much cooking when we arrived at the shelter. We
figured
> the water would be low there too. I washed down beans and rice with a
coke, a
> V8 and an Orange Crush. Bloat. We filled all our bottles there, even
though
> the water looked like ice tea, even after it was filtered.
> 
> About a mile and a half from the store, we decided to take a short rest
before
> starting the 3.5 miles of “mostly up” to Little Laurel. While we were
sitting
> on a log, a good old boy came along to check us out and raised my spirits
> immensely by talking at length about how the way was steep and long, up
all
> the way, with no let up. He was mostly right.
> 
> Friday’s journey to Jerry Cabin was the shortest, but caused John to come
up
> with his theory that just as a job expands to take up all the time
allotted
> for it, so will hiking expand to take up all the available daylight. We
had
> only 6.7 miles, but we started with a leisurely pancake breakfast and got
> started much later than usual. We also had many wonderful views along the
way,
> which meant much stopping to search for Mt. Mitchell.
> 
> The first two miles were mostly up, ending with a side trail to a fire
tower.
> The views were fantastic. The whole valley down Rt. 11 (we think) was
open to
> us on one side, and the Smokies were visible in the other direction. It
was
> one of those places where you just look and look and your smile gets
bigger
> and bigger. Later we also made a side trip to the White Rock Cliffs.
> Magnificent! 
> 
> We also learned an important lesson on this stretch. We had not bothered
to
> fill the water bottles because we were running late, the spring was just
a
> dribble, and several springs were coming up soon. Unfortunately the first
> couple springs were dry, and Plodder and John were feeling the effects of
> dehydration. We finally came to a pool of water, but we first had to
filter it
> through a hanky and then use the filter. Even then, it was still pretty
ugly.
> Next time we’ll take advantage of water where we find it and not count on
> finding more.
> 
> I loved Jerry Cabin, from the electrical outlet to the mailbox to the
phone to
> the computer shelter mouse--or should that be shelter computer mouse?
> 
> Saturday we awoke to a drizzle and what turned out to be best-trick day
and
> naming day. I had brought a hat for the cold, but nothing that would do
for
> warm drizzle. I didn’t want to wear my rain jacket just then because I
figured
> it would get hot. What to do? Well, to understand what comes next, you
must
> know that I am a devoted Kentucky Wildcat (Big Blue) basketball fan.
Choovers
> will understand, being a Terrapin supporter and all.  I have been trying
to
> spark an interest in my TN hiking partners since I've known them but they
just
> mutter about blue puddy tats and the Lady Vols. But there I was, saying I
> needed a cap and sure wished I had a hat like the rest of the group.  And
> Hopeful says he has a second cap he can loan me. Granted, it was morning,
but
> still, I should at least have been suspicious. But I was too dumb toeven
ask
> myself  why he would carry two hats over those mountains. And then he
pulls a
> TN Vols orange hat from his pack. AAARRRGH!!!! Set myself right up, I
did!
> 
> Oh well. At least out of this comes a trail name. Because of the Cats,
the
> caterpillar, the hat, the Vols, the victory over the miles, and other
reasons,
> I have become Vcat (or V-cat).
> 
> We didn’t have the long-range views Saturday, but fog creates its own
kind of
> beauty and gave the woods a look of mystery. I liked the variety of these
four
> days--views of mountains and long valleys, pretty little hollows, big
> boulders, some open areas, blankets of ferns, creek bottom, thick woods.
It
> was great.
> 
> Near Big Rock (4,838 ft) we met Mt Roamer. That was great too. I had been
> following Outta Chocolate’s journal and enjoying it a lot. Mt Roamer in
person
> is just as exuberant and embracing of life as she appears in the journal.
> 
> At Flint Mt Shelter we met Highlander and her husband, Marty, who had
walked
> in to meet us. Wirlwind, who hikes like one, and his dad had reached the
> shelter earlier and had everybody primed to cheer for the Vols when I
arrived
> in my orange hat. I think of the motto: Don't get mad; get even. We will
hike
> together again. :-)
> 
> We walked out in a downpour that was mostly wet, but the hiking was still
> good. Highlander and Marty took John and Plodder to town to get the cars,
> while Hopeful, Wirlwind and I put up a tarp, put down a ground cloth,
brewed
> up some hot spiced cider and ate any leftover snacks we could find.
Nothing
> like high tea--well, probably low tea since we were sitting on the
ground--to
> end a hike. 
> 
> BTW, the hike was mostly great! :->
> Vcat (aka Sally)
> 
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