Springer Mtn, GA to Fontana Dam, NC

Day 2, Wednesday, May 24

Black Gap Shelter to Hawk Mountain Shelter, 9.1 miles

I wake up at 6:40 AM. Still breezy and cool this morning. Overcast. The birds don't seem to mind, though. Their chorus is louder than the rustling leaves. I hope today is as nice a yesterday. The temperature is a cool breezy 55 degrees. Today, Springer. I'm glad that I stopped below the summit. It's given my legs and feet a rest. My feet are sore and my ankle is a little stiff this morning, but nothing a little stretching and Vitamin-I (ibuprofen) can't cure.

I lie in my sleeping bag listening to the world wake up until 7:15 AM. Billy and Aaron are still asleep as I get up.

Yesterday I hiked in my new NC State shorts and tee shirt. I should have washed the shorts more. The red from the shorts faded onto my shirt. I may use "Red Shirt" as my trail name for this hike. It certainly fits.

Pop-Tarts, beef jerky, and cheese crackers for breakfast. I like Pop-Tarts when I'm backpacking. They just don't make it very far without being crushed, though. I leave a few crumbs for the mice. They apparently didn't bother anything other than my sleep last night. I repack my backpack, leave a few comments in the brand new shelter journal, and hit the trail at 8:20 AM. It looks like rain any minute.

Although it's cool, the relative humidity is high. It doesn't take long for me to break a sweat. As I climb toward Springer, I literally climb into the clouds. The mist swirls around me cutting off my view ahead and closing in around and behind me. The breeze has stopped as I make a final switchback. The trail is wet from yesterday's rain and this morning's clouds, and the rocks are slick. As I near the top, the breeze pick up again, almost gusty.

9:02 AM. The top of Springer! I am alone in the mist. No view, except the clouds to the south. It's socked in by the weather. There is a plaque showing the elevation of Springer to be 3,782 feet above sea level. There is also a bronze plaque on the rock showing a hiker facing north. That's the direction I'm heading. I take pictures of the plaques and sit and rest on this holy ground for five minutes while the breeze swirls the clouds around me. It's fresh and rejuvenating and magical. I've dreamed of this place for a long time. Now I'm here alone and refreshed. I'm not sure what I expected to find here, but it feels great. And I'm glad to see the blue blazes turn to white. Onward...

After a few hundred yards I realize that I haven't signed the register on top. I drop my pack and hurry back. I find the register exactly where it's supposed to be in a file drawer in the rock under the plaque. I sign in as Steve "Snuffy" "Red Shirt" Smith. I hurry back toward my pack. Fontana's calling.

I pass a lady headed toward the summit as I get back to my pack. She wants to know if the view is good. I tell her it's socked in, but the view is great.

I stop at the Springer Mountain Shelter long enough to say good morning to some folks who have spent the night there. Five northbound and one southbound doing the Benton MacKaye - Appalachian Trail loop.

Although the trail is now downhill, it is rocky and slow going. I reach Forest Service Road 42 at 10 AM. I rest five minutes and take on water. There are four vehicles in the lot. Three with South Carolina license plates, and one from Maryland.

The sky is lifting a little. At 10:30 AM, the sun begins to peek out. I stop and top off my water supply from a small creek. I have a little trouble getting my water filter to prime. Two folks that I met at the Springer Mountain Shelter pass. Two more, older men dayhiking pass. I eat a Snickers bar and make some lemonade before moving on.

I reach Stover Creek Shelter at 11:15 AM and stop for a brief rest and snack. I take my boots off for a few minutes to let my feet breathe. Billy comes in ten minutes later. At 11:35 I'm ready to move on. I pass Aaron coming toward the shelter as I return to the trail.

When I reach Chester Creek at 12:20 PM, I take a short break and cross the road to Three Forks. By 1:00 PM I'm at Long Creek Falls. I soak my feet in the icy water and splash off a bit. This would be a great place for a trail shower.

I guess everyone hits their "wall" sooner or later. Mine comes shortly after Long Creek Falls on a little uphill section just before Hawk Mountain Shelter. My legs just don't want to go anymore. My right foot feels very funny. Strange burning sensation. I hope I haven't developed a stress fracture already. I limp the last mile-and-a-half to the shelter.

I stop for water just short of the shelter, but I can't get my filter to work. Hope that's not going to be a problem. A guy that's already passed me twice passes me at the creek. He was one of the six people at the Springer Mountain Shelter this morning when I stopped in. He's going on to Gooch Gap, eight more miles ahead. He says he's carrying a sixty-pound pack and hikes 20 miles a day. I say "Good Luck" and repack my filter. I later learn that his trail name is Phree. I'll see him on and off again for the duration of my trip.

I reach the Hawk Mountain Shelter at 3:00 PM. It's a nice shelter with a bottom sleeping deck that will hold six people, and a loft that can accommodate four to five more. One person is already there; a woman named Mandy, from Illinois. She started southbound at Dick's Creek Gap ten days ago and is a day from arriving at Springer. She's hiking the trail by herself to find out what it's like so she can bring her husband next year. She chain-smokes half of a pack of cigarettes before supper.

Billy and Aaron show up fifteen minutes later, and Billy helps me get water. I come back to the shelter and cook macaroni and cheese and cup-a-soup, using the shelter picnic table to cook and write on. I also eat a couple of pieces of beef jerky and some crackers. Little by little the pack gets lighter. And I'm feeling much better now that I have some hot food and liquid in me.

By 5:40 PM, blue sky is covering the shelter. It's been overcast most of the day. The weather forecast is still for afternoon thundershowers. We'll see. Right now it's very peaceful.

I have two blisters. One on the left side of my right foot big toe, and one on my left heel. The one on my heel is the one that worries me. I made the mistake of putting on a damp pair of socks this morning.

Four more come in around 4:30 PM. They are a father, Roger, and son, Kenneth, from near Asheville, the father's brother-in-law, Doug, from near Columbia, SC, and the brother-in-laws' female beagle puppy named Penny. Roger is a plumbing contractor. Kenneth is still in college playing basketball at UNC-A.

Another couple from Fort Worth, Texas comes in around 6 PM. It's going to be a full house tonight. No room for mice! The couple from Texas pitches a tent behind the shelter. Everyone cooks dinner and we gather firewood for a campfire and to burn some trash. Mandy smokes another half of a pack of cigarettes before bedtime.

It is a very nice evening. We all sit around the campfire and swap hiking stories. Roger and Doug seem to have quite a lot of backpacking experience. When they reach their destination at Unicoi Gap, they will have section-hiked from Springer to beyond the Grayson Highlands in Virginia.

I hit the sack at 10:00 PM and I'm asleep in minutes. Penny curls up at the foot of Doug's sleeping bag and goes to sleep. Even she looks tired. The shelter journal noted no mice. We'll see.