Days 37-43

May 9-15

Spring Mountain Shelter to 

Iron Mountain Gap

Day 37

Spring Mountain Shelter to Little Laurel Shelter

Last night we had a very strong thunderstorm with high winds and intense horizontal rain.  The storm tore down tents and ripped apart tarped hammocks.  My free-standing tent flexed inward far enough that it actually touched my sleeping bag.  The horizontal rain blew under the tent's rain fly, soaking everything in the tent.  At one point, I could hear water running under the tent.

The sky looked like hundreds of flash blubs going off.  There was the constant rumble of thunder.  There was one lightning strike that was so close that there was no differentiation between the flash and the bang.  We could feel the concussion of the blast.  

In the morning, several people who were lucky enough to have stayed in the shelter packed and continued on.  A few headed back to Hot Springs to dry out and replace gear, two stayed to dry gear, and one said, "I've had enough of this F . . . ing Trail" and left.

The rain stopped about 10:00 a.m.  Commando and I decided that packing up wet down sleeping bags and tents was a bad thing, especially here in the South where wet things turn to mold and mildew quickly.  

With the warm breeze, our gear dried, and we hit the trail around 2:00 p.m.

The trail was slippery and muddy with a full complement of roots.  I managed to find the perfect submerged root on a downhill section and took fall number six.  Other than exercising my ability to swear and a bruised right hip, no damage was done.

TRAIL MAGIC X 2

In support of their thru-hiker, Old Soul, R&R (Ryan & Rebecca) Trail Magic provided hot dogs, chips, fresh fruit, candy, and drinks to hikers.  I especially appreciated the strawberries.  Rocky really liked the hot dogs.  R&R, many thinks for your kindness!

About a mile down the trail, I came across a sign that read, "Trail Magic, homemade cookies," with an arrow that pointed to a cottage in the woods.  Hansel and Gretel quickly came to mind, but Rocky and I went anyway.  After all, there were homemade cookies involved.

Sitting on the porch of a cottage were large containers of filtered water and peanut butter cookies, plus a sign stating:  "The first cookie is free.  Enjoy.  Additional cookies are $2.00 each."  I shared the first cookie with Rocky, then bought a second cookie for later.

On our way back to the trail, a lady pulled up in her car, rolled down her window, and said, "Is that Rocky?  I've been waiting for him."  We went back to her cottage where she gave Rocky treats, and I scored another cookie.  Thank You, Southern Cookie Lady, for the excellent peanut butter cookies and conversation.  Rocky especially enjoyed lying on your porch and being petted.

We arrived at camp as the sun was going down, made camp, ate our lunch and dinner, and shared the last peanut butter cookie.

Little Laurel Shelter

Day 37 Trail Profile

Day 38

Little Laurel Shelter to Flint Mountain Shelter

Although the sky threatened to rain most of the day, it never did.  That's good because the trail was tough enough on its own.  We encountered the full spectrum of trail conditions, ranging from mud, roots, and rock scrambling to sections where we could cruise.  Unfortunately, there weren't too many cruise sections.

No matter how tough the trail was, it was worth the effort.  The scenery was fantastic.  We encountered beautiful meadows, fantastic vistas, and a variety of flowers.

A good part of today was rock hopping and even some class 2 & 3 rock scrambling.  That was really hard on my knees.

I took fall number seven when I was jumping between rocks.  My hiking pole got stuck between two rocks just as I jumped, and it yanked me backward.  I landed on my backpack.  I didn't get hurt other than a bit of a shoulder tweak.  The real travesty was that the fall crushed my Pop Tarts.  Crushed Pop Tarts still tasted pretty good.  Rocky agreed.

At one point, there was a six-foot drop-off, much too high for Rocky to jump down.  Commando was in the lead and lifted Rocky down the rock face by the handle of his backpack.  Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough to get a photo.  It looked like Commando was lifting a Rocky suitcase.  Rocky looked very relieved when his feet hit the ground.

At the top of the rock scramble was a plaque commemorating Howard McDonald, who helped to build the trail.

We hit the 300-mile milestone near the top of the rock scramble.

I'm not exactly sure what to think of this, but Rocky has taken to running in front of me and rolling when I'm going up a long, slow climb.  I swear he's making fun of me.

We stopped by Jerry Cabin Shelter and joined a group of hikers for a late lunch.  I always enjoy the conversation.

Jerry Cabin Shelter

We passed by a memorial to a 1968 thru-hiker, Howard F. Bassette, whose ashes were left on this spot in 1988, about a year after he died.

I got into camp at Flint Mountain Shelter as the sun was setting, quickly set up camp, fixed our dinner, took a couple Ibuprofen and a Benadryl, and went to bed.

Day 38 Trail Profile

Day 39

Flint Mountain Shelter to Sam's Gap

Today's hike consisted of a lot of ups and downs.  It threatened to rain but never did.

We stopped by the Hogback Ridge Shelter for a quick lunch and then headed back to the trail.

Hogback Ridge Shelter

Our objective today was to meet Sally at Sam's Gap, where she found us after a little searching.  She managed to find an historic, pet-friendly cabin for us to stay in with all three dogs.

Note from Sally:

The Log Cabin Motor Court in Asheville, NC, was originally built in 1931.  They had a photo from the 1930s on the wall of the cabin, and an informational notebook told us that some scenes of the 1958 movie, Thunder Road, were filmed there.

This was very cool, but what really led us to this cabin was its pet friendly policy (and free laundry facilities).  Look at this onsite, fenced play area for dogs.  Hard to beat that!

Day 40

Zero Day in Asheville, NC, on Mother's Day

I have been having issues with my Gregory Baltero 65-liter backpack.  I bought this pack explicitly for the AT.  The waistband has been cutting into my left side, and the shoulder and chest straps have been slipping.  We went to REI in Asheville, NC, for a different pack.  I ended up purchasing an REI Flash 55-liter pack.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get all of my gear into this smaller backpack.

A good reason to purchase from REI is the company's return policy.  You can return an item within a year if it isn't working out for you.  In this case, I bought the Gregory Baltero 11 months ago and was able to return it.

Also, they allow dogs in the store.  Our friend Jim asked if Rocky was going to get a new pack too, but no, his pack (a RuffWear Approach) has actually worked out really well for him.  We did launder it this time as it was getting a little ripe.

Note from Sally:

The zero day made for a good way to spend Mother's Day!  Titanium (Dan) even carried a unique gift several miles just for me:  a naturally heart-shaped stone from the Appalachian Trail.

I brought some resupply items for Titanium and Rocky, including some freeze-dried meals that Titanium had originally prepared at home.  However, several items can be purchased on the go, and in North Carolina, Titanium and Commando have found they especially like the grocery store chain, Ingles, for this.  Below Commando was explaining how he uses powdered peanut butter in his trail concoctions, and Titanium decided to try some.

There is an amazing amount to do on a zero day even without an excursion to REI:  laundry, filling the hikers with food, reorganizing gear, grooming Rocky, feeding Rocky as much as we can get him to eat, and catching up on blog writing (Titanium) and video editing (Commando).  

COMMANDO'S LATEST VIDEO EPISODE

While in Asheville, Commando posted Episode 7 of his video series, 5 Million Steps.  This one takes us from Standing Bear Farm Hostel to Sam's Gap.  It is marvelous, and it is such a treat to see glimpses of Titanium and Rocky throughout.  Check it out (link below).  If you're like me (Sally), you may become engrossed and forget that you were reading a multi-day blog from Titanium and Rocky's Adventure, so be sure to come back here for the rest of the story.  Thank you, Commando!!

https://youtu.be/WONNPnHHBL4?si=Tuk3Yu_laAyrqSuT  

Day 41

Nero:  Sam's Gap to Spivey Gap

Sally dropped us off at Sam's Gap today.  Our intentions were to "slack pack" 24 miles to AT Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, Tennessee.  We ran out of daylight and didn't make it.  We did have a great hike as far as we got.  Slack packing is when you hike with only the supplies you need for the day and stow the rest of your gear with someone who will be at the end of the hike.

We looked at the map and determined that there were two good climbs but that the majority of the trail was downhill.  What the map doesn't show is how rugged and rocky long sections of the trail are.

While we were hiking, Sally moved our gear from the motel in Asheville to a cabin at AT Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin.  The AT passes 40 feet from the hostel, and it is very popular with thru-hikers, offering cabins, bunkhouses, and tent sites, as well as services like limited resupply items and shuttles to the trail.  

Rocky seemed like he could use another day off to hang out and rest with Zap and Rosie, so he stayed behind with Sally today while she worked remotely from the cabin (that's Rocky's pack drying out on the chair). 

We did experience unexpected Trail Magic.  The Wolfpack Hiking Club and Wolf Laurel Community hung coolers from a tree, which contained hard-boiled eggs, sugar cookies, potato chips, peanuts, and bananas.  Wolfpack Hiking Club and Wolf Laurel Community, thank you for your generosity!

I met an interesting gentleman today who goes by the name of 3/4.  He's been a woodworker most of his life and enjoys it.  I asked him the genesis of his name, and he said he is 75.  I followed up with, "So next year will your name be 3/4 +1?"  He gleefully replied, "You got it."  3/4 is hiking with his dog, Scout.

3/4 and Scout

Big Bald Summit

We were only about halfway to our intended destination, it was starting to rain, and the sun was going down.  We figured at our current speed, we might make it to Uncle Johnny's Hostel by midnight.  We were coming up on Spivey Gap, an easy bail point for Sally to find.  

There was only one issue.  We had no cell service.  I texted Sally on my Garmin inReach Mini.  It took a while to get a GPS signal, but the signal transmitted.  She responded and "rescued" us about 30 minutes later.

 Day 42

Spivey Gap to Uncle Johnny's Hostel

Today we hiked the remaining 12 miles of yesterday's attempted hike with our gear stowed at Uncle Johnny's Hostel.  Sally packed up Zap and Rosie and headed to work in Knoxville this morning.  Commando and I tried to rent the cabin for another night, but it was already booked.  We are now camping on the Hostel grounds . . . in the rain, I might add.  

We contacted a shuttle service to take us to Spivey Gap.  While it was overcast and a bit cool, it was dry the whole time we were hiking.  Our hiking time estimate last night was pretty close.  It took about five hours to hike to Uncle Johnny's.

Rocky Slack Packing

Today's hike was mostly downhill.  There were no major obstacles today, but there were some pretty steep sections.

Day 42 Trail Profile, 344.4 miles

On the way down, we stopped by the No Business Knob Shelter.  This was the first cement block shelter I had encountered.

No Business Knob Shelter

Day 43

Iron Mountain Gap to Uncle Johnny's Hostel

We took an early morning shuttle north to Iron Mountain Gap (about 445 miles in on the AT) for a 21-plus mile day of slack packing.  It rained virtually the whole day with very short periods of sunshine.

After 3.5 miles of hiking, the rain picked up, and we took refuge in the Cherry Gap Shelter.

Cherry Gap Shelter

I found an orange newt on the trail.  I took its picture, then moved it to a safer location.

Crossing over railroad tracks seemed so strange that both of us stood there and looked at the tracks.

We passed Curley Maple Gap Shelter toward the end of the day.  The shelter was packed.

Curley Maple Gap Shelter

We finished today's 21-miler back at Uncle Johnny's Hostel for our last night camping here, ready to be shuttled back to Iron Mountain Gap in the morning, with our full packs this time, to continue our journey northbound.