The only ones out walking are A.T. hiking freaks.
Tender buds of flowers and light-green leafy shoots.
Just make sure that you don't trip on twisted, gnarly roots.
It started raining right after I broke camp. No real downpour but a steady fall of good-sized drops. I passed Wesser Bald Shelter, but there was nobody there. Met only one hiker on the trail because the rest, as I would soon discover, were hunkered down at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). There were about a dozen or so hikers milling around. Some were opening resupply boxes they'd sent to this location, others were in the shop looking to purchase an essential item or two, while another few were simply biding their time waiting for the rain to let up. I took the opportunity to grab a snack and find out what their plans were. Most of those I spoke with were hoping to make it to Sassafras Gap Shelter. With that in mind, I definitely wasn't going to stay there tonight. Sounded as if it would get very crowded. Besides, I really hadn't planned to stay in shelters anyway, avoiding them if I could. One section on Whiteblaze.net was a survey of past thru-hikers asking them what they would do differently if they had the chance to do the trail again. Several responded that they would spend less time in the shelters for a variety of reasons. I took that to heart and have found plenty of places just off the trail that are more than suitable for my little tent.
The rain tapered off at 11 a.m. and I was hoofing it up away from the NOC before the rest of the groups. There were a good number of long, steep climbs today. Raisins, a young asian hiker who gained his trailname by starting at Springer with four pounds of raisins in his pack, challenged me on a couple of them. He attacked the climbs with speed, passing me with little problem, but it was only a matter of time before I caught and passed him as he had stopped to rest and catch his breath. A bit of leapfrogging ensued in the remainder of the afternoon before we met again at some picnic tables at Stecoah Gap. Snacking again, we had a chance to talk about doing thirty mile days, which I thought he was more than capable of. He passed me again on the uphill out of Sweetwater Gap, but stopped for the day at Brown Fork Gap Shelter, a pre-arranged place to meet other hikers he had fallen in with and today had far out-paced. I went three miles further to a camp at Cody Gap, where I met two older section hikers out of upstate New York who were enjoying the last few days of a week-long trek. While chewing the fat with them, five more hikers arrived at differing times, two couples and a lone traveler. Time to stake claim to my piece of flat ground. Huddling in my tent I was hoping it wouldn't rain and that the bears would stay away.
Gray and Purple Dawn
Turtle and Trekker
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