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“Out there’s a world that calls for me, girl
Headin’ out into the unknown
Wayfarin’ strangers and all kinds of danger
Please don’t say I’m goin’ alone
To the ends of the earth, would you follow me?
There’s a world that was meant for our eyes to see…”
– “Ends of the Earth” (2012) – Lord Huron
- Hiked Today: 24.7 mile
- Appalachian Trail (79.6 – 104.3)
- Total Hiked: 2,028.8 miles
- Total Paddled: 99.5 miles
Weather: 55 – 75°F, mix of sun and big poofy clouds, breezy, humid
Elevation: 4,150 – 5,478 feet
Courthouse Bald to Final Four Spot
I felt off this morning. Rather than my typical bounce right off the foam mattress pad routine, I was groggy and just laid there for several minutes. I couldn’t quite place the feeling, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if a sudden urge came over me for things to exit my body from either end. Thankfully that didn’t happen. I didn’t fall back asleep like I thought I might, but instead got up to go retrieve the food bag from up high on the tree limb. Hang #2 went a lot better than the first!
Thankfully, I had some downhill to start. That got my legs and body in the groove some before heading up the next stretch. After a mile and half or so, I reached Muskrat Creek Shelter. Despite a hiker who stayed there last night warning me the privy wasn’t in the most pristine condition, I thought this was the moment to give my first AT privy a visit.
Still not feeling wonderful afterwards, I decided to sit and enjoy the social scene going on at the shelter where there was a conversation about accents and class and geography going on. These were mostly international folks. Skittles from Australia was there, as well as representatives from Germany and the Netherlands, and the United States of course. I stayed to the side and listened as I made coffee and oatmeal. Spontaneously, I opted for a two packet coffee day! Whoa, dream big, right!? I wasn’t even hungry and was happy I didn’t commit to three oatmeal packets, just the two.
Leaving the shelter, I had not walked far at all compared to my usual routine for that time of day. Starting to feel better though, I was happy for a cruisy bit of trail.
After filling up at this rhododendron infused mountain spring, things took a turn for the up and up in a steep fashion. Also, what’s the difference between a spring and a seep? This to me feels like a seep…
The little white washer in there is important and can fall out, so I take special care to put my finger over the top when carrying it about.
The double shot coffee was having me cruising so I was passing quite a few hikers. Nearing Deep Gap I got the opportunity to talk with Hunter about our shared experiences with the conservation corps, me in Utah and Montana for him working in Glacier National Park.
We made a good pace down the hill and out of nowhere heard a shout from below… “Trail Magic!” I gave a loud “Woohoo!” in response. At the bottom, there was a parking lot and we waited for Titmouse. The three of us then continued over and as we approached, my eyes widened and my smile broadened.
Their setup was truly impressive! Two pop-up tents and several tables heaped with food and hiker goodies like batteries, wipes, sunscreen, etc… . They had craft beer as well as an American lager known as Pabst Blue Ribbon that folks referred to simply as “PBR” 😉. Additionally, they had sodas and seltzers and a coffee station and a charging station and a hand washing station. Lots of stations haha.
I met a hiker named Poles who has had trouble keeping track of her trekking poles. Hence, she sharpied her shoes haha.
Hunter and I enjoying our bacon and eggs. He opted to put his on a flaky croissant for a breakfast sandwich.
This group was made up of mostly previous AT or other long trail hikers. Sketch is the founder of a thing called “Trail Talk” in Charlotte, NC where they get together at the local brewery and chat about trail life. Super cool. Essentially all the folks from this morning at the shelter made their way down and in a bit we had a circle of maybe 20-30 people, a mix of trail magic providers and hikers. Super special moment and a ton of fun talking with Four Leaf, Sketch, Hunter, Houdini, Poles, and others!
Knowing I had to cover some ground today since I have a shuttle scheduled tomorrow morning, I pulled myself away after an hour of hanging. In that time I managed to put down some breakfast coffee cake, bacon and eggs, a mini Coca-Cola Classic can and a beer from Town Brewing.
Leaving Deep Gap, I wasn’t sure if the grade of the trail had indeed lessened or if I was just soaring from the good vibes of the morning. Probably a mix of both. Without a doubt though, the passion and thoughtfulness of the folks down below buoyed my spirits the rest of the day and will continue to do so as I go north on the trail!
It was quite cruisy trail today. After coming in to North Carolina all hot and heavy and steep, things noticeably changed today. Everything felt more gradual and I was loving it. When I can walk and actually think it makes my trail experience so much better as opposed to when all my attention is focused on huffing and puffing up the mountain and internally or externally cursing my malcontent.
A Little Sidebar On Trails
Have you ever wondered, what’s up with all these roots on the trail? Why do they build the trail there? Why not move it? Let’s do a little dive into it, shall we?
Last summer I completed an online Master’s degree in Park and Resource Management. Woohoo. One of my favorite courses was recreational resource management. I remember reading from an actual physical book (how old school, right?) about trails, how managers assess impacts from users, and ways to build them more sustainably to last longer. I even did a report on a loop trail in Bryce Canyon National Park and hiked it taking photos and documenting my findings. Not a bad assignment, eh?
So, the roots are evidence of overuse, compaction, and displacement of soil which allows water to take the sediment away. When it happens so much that the roots are uncovered it’s called profile truncation.
So what to do? I worked briefly for a private trail company in Arizona called Flagline Trails. It was great and I learned a ton. That being said I don’t think my few months makes me an expert 😅. One take away though for designing trails was to get the water off the trail quickly. And as you’re building, “think like water”. What does water do? It takes the easiest path downhill. So there are actually ratios and calculations we would use when designing and laying out new trail or a reroute. There’s even a fun tool to help with this called a clinometer. Then you can also build drains and instead of your trail being like a water slide, you intentionally build shallow rollercoaster humps into it to allow water to drain out periodically.
I bet y’all didn’t know so much went into trails. Well, truthfully, it often doesn’t, but I think there’s more of a movement nowadays to try stuff like this. Saves money, time, and effort for maintenance. I really loved this side of trail building. I also like the physical work of it, but Sheesh oh Pete’s for the love of Tom Hanks is that tough work! So, thanks to all of you that have volunteered before and for those who support trails via voting and such.
Up and Over Albert
I was in speedy mode most of the afternoon. The exception to this was slowing down to talk with Little Bird. She was having some ankle issues and we got to chatting. Most times on trail interactions are brief… “Hey, how’s the hike going? Where are you from?” Occasionally though, you jump right into beyond surface level conversations. It’s one of the unique and beautiful things about trail life. This was one such instance. We only chatted for less than a half hour, but we got to talking about life dreams and our motivation for being out here. I try to embrace it, but it can be tough to open up right away to strangers sometimes. When I do, I don’t think I’ve ever regretted it.
The bee video was in 1/8th speed slow motion!
Other times, like later in the day, a guy will run by on trail and ask questions without stopping but still that rings true too. He parted with, “So much peace to you brother, good luck on your journey.” And I felt he meant what he said.
Another exception to me going fast was when going up Albert Peak. It was a serious climb that includes a lot of steps built into the trail. It led to a magnificent tower view though!
The next few miles after the tower were the easiest on the entire AT so far; just a nice gradual downhill and a wide path. Just what I needed at the end of the day! I hiked later in the evening and found a nice tent site. It was a bit windy, but not too bad. Even ended up getting cell service enough to watch some final four bball. A great day.
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