Clinging to What is Impermanent Leads To Suffering

Day 25- 12 Miles today from Brown Fork Shelter to Fontanna, 1,955 Feet Up, 3,,970 Feet down, Total 219 AT miles

Catch the Early Train

Fell asleep and slept great last night but was awoken by a sheltermate at 5 AM as he packed up. About 30 minutes later we decided to also pack up and hit the trail. It was still dark when we departed at 6:30 and we both later realized that we prefer leaving early to arrive at our next destination earlier. It makes the evening at the next destination much morechill as you have more time to get settled in for the night.

It was a cool morning the 30s as we hiked in the beauty and silence of the dark forest with a sliver of a moon, a sky full of stars, and a few lights in the valley below. Around 7 AM the sun started greeting us officially to the new day by slowing peeking out of the dark sky as the stars began to fade.  

We were once again walking along a knife edge ridge which was a bit more challenging in the dark with less margin for error on the very narrow sections of ridge that dropped off precipitously on either side. The narrow ridge however provided spectacular views with mountains on both sides of the trail off in the distance. Eventually the sun provided sufficient light to be able to turn off my headlamp although the sun took its lazy time to eventually poke its head over the horizon.

You Don’t Own Your Stuff, Your Stuff Owns You

Once the sun awoke the forest, nature’s noises came alive. As I walk along the narrow ridge on my left hand side I heard woodpeckers working away. On my right hand side I heard geese heading north. There is something really magically about sunrise in the forest as it fosters a time of beauty, reflection and hope.

It was cold enough that my hands would barely work when stopped to take a food break. The trail continued on with a few rocks scrambles as the sun poked out fully and started to warm me and my cold hands.

The civilized world with all its duties and responsibilities had completely disappeared from my mind after this many days of continuous forest bathing. The concern I had at this moment ws how much water do I have, where is the next water source, is that water source an easy grab from the AT, and is that water source viable? Everything we need in life we now carry on our backs so we have no burden of all the possessions we surround ourselves in our lives back in civilization. This rejuvenates my desire to continue to purge stuff from our lives that awaits us back in civilization. You don’t own stuff, it owns you.

GR8 Damn View!

I know I should write more about the people we run into on our hike.  Last night we shared a shelter with thru hiker Closeenough who owns the Refuge hostel in Roan Mountain. It will be interesting to see who we run into later in our hike. Most of the Springer hikers are at a faster pace than us but we continue to run into them again when we stop for the night.

It was a steep 650 foot climb in 1 mile after Cable Gap shelter which we were able to do at a pace of 1.3 miles per hour which was fast for us at our only 5^th day. At the top, once again traveling along a knife ridge with beautiful views, we got our first glimpse of Fontana dam. Lake Fontana would be our companion for the rest of today as we started our descent through woody cove areas with some really cruisy trail.

Spring Up

As we descended into the coves, I came upon a few very young hemlock trees that the woolly aphid had not yet found. This invasive aphid wiped out all our beautiful hemlocks. There used to be these old growth hemlock trees around here especially down in narrow river ravines. I suspect the 1800 loggers could not access these forests thus preserving them for our lives. Unfortunately the aphids wiped out all of these majestic trees which made me reflect on one of my tattoos that symbolizes impermanence. Everything is impermanent and though our attachment we cause suffering in our lives.

This section of trail also contained more Helene damage. Our homeland was destroyed by Helene. It was as if God picked the best and biggest trees to push over. The devastation of very large trees pushed over was astonishing. Impermanence.

It was then that I started notice the change in vegetation.  Most of our hike thus far were at a higher elevation with no flowers, and no leaves on trees. As we descended into Fontana I could see spring peeking out. A few trees were starting to put out their leaves and flowers started appearing on the forest floor. We arrived early at 230 at our pickup point to go back to civilization, and a few IPAs. Don’t stop, keep walking, see you again soon.  

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek’s ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.