Down Once More, to the Dungeon…

Bubble sleep bubble sleep ooh bubble bubble bubble bubble sleep. Ba dum dum dum.

Normally I catch Anne and Danielle for at least a moment before they roll out of camp, but this morning it was just Turtle (named as such for also being a late riser), and another couple. I noticed one guy was rocking the same pack as me, a ULA Circuit in Ultra, so I asked him how he decided on the pack. While my journey with the pack included a lot of deliberation between it and many other packs (the Zpacks Arc Haul and the Durston Kakwa being the chief competitors), his was much simpler. “I was at the outfitter at Hiawasee and realized if I switched from an Osprey Atmos, I’d save two pounds!” That’s one of the coolest things about the AT in my opinion. As long as you’re willing to be open and listen to the infinite fonts of knowledge everywhere, you can make it through from any level of experience. It requires a lot of discipline, and a bit of luck. But what doesn’t?

As I started up the trail, and ate my first bar, I saw these little yellow triangle signs. “Trail Magic Ahead” and “Almost There.” As I rounded the corner, I saw a ton of these canvas tents set up, and then realized that THIS was the trail magic!

At first, I was just a bit cautious. I’d heard whispers of the Twelve Tribes being out and about, but as I approached, I learned it was a different group! They were the Frontiersmen Camping Foundation, a pre-Civil War reenactment group to help teach boys some more hands-on skills, such as Axe and Dagger throwing, cooking with coals, etc. And they had a SETUP. Chairs, dutch oven biscuits, sausages, COFFEE, and best of all, VEGETABLE SOUP. This whole time on trail I’ve been craving anything green, to help balance out the diet. Gulped down spoonfuls of that. Ran into almost everyone else at the shelter the previous two nights there. And some new faces.

Here, I met Ratatouille, a German man hiking the trail. While his base weight is ultralight, the guy LOVES to cook. So in total, he’s carrying about 17 pounds of food! But some of that includes stuff like real bacon. I’m jealous at the food! Living camp life right.

I also met Shep. He’d done sections of the trail. And I loved talking to him about the places he’s traveled. He runs a free hiker hostel at Mile 455, and was discussing how his travels have helped heal much of the distrust of others he originally held from his background. He wanted to ensure that his place was a place where anyone, of any kind, felt welcomed. That just warmed my heart.

I also mentioned yesterday our friend Wrong Way had pushed on to try to find somewhere to sleep. Luckily, he was able to find these lovely folks, and slept in one of their shelters. Fortune favors him.

I took a 55 minute break there, which might’ve been a mistake. Generally, I don’t like to break for more than 30 minutes, as I find my legs get extremely stiff. But since it was so early in the day, and I got such an extensive refueling, I felt great to push on!

At the Cold Spring shelter, ran into a few hikers taking advantage of the privy after consuming so many biscuits. Tom from trail magic the other day mentioned that this shelter’s special, given that it’s built from the wood of the original American Chestnut. The one that’s functionally extinct now. This is again where I have to give my flowers to Bull Bryson’s A Walk In the Woods, I would’ve never known that the tree even existed without the book, never mind that it’s extinct now.

Walked for a bit with Michaela and Danielle who I both ran into on some beautiful views here. Learned a bit about Michaela’s trail woes. The biggest one was in the night of the snow, she was in a shelter with one other person, so she laid under her tent for a bit of extra warmth. Turns out, mice loved the warmth, so she spent the night having to fend off mice. Ugh, I think if that was how I spent my third night on trail, I might be off already!

After taking the cute blue blaze up Rocky Bald, I started sprinting down the hill. I love taking gentle declines faster, as I know personally I’m not a very effective hiker after 5 or so hours. But for the first five, I feel like a machine. So I try to get my good mileage early before I start tuckering out. Ran into some more trail magic at Tellico Gap! There was a man trying to pick up his wife to avoid the oncoming storm. I quickly gulped down a Coke (I don’t like carrying the trash), thanked him, and worked my way up the last climb of the day in Wesser Bald. I relished this climb. I somehow even beat a trail runner section running! Young and his friend, Slowpoke, have been tackling sections for a while. On the up I was feeling great; I’d barely dipped into my pool of snacks and just had another boost of sugar. But I let him know that the gravy train would immediately stop on the descent.

The Fire Tower at Wesser Bald was cool, but it was also terrible since I knew what was coming next; the dreaded descent into the NOC. For those not familiar with the trail, the descent here is from 4618 feet to 1727! And it’s not that gradual, there are lots of steeper steps. Just as much elevation descent as parts of the Whites! At mile 12, I was starting to already feel my feet. But, made a commitment here.

I ran into Richard around Wesser Bald Shelter. He yelled “Eddy, it’s time to rest, no?” But, I informed him of our group’s intent to push on. He gave us a look and went “I’ll think about it…”

Five minutes later, he was behind me haha.

Long descents suck. Especially later in the day, when I feel every step. This descent is pushing me towards considering a more cushioned shoe for sure. Or maybe something with a rock plate. I can’t give up Zero Drop, but maybe a narrower toe box will be fine if I size up correctly.

During the long fall, I also finally ran into Anne. She’d been hiking alone for most of the day, and we were all happy to see each other. And help each other over the blowdowns. The outdoor clubs here have a lot more trail to maintain! And after Helene, I have all the sympathy in the world for them. There are so many trees that were weakened by its gusts, I’m sure tracking down all the blowdowns is proving essentially impossible. Anne and I normally have pretty intellectual conversations, she was a teacher and loves reading essays and articles, and I’m another essay reader. But, by the last mile, my brain was crashing out.

Seeing the A Rufus Morgan shelter must’ve felt the same as sailors making landfall. Once we got there, we barely crawled in, and within three minutes, none of us could move normally. Sore muscles were the name of the game here. I should’ve stretched, but I was so GASSED from everything that I couldn’t muster the energy.

We made some food, waiting for Danielle and Michaela to catch up. They actually did pretty quickly! Apparently they had a second wind on the down, and made good time. At the shelter, we also met a man who was looking for jobs at the NOC, but was currently unhoused. I won’t share much more of his story, but it’s an unfortunate reality of the US that income insecurity is real. We are fortunate to be able to hike this trail, post about it, or read about it. To him, we were just on some random mission he’d never heard about.

Atweather, or as much as we could get, claimed rain that night. So we all bundled up like peas in a pod. If you’re chronically online (and T-Mobile Starlink isn’t up by the time you’re reading this…), Verizon’s provided the best coverage for others so far. I’ve just accepted that there will be days where I have to maintain my blog on trail. Sure, it takes away from the nature, but the nature isn’t the reason I hike. In the shelter, I’ve never felt better about my hike itself. Being surrounded by a tramily felt great.