The Appalachian Trail 2004

Day 1

We hiked four miles to Rock Gap Shelter. Two miles of approach trail and two miles on the Appalachian Trail itself. Pretty easy hike although the first part was a pretty good climb. I almost lost my water bottle. It fell from my hand and rolled off the trail and a little ways down the mountain. I had to drop my pack, climb down carefully using trees to keep my balance, and retrieve it. Jane got bad blisters on both of her heels. They’ve both broken open. She’s doing really well, not complaining at all. I also have the start of blisters on my heels, but I moleskinned and duct taped ‘em. (Jane did that, too, but it didn’t help. Once they’re broken, there’s little you can do.) We set up camp, played cards and got very little sleep. Our sleeping pads were not enough padding to compensate for the rocky ground. John, Jane and I probably got about two or three hours sleep. Jim has an air mattress so he slept well. There was a guy at the shelter, skinny guy with long dark hair, who seemed nice enough. He was gone at first light, heading the opposite way from us. Another guy hiked up from road but didn’t stick around when he saw how many of us were at the shelter. I think he slept in his car with plans to hike in the morning. We didn’t see him in the morning though. Maybe he passed by while we were sleeping.

Day 2

The first half of the day was a four mile hike to Winding Stair Gap. Not too tough. There was one difficult climb, but it wasn’t very long. There was also one place where you had to climb with your hands, but it was nothing compared to Albert Mountain. It was also a very narrow path which I think made Jim and Jane nervous. To the right of the trail was a long way down… There was a long and easy descent with a beautiful babbling brook near the end. You had to walk through it but it wasn’t deep at all and there were rocks to help the crossing. We got to US 64 and rested. There’s a rough climb ahead. We’re all feeling pretty good though, even Jane with her blistery feet.

We climbed to Swinging Lick Gap and Panther Gap. Rough climb. The gaps were helpful because they gave me some idea of how much further I had to go. Then we climbed to the point in the trail where you can branch off to Siler Bald shelter. It’s .5 miles off the trail. John and I met a couple of hikers who were coming from that shelter. They said it was a great shelter. When they met Jane and Jim further down the trail, they told them we should head there since it was going to rain soon. When Jane and Jim caught up with us, we decided to go there and rest and decide what to do next. We raced the rain all the way to the shelter. It was an easy descent, but it seemed longer than it was and it was raining. We decided to stay at the shelter for the night after the heavens opened up on us. So much rain. Jane’s blisters are really bad. She’s decided to get out at Wayah Gap, about two miles down the trail. My blisters are being held at bay with moleskin and duct tape. I want to make it the rest of the way to the NOC at Wesser. Depending on how my feet are, I may get out there.

Jane cooked ramen noodles and chicken. The food was sooooo good. It was the first time I’ve ever had hot food on the trail. I am considering bringing a small stove next year. I think it was especially good because it was getting pretty cold and it was so wet. The hot food really helped a lot. I feel really good. The rain is still monsoon-like. John just went to the privy armed with only Jane’s little umbrella. When you gotta go, you gotta go. Later in the evening, a couple of assistant scoutmasters and brother showed up sans Scouts. They were drenched. They used the shelter while we slept in our tents. Much better sleep as I took two of John’s Flexerall and the ground wasn’t rocky. The tent leaked a little bit but considering the amount of rain that battered it, we were pretty happy with it. Jane’s tent leaked too and in the middle of the night she had to borrow socks from John to warm up her cold feet. I think she is looking forward to being done.