Total trail mileage: 151.0
Starting location: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter
Ending location: Brown Fork Gap Shelter
Weather: drizzling on and off in the morning, snow in the early
afternoon which turned to rain and then mixed rain and snow. Total
new accumulation was 0-6" depending on elevation.
I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=35.268126,+-83.572237
Well, it turns out I didn't have the shelter to myself last night.
Four guys on spring break showed up at 11:30. I was already sleeping
and didn't know what was happening when I saw their flashlights.
Today was a long day. The 3000 ft climb wasn't as bad as I feared.
It was graded pretty well, and I stopped at the restaurant at the
Nantahala Outdoor Center to fill up my gas tank (coffee, breakfast
burrito, and full stack of pancakes) before beginning the ascent.
Today's challenge (other than the total distance) was the blowdowns,
blowdowns, and more blowdowns. There were so many trees down; it was
ridiculous. Some were rather large trees (about 3 ft diameter),
others had tons of branches. It was actually kind of fun and became a
series of challenges like climbing problems. I had to go over, under,
around, between, crawl through, push through, etc to get beyond the
blowdowns. I equally used my feet, trekking poles, and hands. They
really slowed me up though.
But, I did manage to make it to Brown Fork Gap Shelter just before
dark. I am here with Tuggy and his dog Patches.
I was realizing that it hasn't been sunny since I entered North
Carolina. I had yet another day of precipitation (snow and rain), and
was soaked by the time I got to the shelter. Good thing I am headed
to town tomorrow so I can get everything dried. And, yes another bald
and another view of a white cloud.
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