Craig

All, It started so beautifully...Wednesday was glorious, warm and clear. We made 14 miles to a little beyond Poplar Stomp Gap. Had a nice fire and crawled eagerly into bed at 8:00. On Thursday, the weather turned ugly and cold. Not a lot of rain, but blowing mist and low clouds made for a long, damp walk. We got to Tray Mtn. Gap where the Boy Scouts were to cook burgers and spaghetti for hikers. But they were locked behind a forest service gate and were unable to cook when we passed thru. Bummer! I could almost taste the burgers, but decided not to wait for the ranger and pressed on over Tray Mtn. It got colder and windier but we decided to press on past Tray Mtn. Shelter to Sassafras Gap; we made 16.4 miles on Thursday. We quickly threw up the tent and climbed in. I cooked inside the tent because it was just too nasty and cold outside, then sacked out. This morning is still cloudy and drizzly, and we are sitting in the Deep Gap shelter having a snack. The weather is calling for steady rain today thru tomorrow. We are going to Plum Orchard Gap shelter tonight (Friday), so it will be a relatively short day...about 10.5 miles.

Franklin, NC Well, it's been an interesting and exhausting journey, but awesome! We made it to Plumorchard Shelter after a brutal climb and it was still raining....hard. We were in the "penthouse suite" of the shelter with our friends Hermes, Stephen, Twine Man, Muffin Paste, Tortoise and Ryan (no trail name yet). All of these guys were thru hiking and at least 20 to 30 years younger than us. But we have maintained a bond with them as we are hiking at about the same pace, more or less. That night, we found out that Tortoise was the heavy snorer. He must have scared off the shelter mice. We did 10.4 miles Friday. Saturday morning we hit the trail by 9:00 am, and it was still raining. We made it to Muskrat Shelter and saw a sign that said "Trail Magic: Food and Drinks at Deep Gap, 4 miles." This really cheered us up, so we took off at a good pace with hotdogs and cold drinks in mind. It was reallly raw and cold when we arrived, but the promised food was a great joy to behold. After eating, we headed on up the trail to Standing Indian Shelter. We crawled in to our bags just to stay warm from the constant dampness and fog. We were with Ryan, Twine Man and Muffin Paste. At around 10:00 pm, the weather finally broke, promising a nice day on Sunday....finally. We did 12.7 miles. Sunday morning was beautiful and warm. We hiked along a fabulous trail to Standing Indian Mountain with awesome views all around. We stopped for lunch at Carter Gap Shelter after walking 7.7 miles. we had a hot lunch and relaxed for a few minutes. We proceeded on to Albert Mountain. Going up Albert Mountain redefines the term "strenuous." We got close to the steep portion and remarked to each other, "this is nothing." Then we rounded the bend and saw The Wall...a vertical climb of 500 feet in .3 miles.We were about spent when we hit the top, but the view from the fire tower was incredible. We continued on to Glassmine Gap where we bedded down for the night. We were joined by Hermes, the Fleet Footed One, around 7:30. We came 17.4 miles today. This morning, we got on the trail at 8:00 am. It was still settled clouds and cool, and we only had to make 6.3 miles to our shuttle to Franklin, NC. It was a nice hike, and we met up with several of our friends at the Budget Inn in Franklin. We got a shower and washed our clothes and are just relaxing now. More later..... Craig and Lisa

We thoroughly enjoyed our layover in Franklin, NC. We enjoyed a steak dinner with ALL the trimmings on Monday evening. After dinner, all we had energy to do was hit the bed. Thursday morning we took the 11:00 am shuttle back to Winding Stair Gap to resume our trip. The weather has cooperated since Sunday, and the views have not disappointed. The first miles were great; we had lunch atop Silas Bald in a grassy meadow. The next five miles were grueling, and the climbing seemed endless. We finally reached Wayah Bald at 5342 feet and took in a 360 degree view from the fire tower. We could see the Smokies, Rabun Bald in Georgia, and Joyce Kilmer in the distance.

We reached Wayah Bald shelter in the afternoon and made merry with about 10 other folks. We walked 11 miles today. We have folks moving along with us from all over and at all ages. Most are young and are at a transition in their college or career lives; some are older than us and are just looking for a new challenge. All of them have been fun and very friendly. We have made some great friends that we plan to keep track of as they move north toward Katahdin.

This morning we awoke to lovely sunrise. We left the shelter around 8:30. We passed Cold Spring Shelter having done a relatively easy walk. We descended into Tellico Gap only to climb right back up and over Wesser Bald, elev. 4627 ft. We reached the shelter early this afternoon with the intent to chill after walking 11.1 miles. Tomorrow: Cheeseburgers at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, then the brutal climb up "The Jump-Up."

We left Wesser Bald Shelter Thursday morning at 8:35 a.m. and "roller-coastered" over peaks and drops until we reached "The Jump Off" (a very steep descent into the Nantahala Outdoor Center). The drop was over 3,.000 feet in 3.7 miles, but the sheer drops afforded some fantastic views. When we finally got to the NOC, we relaxed and had a most delicious Wesser burger. Yum!

After digesting the beef, it was time to tackle "The Jump Up" ( a very steep ascent back up to the ridge). We could see the Smokies off to the distance to the north. Four hours after leaving the NOC we reached the Sassafras Gap shelter. Here we reunited with some of our new friends that we had hiked with for the past few days. We also met new friends here, Cheeseburger and Bobcat. Today we hiked 12.6 miles.

We awoke Friday morning at 6:45 a.m. to try to get a jump on supposedly a rainy day. Finally hit the trail at 7:49 a.m. It was cloudy, dark and windy. After about a two hour walk, it started to rain, so we stopped and put on our rain gear. Within thirty minutes, the rain had stopped and the sun was back out. We reached Stecoah Gap and found "Trail Magic". Trail Magic is when a group of hikers or just good people set up tables with hot dogs grilling, chips, cookies, and drinks. This is all for hikers, free of charge. What a wonderful sight to behold! Never had we tasted better hot dogs!

From Stecoah Gap there was a steady 3 mile climb. Water was running low, so Craig stopped to replenish our supply. I pressed on and a couple of miles later, we reunited. This part of the trail was a constant up and down. Cable Gap Shelter was finally in sight after 15.2 miles. We were ready to stop for the day. It never did rain until after we had set up the tent and began dinner preparations. There was lightning and thunder for about a hour then just off and on rain for the remainder of the evening. This was probably our best night sleep of the trip.

On Saturday we only had 6.6 miles to hike, so we woke around 7:00 a.m. and packed up then enjoyed scrumptious blueberry pancakes with syrup. There was a brief bit of rain and thunder, but once we hit the trail the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. We arrived at Fontana Dam Visitor Center at 12:00 p.m. We only had to wait about 20 minutes for our ride to the Hike Inn where we spent the night.

We arrived back home in Newnan on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. It was a wonderful trip. We look forward to next year's trip of the Smokies and beyond.

Craig and Lisa