Winding Stair Gap to Nantahala Outdoors Center 3/2/09-3/4/09

Pictures: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2104530870104728652IIKBZQ

3/2/2009 4:03 PM – Siler Bald Shelter – 3.7 mi today – 111.4 mi total

Really cold! Temperature is somewhere in high 20s now. Supposed to drop to 12 degrees overnight in town. Should be even colder in the mountains where we are. Got up at 8 this morning. Showered and got packed up. Had breakfast at Wilson’s Restaurant. Little old lady server was funny. Went to Ingles for small resupply. Went back to motel and had a bagel for lunch. Went to post office and sent home about 1 lb of clothes. After I caught the shuttle to the trail. I walked about 4 miles to the shelter. Got here around 2. Ate beef Lo Mein for dinner and got into sleeping bag. Hoping to survive the night. Too cold to write anymore. It is gonna be a long night.

3/3/2009 6:35 PM – Wesser Bald Shelter – 17.9 mi today – 129.3 total

Wow it was cold last night. After an hour of lying in my sleeping bag with all of my clothes on and double thick socks my toes finally warmed up. It was weird being in bed so early. Meet a guy named Kabar who was supposedly in a 0 degree bag and still cold. That being said it was a Coleman bag that was likely bought at Wal-Mart. Not to be a gear snob, but there is no way a Coleman 0 degree bag is going to keep anyone warm at a temp below 20 F. I managed to fall asleep sometime around 5:30. Mike didn’t and said that the conversation turned to a description of the Senate and the House of Representatives for Kabar among other things. Glad I am a heavy sleeper. I managed to sleep through most of the night. I probably woke up around 5. Being in the torture tube for so long, I had to pee really bad. At the first sign of light, Mike and I got up and made breakfast to go. The temperature was around 10 F when the sun rose at 7 am. Who knows what it was overnight. We hit the trail at 7:15 and it took a while to get fully warmed up. We saw our first bald from a distance, Siler Bald. After about an hour we hit Wyah Gap and got some funny looks from passing cars. From there it was a long uphill to the top of Wyah Bald. There was an old stone observation pallet that offered us good views all around. We could see Mt. Albert to the south and Clingmans Dome to the North (highest pt on AT). It was nice to have such a clear view after 3 days in the fog. We had lunch at the Wyah shelter and by the time we left it was still before noon. We decided to shoot for Wesser Bald Shelter and make it a long day. Powered through the next section, mainly flat until 1 pm when we encountered our first trail angel (people providing free services to AT hikers). His name was apple and offered hot chocolate and reese’s PB cups. He also had a massive orange tent which he allowed thru hikers to stay in over night. Mike and I were his second and third customers of the year. Last year he helped 333 hikers. He was a really nice guy and the food/drink was very much appreciated. It really helped us get up the next hill. When we passed Cold Spring Shelter at 2 o’clock we still had 5.8 miles to go. It was tough to leave the shelter behind, knowing we could easily stay there after a respectable 12 miles. Hard work pays off. The down hill to Tellico Gap wiped out any inkling of getting to the NOC today (24 miles) as the pounding really started to ache my knees. Climbing out of Tellico Gap we summitted Wesser bald and were treated to an even better view than earlier in the day. We got our first look at Fontana Lake, the gateway to the Smokeys. We should reach there by Friday. Manzanita, another thru hiker, was already cooking his dinner at the shelter when we arrived at 4:45. I made chedder brocolli rice which was Okay. It was nice chatting with Manzanita. He is a triple crowner, so he has a lot of backpacking experience (hiked all off AT, PCT, CDT). As we were getting into the sleeping bags a stray dog came up to the shelter. Mike tried to get it to come inside but it didn’t trust us. I wonder if we will see it in the morning. Not as cold tonight, but still chilly. Tomorrow will be a short day to the NOC.

3/4/2009 12:30 PM – Nantahala Outdoors Center – 5.7 mi today – 135.0 mi total

Mike and I decided that today was going to be an easy day and we wouldn’t get up too early. 6:50 am rolled around and we were up making breakfast before the sun rose. It is tough to break the early rise habit. As soon as it gets light out you feel the need to hit the trail asap. I didn’t pump enough water last night, so I had to get some more from the spring. That adds an extra quarter mile to my day. Temp 25 after sunrise. It was pretty chilly, but compared to yesterday morning it felt tropical. Hit the trail at 8. No sign of the dog from last night, hope he found his way home. Most of today’s miles were downhill. We descended greater than 2500 ft over the 6 miles. It was really tough on the knees. Vitamin I helped to dull the pain. We got to NOC just before 11 am. I bought body glide, another pair of liner socks and a small Platypus to use as a fuel bottle. We also got laundry soap and quarters. Checked into the hostel and dropped the stuff in the room. 2 bunk beds and a wooden floor, simple but effective. Hit the shower and it felt great. Now we are just waiting for the laundry to finish before we get a bite to eat. Hope that some of our friends catch up today. Making sure I take full advantage of the rest as we hope to hit Fontana Dam by Friday afternoon. Need to get there to pick up the mail drop. Feels weird to not be hiking in the afternoon. Looking forward to real food at the restaurant.