Hot Springs to Hogback Ridge Shelter

I left Hot Springs on a bright, beautiful, and believe it or not HOT sunny day. I didn't get out till 11:30 but I was only going 5 miles to the meadow above Hot Springs. I had camped there before and it is a great spot.

I reached the meadow area around 2:00, threw down my pad , and broke out my book. I spent the afternoon reading the first Harry Potter book again .. Story behind this which I will relate in another post (I have read them all already). The sun was hot and I was loving life!

The next morning I moved on and it was still a good weather day...amazing! Two in a row... Hard to wrap my mind around. I made it to Little Laurel Shelter around 4:00, pitched my tent and settled down. There is supposed to be some rain tomorrow so I was going to play it by ear on my mileage for the day.

The day dawned and it was a mixed bag. No rain yet but you could tell it was going to. I headedout and realized I was going to the NC ridgeline walk today. A few years back they re-routed the trail so it would take you up the mountain and you would walk on an exposed ridgeline for awhile. Very pretty walk unless you were on it today.

It was cloudy and very windy up there and all I wanted to do was get off the ridge which I did though in my haste I came very close to a major face plant ... Rock meet face, face meet rock .. I did avoid it but my hands took the brunt of the impact. After landing I rolled over onto my back and played the turtle game while trying to get back on my feet.

Around noon I reached Jerry Cabin Shelter and it had begun to sprinkle a bit. Jerry Cabin has a fireplce in it and I decided I didn't really want to hike in the rain so I gathered enough wood to last the day. The fire was started around 3:00 and around 4:00 Branch and Appleseed came by. They were going to go on but the fire was too irresistable so they came in for the night.

Around 5:00 Cyg rolled in. She had said she was going to catch up and by me doing a short day just made it that much quicker. She had done a 16 mile day to get here. A couple of hours later Shlep came in and I had to tease her about how heavy her pack was. She was carrying a LOT of food.

It rained during the night but by morning it had just become overcast. Overcast but cold. Everyone had headed out except for Cyg, Shlep, and I. Over the last little while I have realized that Cyg is not an early morning person so I just wait before she is packed before discussing the day. Today was going to be either an 8 or a 15 mile day depending on how we felt.

Cyg and I took off. Shlep was taking her time and she looked like she was determined to put a dent in her food bag before she even thought about leaving. We figured we may not she her anymore this day. Off we went, into the cold and into the snow as we climbed Big Butt Mtn. Because of all the snow the trail was a bit difficult to find in places but we made our way to Flint Mtn. Shelter where we stopped for lunch.

From there it was just another afternoon of hiking. Cyg usually leads and her hiking pace fits my style so we just chat away while we hike or just let our own thoughts take us wherever they want. We ended the day at Hogback Ridge Shelter and once again we were in the snow and it was cold. We did cram 9 people into a 6 person shelter so body heat kept things cozy.

One of the people we ran into today was Tatoo Joe. He is using the AT as a "warm up" for his Pacific Crest Trail hike. He and Scott Williamson have the record for fastest thru hike of the PCT and they are planning to try and beat it again this year. Very funny guy and I realized that I would never,ever be an ultra light backpacker. I enjoy the creature comforts I carry!

Tomorrow will be a first for both Cyg and I this year. We are looking at a 20.7 mile day. Again, it will all depend on knees and conditions. If we make it we set ourselves up for a short jaunt into Erwin the following day.