May 7 mile 313
Went to bed last night the latest yet-Bout 10PM - in the dark. We have these head light elastic straps we wear at night. They have two levels of white light and one level of red light - red is the best as it doesn't blind everyone else in camp. You can read with it too. We were slow to get up this morning, but were off by 8:20. And all my parts were working ok!
Ever since we started in late March we have been plagued with gnats-except on the coldest or rainest days. And they are not the tiny pesky south Ga gnats that just go for your eyes and face. These are their muscular mountain cousins- much larger and aggressive . And they bite! Today for the first time, as we stopped for lunch at an old cemetery spot there were no gnats! Fantastic! Perhaps a good omen.
Also today by the trail we passed by the Shelton brothers graves. The were two Civil War soldiers from this area of TN who fought for the Union. This area of TN was very divided in their loyalties during the war. They were coming home on leave to visit their family when they were ambushed and killed by confederate soldiers. A very sad story.
On a happier note, one of the nicest things to hike through, particularly on warm or hot days are these deep rhodadendrum or mountain laurel thickets- I'm still not sure which plant is which. They are at all elevations and are dense and have the most refreshing air. To me it's the real NC mountain feel- even though most of the time I'm probably in TN!
After lunch and a rest we had a long climb up. Again a warm day but the forest floor was covered in newly green plants and flowers. Climbed over Butt Mtn, which is well named for the very large split rock at the top that looks like, well, a butt. There was an old farm here and what a beautiful spot in the high mountains they had. How terrific it must have been to live here all those years ago. Lots of old farm roads. can still be seen in these woods. I thought about all the families that farmed, married, had children, and died in these mountains one generation after another - and here we were just walking through all their memories . The trail in this part comes up against private property- so you hike right by the fence that keeps us off private land - can't really blame them.
Planned to hike only 12 miles today, but that didn't work out again ! Had to hike 15 miles to get to a shelter with water. Back in Ga it seemed there were many great camping spots by streams readily available . Not here. You can find nice camping spots but there is no water- no water, no stay.
I was really pooped when I finally staggered into the shelter around 7 PM . I asked Cisco to go ahead, as he is much faster than me and secure us a tent site as these shelter areas can fill up fast. Still having fantastic weather.