Day 6

Sept 2 Hot Springs, NC to Spring Mountain Shelter 11 miles Weather: beautiful Taking a break from the trail was definitely a good idea. I spent the first few days discovering the beautiful city of Charlotte, NC. I need to bring someone along who knows the city next time. I then drove down to Atlanta to spend the holiday with the Gaspers. I spent the next three days doing nothing but eating, watching football, and relaxing by the pool. Thanks Paul and Dixie for having all of us. After a scenic drive up to Hot Springs Monday, I got a cheap hotel and watched the Vols suck against UCLA. This morning, I strolled the town and picked up my food package from the post office. For some reason, I decided to keep all of my food from the previous week. Now I had 20L of gear, 40L of food and only a 40L pack. After gritting my teeth to pick up the pack, I realized that I was about 20lbs heavier than I wanted to be. I couldn't just throw the food away, so I figured I would just gorge myself over the next week. Once I got started, everything seemed pretty wonderful. I stopped to get a picture as I crossed the French Broad River. Little did I know that the huge mountain in the side of the shot was the one id be climbing up. My legs were having a rough time under the extra weight. About a third of the way, I stopped by a strangely isolated pond. Hours slipped away as I relaxed in the sun. At this point I needed to fill up on water, but if didn't dare touch the stagnant pond. My map and guide book listed about 5 springs before my shelter, so I wasn't worried. Another mile up, I was greeted to a beautiful meadow at Plum Gap. I sit to enjoy the amazing view with a tart apple from a nearby tree. By the bottom of Rich Mtn, I crossed 3 springs that were dried up and only had a few ounces of water. The hike up to the top was very tiring without water to be able to eat my energy bars with. At the top, I dropped my pack and climbed the fire tower. The 360 degree views were breath-taking. I could see mountains all the way to Camerer in the Smokies. At this point I was thirsty as I passed another spring. I was determined that the next would have water, and sure enough, there was a puddle. I had no clue if my shelter two miles up from here would have water so I completely topped off. This made the final climb all the much worse as my pack dug into my shoulders. An entry in the log book two days ago says there is water at my shelter for the next two nights. It's such a relief knowing this ahead of time. I'm oFf to sleep now. Hopefully the colony of mice don't eat through everything I own tonight. High: knowing I can carry a weeks worth of provisions for two people Low: not having anyone to share it with