Dates ........ Tuesday, May 7, 2002
Miles ........ 14.7 miles Climb 2850 feet, total
From ........ Russell Field Shelter 4360'
To ............. Silers Bald Shelter 5460' elevation.
Weather ... In the clouds AM, wet, low 50's,- PM was sunny, warm, hazy

Tuesday, May 7, 2002

Rockytop 5441', Thunderhead east peak 5527'

There were no big climbs today, the trail meandering between a low of 4328' at McCampbell Gap and a high of 5527 feet on Thunderhead Mt., but it was a constant series of ups and downs. Lots of nagging little knobs and knolls to go over. There was no nice level trail where a hiker could get into his stride. There is a very noticeable difference between here and New Hampshire. In NH, at these altitudes, you would be constantly above treeline with barren rocky ridges, gaps and summits, save for some high-altitude plant life and grasses. Here, the forest thrives, even up to 6600 feet elevation due to the differences in climate and all sorts of wildflowers thrive. There are a few "balds", where there are meadows and grassy areas instead of trees, but balds do not seem to have a defined elevation limit as the NH Mountains do and balds tend to grow over with brush and, eventually trees, if intervention such as mowing, grazing or burning does not take place. Therein lies some of the marvelous diversity of the magnificent Appalachian Trail.

I was up real early this morning, ate breakfast, packed and was hiking before 8 AM. It was to be a challenging day for sure. Caribou Frank and Pete headed out even earlier than I did. Spence field was interesting - what I could se of it. It was a grassy meadow, swirling in the clouds and mist - surreal and very pretty.

Rockytop and Thunderhead (5527') were another matter. My spirits were soaring and I was downright spunky. Had I been with someone I'd have danced. At the summits, I gave a big WHOOP of celebration - here I am!!!! I was not dismayed by the lack of a view but heartened just to be there. I was hiking strong, though a little stiff, achy, and still not fully recovered from yesterday's marathon exertion. Make no mistake about it, yesterday's climb was an accomplishment, the overcoming of a real challenge, one of the most significant challenges any hiker will face on the AT - anywhere.

Today was another first. Hubby - not his real or trail name - actually blocked the trail while his wife sat on a log going potty about 100 feet off the trail. That was truly a first - he asked me to turn around and not even look in that direction. I thought the guy had lost his marbles. Medium altitude sickness, maybe! Absolutely no doubt I would have stopped to briefly chat with him, find out who he was and where he was from, them moved along having ABSOLUTELY no interest - and probably no knowledge, of his wife relieving herself in the bushes. Gadszooks! Does he stand guard at the restroom door when his wife is out in public? Probably.

I discovered a major error in hike preparation today. Don't know how I done it, but I did. I left my mixed nuts out of my resupply package. That accounted for a significant portion of my evening meals and daily calories. Damn, I thought I was better than that! Shows to go ya, you can't be careful enough in preparation. So now I was a significant portion of my trail food short - for the second time this hike. Damn, I gotta do better than that!

Just after making the summits, I found a funny little hat lying along the trail. I recognized it and knew it belonged to Caribou Frank. I picked it up and tucked it in my belt, hoping to catch up and deliver it to him. I took a brief break at Derrrick Knob Shelter and pushed on. Early in the afternoon I went flat - just like the tire on a car. I was sapped of energy. It was a struggle to go on. I think yesterday was catching up to me - I had hit the proverbial "wall". I kept going, but it was a struggle. But I soon met a hiker with far worse problems. His knee(s) hurt him so badly that the only way he could make progress downhill was backwards. I had genuine sympathy for him - he had to make it downhill all the way to Fontana Dam to get help and/or off the trail - about 16 miles of slow, painful hiking. Been there - done that, years ago on a mountain in Utah - no fun. No fun at all. There was nothing I could do for the poor chap - he was on Ibuprofen and had his knee wrapped, so short of being a litter bearer or chopper pilot, there was no way I could assist him. But, he had my sympathy. I hoped he got off the trail before serious damage was done. Made me think of Brett. Brett did the right thing by bailing out when he did (when he could.)

At 5460 Silers Bald shelter (not to be confused with Siler Bald. They are separate and different places along the AT in NC) was one of the highest shelters on the AT. But, when there, you would have no idea of its high altitude. I got there just about the same time Caribou Frank did. Both Frank and I intended to go further, to put ourselves at the base of the climb for Clingmans Dome - the next shelter, Double Spring Gap. But I was not about to push it - I had reached my limits. I was pooped and going any further was not a sensible thing to do. The heat and humidity were getting to me. Remember my basic tenet for backpacking the AT - It must be fun. Here I wanted to be - resting. That was my fun for the day. Frank agreed and decided to stay at Silers Shelter also.

He was so glad to get his hat back that he gave me a dehydrated dinner and an MRE (military Meal Ready to Eat) of spaghetti and meatballs - which he wanted to ditch and lighten his pack anyway. They were delicious. I'd never carry the MRE's - they are far too heavy because they are ready to eat and contain water, making them very heavy in respect to the calories they provide. They are tasty, though and far better than nothing, which was about what I had for my evening meals at this juncture.

At Silers Bald Shelter that night we had Pablo, novice hikers Rick and son Ryan, Frank and I. We shared the shelter area with lots of semi-tame deer and a fearless rat.

Caribou Frank hangs his food sacks from the cables at Silers Bald Shelter.

 

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