April 7-8 in North Carolina

April 7, 2005 | Day 11 | Miles: 12 | Total Miles: 114.8
End: Wine Spring, unofficial campsite, Tent
Danielle:
Overcast, in the clouds, rain on and off
Well, we got rained on last night but by the time we got up it had let up, so we packed up and headed out. Down at Winding Stair Gap (everywhere down here is a gap. There is even a Swinging Lick Gap--I mean, where did they come up with that?) there was a group offering rides to town, which we declined but we did share a soda and chat for a bit. We've met so many nice people down here, it's been really great. Just the fact that people are out, giving out food and goodwill to all of us smelly hikers is really amazing. We can't wait to do some trail magic ourselves up in NH next year and give back a bit! Then more trail magic after lunch at another road crossing. This group was out for a few days feeding and meeting hikers. We thoroughly enjoyed the junk food and water we didn't have to filter ourselves! Wow, did we luck out today :-) Then on another 2.5m to our tentsite in the woods. We've basically been in the tent since 4pm, as it's been raining on and off. We're up at 5290ft. so we're in the clouds right now. Hopefully it will clear out for tommorow! We went over our first bald this afternoon, but of course it was all fogged in. We hit another one tomorrow so maybe we'll get to enjoy it in the sun. We've been looking forward to seeing the balds, they sound so interesting and different from the terrain at home.
Topic to ponder: Smoking and the trail. Now you would figure us hikers, we're pretty healthy, active folks, right? So why is it that so many people out here smoke? Yes, I want to suck wind even more than I already do out here! Ha! It's very odd. Spry, Navigator, The Good Doctor, three of the guys we met in the shelter last night-Coyote, Walrus, Elf, even our friend Ghost. Strange phenomenon, at least from my point of view. We'll stick to huffing and puffing from our own exersion :-) But hey, as they say out here, HYOH (Hike Your Own Hike) :-)

Ryan:
overcast, rainy
our stretch of good weather ended last night. it poured. off and on rain today, but not a total wash out. before we knew it we had gone about 10 miles, and were enjoying a little trail magic. mmmm...junk food. i hope that we have trail magic everyday, but i'm not counting on it. i think we're starting to get into hiking shape, so hopefuly the miles will start coming easier. the other night navigator, he's from orono, named our poop shovel "little john," complete with artwork. now, you don't actually shovel poop with the poop shovel, but it's essential for a good "wilderness poo." basically, when you have to poop you have 2 options: the privy or wilderness poo. the privy is a luxury, but they're only available at certain shelters. a privy is basically an outhouse, but can vary greatly in design. for instance, the privy at rock gap shelter has no door. they call that "open air." the wilderness poo is why we have little john. basically, you dig a hole and poop in it. but, it's really more of an art then that. first, you have to find a good spot, somewhere you won't be disturbed. i prefer to poo with a view, if i can. then you dig your hole. 6 inches deep recommended, but go deeper if you've had trail magic burritos...trust me. next find a sturdy stick, i call it a stirring stick. next, i stick little john in the ground within arms reach and use him to hold the tp. then, you do your business...watch your aim. use tp, and set to the side. now, grab your stirring stick and cover your poo with about half the dirt from the hole. and, stir. next, place use tp on top of hole and burn. (some leave no trace purists carry out their used tp, but who wants 6 days' worth of dirty tp in their pack? yuk.) be careful not to burn down the forest, and use the stirring stick to mush the tp remains into the hole. cover the hole with the rest of the dirt, and you're on your way. it takes practice, but wilderness poo can be quite enjoyable. oh yeah, don't forget the hand sanitizer...who knows who else used that stirring stick?

April 8, 2005 | Day 12 | Miles: 13.4 | Total Miles: 128.2
End: Wesser Bald Shelter
Danielle:
A little bit of everything-sun, rain, clouds. Mostly just overcast
I was feeling tired out today, but despite that, we managed to do our 13.4m in 6 hours. Not too bad. Still, I am looking forward to our short day tomorrow into NOC, and then a zero day! Yeah!
We managed to hike all day without seeing anyone except three guys out for a section hike, as we were the first ones out of "camp" this mornng. There were 7 other people camped near us last night.
Not much else to report, although we did have a great view from atop the firetower on Wesser Bald. Very cool.
Wildlife notes: We have yet to see anything big in the woods, although a few nights ago we did hear coyotes howling. Pretty amazing. Today we saw a bunny, as well as some fox, coyote and deer tracks in the mud. We have seen and heard lots of birds out here. We've seen robins, lots of junkos, nuthatches, woodpeckers, vireos (tiny little ones calling "here I am, where are you?"), even an oriole (very cool! Calling "tweet" long and singular and rooting around in the leaves for its meal) and we've heard lots of bared owls, a phoebe, grouse and likely many others we can't identify but which are fun to hear as they flit among the trees.

Ryan:
mostly cloudy, few showers, few sunny breaks
i think it's wise to camp at 5290ft. on the side of a bald in a thunderstorm. actually, it wasn't that bad, and we survived another soggy night. our tent has held up really well, and we're getting pretty good about being anal to keep our stuff dry. it makes a big difference. danielle finally showed signs of being human today. she's tired. but, she really toughed out the last couple miles. needless to say we're both looking forward to a short day tomorrow, a shower, a bed and real food. people told us that we would be hungry out here, and it's true. you just can't carry enough food. i'm pretty sure i'm going to be hungry the rest of the way. basically, i eat breakfast, and i'm ready for a snack by 9:30. we usually don't get to it until after 10:30. then i'm ready for lunch by just after 11. ready for another snack by the time we finish lunch, then i convince danielle that we should eat dinner at 4. tonight was sweet, we're going into town tomorrow, and we had an extra dinner...so, we ate them both.