Day 11 - Carter Gap Shelter to Wallace Gap

Tim and Donna deliver trail magic

We left Carter Gap around 8:15 and said goodbye to the Tates. [P.S. – I never even wrote about how Tim and Donna became our first trail angels. When we were at Carter Gap, all of a sudden they came walking up the path to the shelter – carrying their packs as well as packages of hot dogs, chili, onions, and potato chips. Luckily, we hadn’t eaten yet (though I’m sure we would have again). It had taken them a while to track us down, including stops at the Blueberry Patch and other shelters, where they showed our pictures to people to help find us. Quite a lot of effort they put into their investigation!]

We had an easy walk for a few miles before coming to Albert Mountain. This was well-documented in the handbook as a “near vertical scramble over rocks,” so I was a bit nervous. It was hard, but not impossible – though it left hikers sweating and out of breath at the top. Good place to relax for a while.

Dave and I climbed the fire tower for a decent (though a little hazy) view. When I look at the mountains all around us, I have no idea where we’ve come from or where we’re going. I’m content just following the white blazes. 


Headed down off the mountain, and lo and behold there were Tim and Donna. They had driven to near the top of the mountain to see us. Tim was carrying a cooler of ice cold water. We hung out for a while, and they said they’d meet us at Rainbow Springs. So we started walking again.

After a few miles, I was in the lead. Charlie had already gone ahead to the campground to make a few phone calls to England. A woman and man were coming the other way, and we exchanged hellos. Then she said, “Are you Kerri?” I said yes right away, not processing how random and bizarre the whole situation was. She said she was Kathy, and with her was her husband Oak! They had taken a day hike, hoping they’d bump into us based on the info I’d left on their answering machine.

We all sat on a log and waited for Murph and Dave. They gave me an orange, as they’d been offering to all the other hikers they’d seen. It was really good to see them and to know the effort they put into finding me (us). Kathy said they planned to take Dave and me home for the night. We went to the car, where they had a cooler full of soda and candy bars!

They also invited Murph and Charlie. We all piled in the Ford Explorer and away we went. A deer ran across the road just in front of us – ironically, our first major wildlife sighting. Finally got to their house on the side of a mountain. 

What a house! Beautiful location, beautifully decorated. Dave and I had a room on the first floor with a real bed. Dinner was served out on the back deck – London broil, salad, bean salad, mashed potatoes, rolls. Then Kathy took us to SuperWalmart to resupply.

Kerri, Oak, Kathy, Charlie, and Dave

She was so good about knowing what we would need and when -- since she’s been through all this before. She even showed us one of her AT photo albums. Bought a half-gallon of Brown Cow ice cream for the four of us to share. Had trouble falling asleep, but when I did, it was a good night. Anyway, we decided to go out to breakfast so we could try grits. Kathy took us to the Cullowhee Café, the local greasy spoon, for hot cakes, eggs and grits (sort of like bland oatmeal). Then it was back to Wallace Gap.