Day 3 - Hawk Mountain Shelter to Gooch Gap Shelter

It was a long day, but a good day. Although when Dave woke me up at 6:50 a.m., I have to admit my first thought was, “Oh, no, we have to go hiking again.”

I collected my wet clothes for the second day in a row, managed to get dressed in the tent, and got ready to head out. It was cold at the start – definitely jacket weather. But after the first ascent, I felt like I was suffocating. It’s amazing to me how much longer miles seem out here than in the “other world.”

We did a little over eight miles today, and I could have sworn after four that we were done. It was a lot of ups and a lot of downs. But all of it was doable. Dave has been very good about keeping pace with me. We’re faster than many others in our group, but not all. Saw some nice views, some flowers starting to bloom, a salamander.

Finally made it to the shelter, only to find it was nearly full with no tent sites – shelter was on the side of the mountain. So we walked on a bit and found a great campground with a nice grassy area and two fire pits. Most of the gang ended up down here. Hung out by the fire tonight. The plan for tomorrow is 10 miles – and it’s supposed to rain again. How badly will I need that shower Monday in Neels Gap??

Izzy and Nate

Dave, Matt, and Nate

Tim, Orion, and Dave

P.S. – We had a good night at our camping area. Everyone is getting to know one another and having fun hanging out. We seem to be a group now but don’t know how long that will last – as people have different hiking paces. The group now is Gail “Chinook” from Alberta, Canada; Charlie, from Bristol, England; Dennis, from Ohio, using the Golite system; Izzy from New Hampshire; Murph, from Vermont (originally from Hingham); Matt (young guy) and Nate (older guy) “Dream Walker” from Michigan; Ryan and Chris “Orion” from Florida, two guys just out of college; and Dick from Maine, whose brother had to leave the trail today because he wasn’t feeling well. We lost Tim and Donna, who were only out for a few days, but were a big part of this group. Tim may be back to do the rest of the trail someday. I hope he keeps in touch if he does.

Day 2 - Springer Mountain Shelter to Hawk Mountain Shelter

Well, we cooked two Lipton meals and boy did they make a good dinner last night. It was so nice to take off my soaking wet clothes and put on my long underwear, fleece, dry socks, and hat.

At 7 p.m., three boys came running up to the shelter and asked if there was any room. We said yes and started moving everything to the loft. Right around that time, the sun seemed to be poking through the clouds. So we walked back up to the top of Springer. These huge, amazing clouds were moving in different directions – one was headed straight for us and moving fast. Within moments it had enveloped us, and the light was gone. 

Back at the shelter, it turned out that no one came to join us. But we slept in the loft anyway. I read for a few minutes before turning out the light. Wore my hat but not the balaclava. Was pretty comfortable all night.

Woke up at 8 to a beautiful day – no coat, although someone said rain was predicted. Went back to the top of Springer again. Now I understand why the plaque is there. There is actually a beautiful view – it just has to be clear to see it.

View from the top of Springer Mountain

Continued on to Stover Creek Shelter, took a break, then proceeded to the next one for a total of 7.6 miles. It took longer than expected but wasn’t a particularly difficult hike. The trail seems to wind around mountains rather than going up and over. I’ll take it while it lasts.

Stopped for lunch (peanut butter and cheese on pocket bread) near a waterfall. When we made it to the shelter, it was well-populated with hikers – some who had started from the top of Springer. There’s also a private school group and a boy scout troop around. Everybody sort of does their own thing setting up their tent and cooking food. It was only 3, but we were done for the day and so were a lot of others.

Purified more water, ate some Ramen, and hung out. There are a number of us who seem to be hiking at the same pace – Charlie and Gail, two guys whose names I don’t know, Izzy. They all seem nice, but no one matches our demographic. I know there are lots more hikers to meet. It’s raining again but at least the tent was already set up before it started. Time for bed.