Author: jpkastner

Day 12: Hello North Carolina!

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Starting Point: Plum Orchard Gap Shelter (73.9)
Ending Point: Muskrat Creek Shelter (81.2)
Total Miles: 7.3 miles.
Steps: 22,623
Achievements: Georgia Completed! As Knob, Sharp Top

I woke up feeling pretty good and was looking forward to the day.  We had multiple climbs at the start and they slowly took their toll.
We reached the Georgia / North Carolina border 

Left to right: The Sweeper, Me (Fine Young Buck), Dunkeroo, Blaze.


Entering North Carolina, the climb up Sharp Top depleted all my energy.  It was a rock scramble to the top.
We reached Muskrat and we all agreed this was far enough.  
Blaze and I discussed our lack of milage.  He’s been calculating the grade.  Today, the average grade was 13%.  Tomorrow’s grade is 8%.  We’re aiming for 12 miles.  It is going to be extremely cold. 

Day 11: Spring in the Step

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Starting Point: Deep Gap Shelter (65.8)
Ending Point: Plum Orchard Gap Shelter (73.9)
Total Miles: 8.2 miles.
Steps: 23,024
Achievements: Epic Trail Angels 2, Powell Mountain 
We decided to stay at Deep Gap because of the threat of heavy rain.  It never came.
I had a good relaxing sleep, except for when I was woken by the sound of a mouse scampering over my pack.  I accidentally left my spare meal in the bottom of my pack and I’m sure it could smell it.  I jumped up and took it outside and hung it.
I woke up with everyone else and hit the road.
There was a spring to my step pretty much all day.  The climbs were not as difficult as they had been.  When we reached Dick’s Gap, there were trail angels.  Their specialty was a hot dog, breakfast sausage, and bacon sandwich.  So amazingly good!  That was two Mountain Dews was enough to propel me all the way to camp.

John earned his trail name – The Sweeper.  He is always last to camp.  Everyone has a trail name now.
It was good and sunny.  I pulled out all my gear to let it dry.
The next difficulty is going to be some cold weather.  It is dropping down into the high teens tomorrow night.  We’ll see how this kit will deal with that.  I might be snuggling with my new friends.

Day 10: Didn’t Know I Needed to Pack Scuba Gear

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Starting Point: Tray Mountain Shelter (58.5)
Ending Point: Deep Gap Shelter (65.8)
Total Miles: 7.4 miles.
Steps: 24,119
Achievements: Kelly Knob, Washout!!!
The story of the day was the weather.  The goal was to hike to the next shelter, each lunch, and decided if we’d hike farther.  It started to pour about ten minutes into the hole and it refused to stop.  It was cold.  It was hard.
As we walked, I noted that every campsite we passed was flooded.
When we reached the shelter, it was dry.  With the threat of evening rain, we decided this is good enough.

I met Patchwork.  He is a Buddhist monk and we shared a tea meditation.

We’ll crowd the shelter and hide from the rain if it comes again.  We have clear skies the next couple of days.  We’ll need to pick up our game.

Day 9: Good News on Dunkeroo’s Knees

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Starting Point: Unicoi Gap (52.7)
Ending Point: Tray Mountain Shelter (58.5)
Total Miles: 5.8 trail miles.  3.0 bonus.
Steps: 20,849
Achievements: Rocky Mountain, Tray Mountain

The shuttle back to the trail was leaving at 11 a.m.  The goal for Dunkeroo was to haul his behind up Rocky Mountain and determine if he could continue.  If it hurt too much, he could hike back to Unicoi Gap and catch the shuttle when it returned at 4 p.m.
The good news is a combination of a brace and some Vitamin-I, the pain was minimal.  I didn’t want to see him go.
With that, we kept it a short day.  There are two ways to resupply from Hiawassee.  The first is Unicoi Gap at 52.7 miles.  The second, and better choice is at 69.4.  The next resupply for us is in Franklin, NC at mile 109.6.
Because of that, I left with six days of food.  The climb of two mountains and ten pounds of food left me dragging to the end.  Dunkeroo, the injured hiker beat me easily.  The fault is mine.  I should have stopped for lunch, but “it was only five miles”.
Tomorrow, we are expecting some heavy rain.  It might be seven miles to the shelter.  We will see how heavy it is.  Dunkeroo says he might be good for 10.

Day 8: Zero in Hiawassee

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Total Miles: Zero / Four Bonus
It was a very restful day, just the four of us.  The hotel had a nice breakfast.  We returned to the room, piled out our dirty clothes and did a load.
While we waited we did a complete shakedown of his pack.  He had a gallon bag of Vitamin-I.  I’m serious.  A gallon ziplock of Ibuprofen.  He had a nice plastic case for his stove.  He sent probably close to ten pounds to the hiker box.
One piece of gear that wasn’t working for him was his sleeping bag.  There is an outfitter here.  Once the laundry was done, we went there.  He replaced it with a new light weight down filled 15 degree bag.  He’ll be warm and more comfortable hiking with his pack much lighter.
I had a sad gear loss.  The Luke’s Ultralight Laundry Shorts gave up their ghost.  They weighed a mere one ounce.  When we went to the outfitter, I bought I 2.1 ounce pillow to help me sleep.  I didn’t need one on the PCT, but I seem to now.
Then we did a grocery store run.  We’ll carry food for six days and get to Fontana, NC.
With the work done, I took a nice nap.
We ate in the hotel room and made our plan for tomorrow.  We’ll take the 11 a.m. shuttle back to Unicoi Gap.  We’ll hike six miles for the day.  If the pain is too much for Dunkeroo, he’ll know soon enough and can catch the 4 p.m. shuttle into town.
Between Blaze, John and I, he knows that there is no dishonor in stopping when you have a legitimate injury.  Continuing will only make it worse.
In our conversations, we discovered that all four of us played catcher in baseball.  I’ve preliminary named us the Backstop Boys.
We’ll talk until we fall asleep, early.

Day 7: Dunkeroo Takes an Arrow to the Knee

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Starting Point: Low Gap Shelter (43.0)

Ending Point: Unicoi Gap (52.7)

Total Miles: 9.7 miles
Steps: 29,249
Achievements: Blue Mountain
Woke up and was off by 8 a.m.  Our goal was to camp on the top of Rocky Mountain, over 11 miles away.  We met up with Blaze and John who have been hiking roughly the same pace as us.
Blaze is a retired paramedic and fireman from Connecticut.  John is a retired physical therapist.

They were only going to Unicoi Gap, so we weren’t likely to see them again.
Dunkeroo and my goal was to hike 11+ miles to get us close to Dick’s Pass on Friday.  There are thunderstorms expected, so it would be a good day to resupply and do laundry.  (Maybe shower, maybe not. jk)
As we were climbing down some boulders, Dunkeroo was really struggling.  He has some IT Band issues that John taped up for the easy price of a Dunkeroo. (A sugary treat that the One And Only Dunkeroo carries and is named after )
He told me he was fine and to pass so I did.
I kicked up the speed and hiked ahead.  Blaze also increased his pace.  I can feel my hiker legs kicking in.
I got to a trail junction and it seemed like a good time to rest and wait for everyone.  Blaze was first.  About ten minutes later John came.  Still no Dunkeroo.  Eventually Blaze went back to find him.  Alas, the pain was much worse.
Change of plans.  We’d hike the four miles to Unicoi Gap and take the shuttle into Haiwassee for a zero.  It was a long hike.  He did have the best search and rescue crew you could have — a physical therapist, a first responder, and a pastor.  Whatever would happen, he was covered.
Assessing the situation, it looks like Iliotibial band syndrome, the bane of thru hikers.  The question is it just sore and tired or an injury.
We checked in to a Holiday Inn Express, and in the hiker box I found a treking pole.  Dunkeroo only carried one.  It is a mismatch, but he has a pair now. We also picked up a knee brace.
I enjoyed my first the hamburger on trail.  It was excellent!  (So, a physical therapist, a paramedic and a pastor walked into a bar…)
He’ll spend the day RICE’ing (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) it.  The injury often takes four to eight weeks to heal.  There is some swelling, but not a lot.  Hopefully, a brace, some Vitamin-I, and slowing down will make it tolerable.  Otherwise, he’s looking at 4-to-8 weeks off trail until it heals on its own.
It is a little early for a zero for me, but I enjoy Dunkeroo’s company.  Some rest will surely do me good.

Day 6: Let’s Climb Four Mountains

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Starting Point: Neel’s Gap (31.3)
Ending Point: Low Gap Shelter (43.0)
Total Miles: 11.7 miles
Steps: 32,472
Achievements: Levelland Mountain, Wolf Laurel, Cowrock Mountain, Sheep Rock Top
We were woken up unexpectedly at 5 a.m. to the fire alarms going off.  There were ten of us in the room, nine men and one woman.  I looked over at Blaze, a retired firefighter.  He was sniffing the air and not panicking.  It was a false alarm.
It was extremely cold, so Dunkeroo and I didn’t leave until almost 8 a.m.  We said goodbye to Big Tuna.  He is a section hiker and his leave is ending.  I also wanted a picture of the tree at Neel’s Gap.  These are the shoes of those who have given up.

Our target for the day was ambitious.  11.7 miles, but also I included four large climbs.  After eating a whole pizza and two liters of Ginger Ale, I felt a spring in my step again.  The views were excellent for a change 

We had a great hiking day.  I didn’t struggle, even the last climb.

This camp seems to be filled with people who have hiked very little.  We’ll be moving on.  We’re looking at another 11 mile day.

Day 5: The March Up Blood Mountain!

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Starting Point: Lance Creek (23.9)
Ending Point: Neel’s Gap (31.3)
Total Miles: 7.4 miles
Steps: 23,565
Achievements: Marched Up Blood Mountain
The night was cold and wet.  Although it was supposed to be sunny, it was still raining.  Anything I couldn’t afford to freeze slept with me.
The milage was short, just 7.4 miles, but it was almost all incline.  3,000′ in just five miles.  I spent the night before carbing up.  By 7:30, Jason (now Dunkeroo), and a young marine with the trail name Big Tuna were off.
Blood Mountain was a brutal climb.  The sun was blinding, but made no heat.  The wind blew, pulling you off course.  The wind-chill must have been about 10 degrees.  
The good news is that the pain in my quads was gone.  Two shorter days in a row helped.  I reached the peak just before noon.  Dunkeroo and Big Tuna yelled “Young Buck”!  They only beat me by 10 minutes, so I’m doing pretty well.  But, there was another surprise guest — Jolly.
How did he pass me?
He didn’t.  He stopped off at a hostel, and they recommended slackpacking (hiking without a backpack for speed) down Blood Mountain.  Yeah, that is the easy way to do it.  You don’t get an epic story doing that.
We made it to the Mountain Crossings Oufitter.  They have a bunk house for $35 a night and $8 for laundry.

I was thinking of taking a zero just to heal, but after the successful climb, we’ll just spend the night and be on the road.  I ate a whole pizza and two liters of Mr. Pibb.  A thru-hiker diet is awesome!
We have four days of food to go 38 miles to our next stop.  It’s going to be cold but sunny.

Day 4: How Many Miles Do You Get When the Fuel Light Is On?

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Starting Point: Gooch Mountain Shelter (15.8)
Ending Point: Lance Creek (23.9)
Total Miles: 8.1 miles
Steps: 22,041
Achievements: Epic Trail Magic
Maybe I should have talked less and ate more.  Eating a whole sharing size M&M’s is completely appropriate for thru-hikers!
Just as the morning glow started there were the hissing sound of hikers opening the valves of their air mattresses.  The scramble to get up was on.  Jason is remarkably fast packer for a new hiker.  We got off early.
The day started with a brisk climb up Ramrock Mountain.  Okay, it wasn’t brisk.  It was a brutal slog.  It was still raining hard.  The trail was either kitchen sponge or walking on toothpaste.  Jason is also out gas.  Wally started later and passed us.  As he has a bear canister, he’ll hike on.  I’ll probably never see him again.  He is a stronger hiker right now.
We reached Woody Gap and saw some canopies!  Trail Magic!  Good trail Magic.  One canopy had chairs around a portable campfire.  They were making egg McMuffins. Cheese.  Bacon.  Coffee.  So Good.
Needless to say, there was a pleasant pileup.  I had a great conversation with a triple crowner Joyride 

He is supporting Snack Sized.

Soon there were 20 people.  Jayson and I looked at each other.  This was our chance to escape and snag on of the four campsites.

We huffed and we puffed and we climbed up the Big Cedar Ledges.  Alas, this epic view was in the clouds.  We did do a better job of resting.  We reached the Lance Creek campsite.  Only one spot was taken.
So, I’m chilling in my tent, eating M&M’s, carbing up to hike up Blood Mountain tomorrow.  Five miles 1,000 feet of climb.  We’ll get to Neel’s Gap, and take a zero.  Jayson knee hurts.  Nothing a shower, laundry, a pizza and some hamburgers cannot solve.

Day 3: Riding the Storm Out

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Starting Point: Hawk Mountain Campsite (7.4)
Ending Point: Gooch Mountain Shelter (15.8)
Total Miles: 8.4 miles
Steps: 23,622
Achievements: Crammed Like a Stale Sardine
The news on trail was that the weather coming had become more severe and with lower temperatures.  That weather was expected about 2 p.m.  Instead of hiking ten miles, we decided to stop early at the Gooch Mountain Shelter.  This disrupted stuff, but not in a bad way.  I have plenty of food.  I need to do a better job eating.
So, the race to the shelter was on.  However, there were three 500-foot climbs to overcome.  My quads are exhausted, and there is little spring in my step on inclines.  I had to clear out of my mind how I used to crush this like it was nothing on the PCT.  It wasn’t true.  My up-game sucked on day 3 of the PCT, too.
It took awhile, but based on what I saw, my Presbyterian friend, Crow, will never climb all this in a day.  I never got to say goodbye, but that is the way of the trail.
I made it to the shelter at exactly 2 p.m., just as the rain started.  Jason and Wally were there to greet me.  I was early enough, to get a bottom spot on the floor for the night.
The shelter was lifted off the ground.  People set up there to stay out of the rain.  Once I was settled in, I was with my people.  20 dirty, stinky dudes, shoulder-to-shoulder, riding the storm out.
While stopping early is the smart thing to do, it puts a jump in the plan.  My next resupply point is at Neels Gap at 31.2.  However, to camp beyond 26.2 requires a bear canister, and I don’t have one.  Wally has offered to jam his full, but Jason doesn’t have one either.  We either have another short day tomorrow, or try to muscle a 14-plus marathon, including climbing up Blood Mountain.  The trouble is that there are 20+ trying for those limited spots.
The race is on!