WhimsySeasons: 2.17.13

From Winding Stair Gap to Burningtown Gap (in my head AKA Burning Man)
Miles: 14.6
Between zero and 20 degrees above, clear skies

My plan for today changed more times than I can count, so this post is a little bit confusing.

Marita and I woke up in the hotel this morning and we thought that I should call a taxi driver to take me to trail head, since it seemed that I needed to drive another 30 minutes south to pick up the trail where I left off and Marita needed to get back to Indiana. We called three shuttle drivers before anyone answered at 8:30 AM. When I explained that I was at the Sapphire Inn and I was looking for a ride to trail this morning, he replied in a thick Southern accent, "Well, now, I wasn't fixin' to get up right yet." I asked if he could take me to Deep Gap where I had gotten off trail. He informed me that no one could take me to Deep Gap because the road is snowed shut. He recommended that if I wanted to hike I get on the trail at Winding Stair Gap. I thanked him for the information and hung up. Winding Stair Gap is 24 trail miles North of where I left the trail in December. Marita and I decided to go eat breakfast while we thought about what to do.

We decided that Marita could take me to Winding Stair Gap, only a 15 min. drive south, and I would start hiking North, simply skipping that 24 miles that I had hoped to hike the first two days. I was really disappointed by this, because it is a point of pride with hikers to not skip miles, but I had promised countless people in my life that I would not take any unnecessary risks while hiking. That, yes, I am going to hike, but I promise to be smart about it. So we decided the best thing was to just skip the first two days I had planned. No problem.

So we went back to the hotel room where I put on all of my warmest hiking clothing. (An aside, my sister and I have a joke that every time we see each other I find some excuse to undress in front of her. This time was no exception!)

When we went to the front desk to check out and tell the manager that I would not be back in two days, as I had thought, we asked him to take a picture of us. I gave him my camera and he said, "o.k., repeat after me. One. Two. Three. Sex." And then instead of taking the picture he accidentally hit the power button. We turned the camera back on and he said "o.k., repeat after me...Red. Yellow. Green. Sex" Wow. Time for a new joke. But he meant well.

It was 22 degrees in town, but felt like 12. I was going to be hiking 1,000 feet above that in elevation, so I knew I was in for a cold day. Marita drove me up the mountain and we found the trail head with no problem. At 9:30 I started hiking and Marita started driving home.

The trail for the first 3.7 miles had fresh snowfall and I was making the first tracks. That was fun, but also took a lot of concentration to follow the trail. After 3.7 miles there was a popular shelter and after that there were many footprints to follow through the snow. As long as I kept hiking I felt ok. Not warm, exactly. But not uncomfortable in the cold.

When I left the hotel this morning I thought that I could hike today, camp tonight, and hike to a hostel tomorrow night. To do so I would need to complete 15.8 miles today for a shorter day tomorrow because I knew I wanted to be in a shelter tonight for warmth. Partway into my day I realized I would not be able to hike 15.8 miles on my first day, so I decided to stop at a shelter after only 11 miles of hiking. I knew this would make for a longer hike tomorrow, but I didn't want to take any chances. After hiking six miles I saw a sign on a tree advertising for a hostel I had not heard of. The sign said that if I hiked another 8.7 miles (for a total of 14.6 today) they could pick me up at a road crossing. I decided to go for it. I knew that would probably mean hiking in the dark, but if I knew there was heat at the end that would probably be o.k. The only hiker I saw today was a section hiker, a man about my age who has already thru hiked the Appalachian Trail and also the PCT. His name is Inspector Gadget. He was friendly and good looking.

At Lick Log Gap I called the phone number from the flyer for the hostel. A woman with an English accent answered, then gave the phone to her husband, who said, in an English accent. "Hello, bro!" When I said "Hello!" He said he hadn't known I was "a lady", (hear that in an English accent) and apologized We made plans for him to pick me up at the parking lot 2.1 miles later. It was 5:50 when I called him. Sunset here today is at 6:15 and there is a quarter moon. So at 6:45 I pulled out my headlamp and couldn't turn it on. No problem. I pulled out my second headlamp and couldn't turn it on either. Okay, to calm down I took out my water bottle to drink. But there was ice across the whole top of it, half the water was frozen and I couldn't get the liquid water out. I had batteries in my pack, but when I stopped walking I started getting very cold very fast, and so I didn't want to take the time to pull out the batteries. Because if I couldn't get the light to work then I would have wasted time. Also, if I emptied my pack on the ground and couldn't get light then I wasn't sure I could see to get everything back in the pack. So I thanked the moon, and everyone who prays protection for me, and started hiking by moonlight.

The tricky thing about hiking downhill in the moonlight is that I can't tell, visually, the difference between a big step down and the shadow of the trunk of a tree. They look the same. Also, it is difficult to follow the white blazes. I was going slowly and looking up trying to determine if I was, in fact, still on the trail when I twisted my left ankle and fell forward, hard, onto my right knee. I shook myself off, glad that I had not hit my head on the tree trunk that was gently touching my left ear. I stood up, took inventory and decided nothing was badly injured, and kept hiking. I am thankful that I had the experience to hike with Merry the Hobbit way back in Vermont in a rainstorm. His enthusiasm for hiking and his ability to see beauty in the rain was infectious. I tried to transfer that feeling to a feeling of awe of hiking in the North Carolina woods in February by moonlight. And indeed, with that mindset, it was an incredibly beautiful hike. After what seemed like forever, but wasn't, I stepped out into the parking lot at 7:28 pm.

I was greeted by Steve AKA Wiggy. He Thru-hiked the A.T. in 2010. He is the owner of Aquone Cabins. He informed me that he was starting to worry about me and had decided that if I wasn't at the car by 7:30 he had planned to come up looking for me to make sure that I was alright. He informed me that it was 1 degree at the parking lot. I was touched and embarrassed by his concern. I explained my day to him and he was kind and reassuring. He explained that for 24 years he was a Green Beret and he would have come up if anything was wrong. He drove me to the hostel in his truck, which squeaked often. He explained that the hand break sticks and squeaks, but is not unsafe. No problem. Once I checked into the hostel I took a hot shower and ate a hot pizza. It was wonderful. It was a beautiful place. I relaxed for a couple of hours before heading to bed. I am thankful to be in a warm and safe and kind place.

Marita and I at the hotel. Repeat after me...