AT Days 10-12: Dr PuddinLove is (re)Born – Muskrat Creek Shelter to Winding Stair Gap

Day 10: Dr PuddinLove is (re)Born

My first day starting in North Carolina was relatively chill hiking in the morning. My sore knee and Achilles started feeling better (probably due to the ibuprofen I was popping each morning). I lanced and drained my first blister before heading out. It was a massive one on my heel and the relief in pressure felt incredible once I got my shoe back on.

My notes for this day tell me that I started to get a better sense of what my video project is going to be. I didn’t elaborate and have since lost that clarity. Maybe it’ll come back to me and I’ll take better notes next time. 🤦🏻‍♂️

I made it to Deep Gap where some Forest Rangers were waiting to ask questions about the fire. I told them that I didn’t know much and they sent me on my way.

The big climb of the day was Standing Indian Mountain. The path up and down was pretty desolate looking due to extensive fire damage, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The view from the top was incredible.

The goal for the end of the day was Carter Gap Shelter. According to FarOut, the water source at the shelter was dry and the nearest water source was 3 miles before. It’s was an idyllic little spring that I sat and enjoyed in preparation for the slog of a hike I had ahead of me. In an (over)abundance of caution, I filled 3 liters (6.6 lbs) of water and continued the uphill climb to the shelter.

I got to the shelter a little after 6 to find it and the tent sites pretty crowded. I told myself that I need to start getting to camp earlier to have a better choice of sites. I went through my standard operating camp-arrival procedure: find site, build tent, set up bear hang line, head to shelter, make dinner. Walking up to the shelter, I found most of the crew from the night before. Weast was giving Magnum a haircut.

For dinner, I made my first ramen bomb (ramen with a pack of mashed potatoes), and a group of us chatted for a while on different subjects. Several of them had been hiking since the beginning and were well acquainted, but I was still getting to know everyone and they were getting to know me. For some reason, we started talking about AOL Instant Messenger and I mentioned my username used to be DrPuddinLove. Immediately, I felt several pairs of eyes widen in my direction, and someone, I don’t remember who, say with wry excitement, “YOU don’t have a trail name yet, do you?” I immediately shut it down. You can refuse a trail name if you don’t feel like it suits you and I wasn’t feeling that one. The conversation moved on to another topic, I caught a glimpse of a sunset, and I figured the subject would be dropped. It was not dropped.

Day 11: 100 Miles!

I had a pretty short day of only 8.7 miles ahead of me so I took my time getting out of bed. Short days like this allow me to really slow down and I usually spend that extra time identifying plants and/or bird calls, or taking photos and/or video. On this day, I spent a good bit of time taking photos of different textures that I saw.

I’m thinking about maybe doing a print store or something. TBD. Stay tuned.

I climbed to my first fire tower: Albert Mountain Fire Tower. And what a climb it was! The .5 mile hike up is STEEP but the view from the tower is incredible and the tower is the 100 mile mark.

I had a really good signal up there (a rarity on trail), so I ate some lunch and then FaceTimed with my parents and my brother and then gave my son a call. It’s always bittersweet to talk to people you love who are far away while out here.

The rest of the hike to Long Branch Shelter was pretty smooth. I got there around 3 and it was nice to get to camp relatively early. I got to hang out with Poppins and Daisy a little bit who are a a couple of badasses doing a month long section hike. Poppins is a former thru hiker who decided to do a section of the AT when her planned Camino trail trip fell through. It’s really enriching meeting so many different people out here.

Day 12: My Parents & Franklin

I spent the night in the shelter and woke up around 6:30 which has been becoming more regular for me. As everyone packed up and started to leave camp, I asked them if I could take their pictures. It was my first time doing that and I really liked it. I’m looking forward to doing that more often.

It was another short day as I made my way to Winding Stair Gap to meet my parents who took me into Franklin for the night. On the way, I passed by Widget, her sister, and her boyfriend who drove down from Pennsylvania with his kids to visit and do a little some incredible trail magic. When I walked up, she handed me a pudding cup and said, “just so you know, we’ve been calling your Dr PuddinLove.” I still wasn’t convinced that the name was for me, but over the next few days I gave it more thought. I eventually decided to stick with it because one of my goals while on trail is to be reacquainted with my younger self and so it seemed fitting to take a name that I made up in 8th or 9th grade.

My parents met me at Winding Stair Gap and we made a burger and beer at The Lazy Hiker Brewery our first order of business. Franklin was a great little town that I wouldn’t mind going back to. The rest of the day was spent doing the normal town chores: resupply and laundry. We got a nice dinner at Slanted Window Tasting Station (highly recommend) and headed back to the hotel for the night.