Days 72, 73, and 74

Day 72, June 14, Winding Stair Gap to Carter Gap Shelter

Hiked today 16 today’s ascent 3700 feet total hiked 1203

I slept in the Microtel in Franklin North Carolina last night. I had a hard time waking up this morning but finally rolled out of bed around 6:30 AM. I got dressed and had the hotels free breakfast which included waffles and bagels. Then I took inventory of my food and headed to Ingles to buy supplies. Angles I bought supplies for the next few days as well as a huge 12 inch hoagie which I had cut in half. 1/2 for lunch and half for dinner.

I headed back to the hotel, did some work on my blog, packed up my food, and then packed up my backpack. I let the shuttle driver Sherpa Josh, know that I was ready and he texted that he was five minutes away. I was back on the trail at 11 AM with the intent to do 16 miles today.

It’s 3:12 PM and I’m on top of the world once again. I’m at over 5200 feet on the Mount Albert fire tower. There are two really great views to the south and into the east.

Another beautiful shot along the trail framed by a break in the trees.

An evening view taken from Ridgepole Mountain at 6:20 PM. Peaceful and beautiful.

I arrived at the Carter Gap Shelter at about 7:10 PM.  I’ve set up my tent about 30 feet from the shelter.  There are two people staying in the shelter and we made small talk while I ate an Ingles sub sandwich for dinner.

They have their food hung,  PCT style, only 20 feet from my tent.  I hope no bears come!  My food is in my bear canister strategically placed between some logs and brush about 25 feet away. This is also uncomfortably close but there was no better place to put it.

Day 73, June 15, Carter Gap Shelter to Plum Orchard Gap Shelter

Hiked today 20 today’s ascent 3680 feet total hiked 1223

It’s 8:09 AM and I’ve been walking 30 minutes already. It’s a beautiful day, not too hot yet and clear. It’s a perfect day for hiking the Appalachian Trail.

It’s 10:23 AM on June 15 and I’m standing on top of standing Indian mountain. This mountain is about 5500 feet above sea level. As you can see, it has great views. That’s me in the second picture.

This is a view to the west right off the trail. I believe the lake in the far distance is Lake Hiawassee.

I’m in Georgia now!

Today I hiked 20 miles.  The last 3 miles were really difficult for me because I seemed to completely run out of energy.  I rested for about 20 minutes on a bench at a crossroad about a mile and a half before my destination.  This revitalized me an enough to finish at about 6:00PM. 

There are about ten people staying in and around Plum Orchard Gap Shelter tonight.  I’m in my tent about twenty yards from the shelter.

Day 74, June 16, Plum Orchard Gap Shelter to the Cheese Factory Campsite

Hiked today 17.4 today’s ascent 5330 feet total hiked 1240

Today I got up about 6:10AM.  I had a big muesli and pop tart breakfast, fetched more water, broke camp, and was on the trail at 7:40.

This picture is from Powell Mountain. It’s about a 0.2 mile side trail off the AT to this great view through a break in the trees.

Todays hike has a lot of climbs.  There were descents as well but I remember the climbs because every climb soaked me with sweat in this hot humid weather.

I was tired but not exhausted at the end of the day.

I talked to a some interesting people including a family of six doing a weekend overnight hike and a couple from my home state of New Jersey.  The couple are also southbound and about to complete a full southbound thru hike that they started last year.

About 30 minutes before the end of my hike today, it poured for about 10 minutes.  My shoes, socks, pants, and windbreaker are so wet.  They won’t dry in this humidity!

I got to the Cheese Factory campsite at about 5:30.  As usual I set up my tent, had a dehydrated meal for dinner and got ready to sleep.  I also took a short walk to the nearby spring and fetched a couple of liters of water to filter.

This campsite was the location of a dairy farm in the 1800s, but there is no hint of it left.
I’m the only one here tonight.