Day: |
006 |
Date: |
Thursday, 8 May 1986 |
Start: |
|
Finish: |
|
Daily
AT Miles: |
25.7 |
Daily Other Miles |
1.4 (0.2 to spring, 1.2 to camp). |
Total
AT Miles: |
106.4 |
Total All Miles |
112.7 |
Weather: |
Hot, humid and mostly sunny. |
Accommodation: |
|
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Grapenuts Lunch: Biscuits
and peanut butter, fruit bar. Dinner: BBQ chicken, potato salad,
apple pie, cream puff. |
Aches: |
Feet very tired and right heel sore. |
Animals Seen: |
Squirrel, marmot, two turkeys. |
People Seen: |
Three AT Thru-Hikers, twelve others. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
|
Journal: |
Got up at 6:25am and left at 7:55am. It
was a lovely morning and I made good progress through leafy glades,
groves of beech and rhododendron, and along ridges. The Trail
grades were good. I passed Standing Indian Shelter and climbed
almost to the top of Standing Indian Mt (5498ft). The views were
good and the Trail followed narrow ridges. Just before reaching
Carter Gap Shelter, I caught Will, who was hiking
to Pennsylvania. He’d done a lot of hiking but moved slow. He was
with a loose group of six all headed for Big Spring Shelter. We had
lunch and chatted at the Shelter. I had made good progress in the
morning and was determined to try for Rock Gap Shelter, approx. 12
miles further, for the night. The Trail had been passing through a
Wilderness Area and Bear Sanctuary and, in the afternoon, climbed
around the rock cliffs overlooking the Coweeta Hydrologic
Laboratory. The views were excellent. I passed two more of Will’s
group, Brett and ?. The trail climbed incredibly steeply up to the
summit of Albert Mt (5250ft) with a fire-tower and more superb
views. I took a well-deserved rest and then set off to go to Big
Spring Shelter and say hello to the other members of Will’s group,
but didn’t realise it was off trail so passed it by without
realising. My feet were getting very tired, but still fit. I
pressed on, mainly downhill through leafy forest towards Rock Gap
Shelter. Two miles short, I met Caroline, an AT Thru-Hiker going in
the opposite direction, who recommended going on to Wallace Gap then
off the Trail to Rainbow Springs Campground where there was
ice-cream, showers, laundry and cabins. Initially, the thought of
another two miles was too much but I eventually decided in
favour. I passed the trail to Rock Gap Shelter, but didn’t go down
to say hello to the two hikers Caroline had told me were there. At
Wallace Gap I turned left down the bitumen road and walked to the
Campground, arriving at 7pm. All the residents – three
newly-graduated medical students/hikers from Syracuse, NY, Debbie,
the female half of honeymooners, Dexter, some kind of salesman,
Jensine and Bud, the owners, and their first two caravanners of the
season – were having an outdoor BBQ by the river. There were no
vacant cabins, but they could find me a bed in one being
renovated. I showered (very nice) and joined the party. All were
semi-drunk. They were impressed with my 27 miles. I’m the biggest
mileage man they’ve seen, but the New Zealander in front of me is
flying along too. As I arrived to eat, Dexter and Debbie set off to
find the new groom, Roland, who had disappeared. All was not well
with the honeymooners. I had seen him when walking down to the
Campground, so they took off and returned an hour later. There was
still friction. I ate well and chatted. As dark set in, singing
and racist jokes emerged. Roland joined in, obviously unstable,
with a maniacal laugh. I was required to sing Waltzing
Matilda. Singing finished with God Bless America andAmerica the
Beautiful. Very surreal. I asked if I could do laundry and began
at 10:30pm. Rang Barb collect, at her friend, Jane’s,
inConnecticut. I finished washing, writing cards and eating
ice-cream, chips and drinking Coke about midnight. I fell over a
rock walking down to my cabin – the only person not drunk in the
Campground. Went to sleep on a comfortable bed at 12:30am. An
interesting but exhausting day. 27 miles is too far at this stage. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
(2016)
Hume & Hovell Walking Track
(2013)
Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track (2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
(2010)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2009)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2008)
Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
(2004)
Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
|