Hiking the AT with Mosey, part 1
On Tuesday, April 21 I met up with Anita, aka Mosey”. She drove down from French Lick, IN to section hike with me. We met at Black Vear Resort. We stayed in the bunkhouse where we met Midnight, a nobo thru- hiker. He came in a little while after we were there. I had arrived off the trail about 3 pm and had my shower and got my laundry done. Anita suggested going to town for Mexican and we took Modnoght with us. He is a Mexican from Texas. We found out the closest place was back at Roan Mountain! It was supposed to be just 5.4 miles but it took us 30 minutes on windy roads. It was worth it though! And our Mexican friend ate 2 plates full! He had the hiker hunger going on. He told us he had wanted to eat there when he was hiking through that section, but don’t have opportunity.
Anita and I planned our hike. I also talked to the other girls who would be joining me in May. Then we hit the hay.
Wednesday morning, we ate a delicious breakfast at the Hostel’s restaurant. Chef Chuck was a gracious host and a tremendous cook! Midnight joined us for breakfast also. Incidentally, Midnight got his trail name by starting his hike of the Smokies at, you guessed it- Midnight!
Midnight left before us, but before he left we asked if he’d like to pray with us. He said yes. Then we went our separate ways.
Anita and I walked the 0.5 miles to the trail, which entered the Pond Mountain Wilderness. This is a beautiful section and is popular among locals and day hikers. It started as an easy walk along the river. Laurel Falls was spectacular. There was some boulders one had to work around and over and some inclines and descents.
We are our lunch beside the stream. We came to the turn off for the shelter. We both felt great and wanted to go further, so we headed up a tall maintain, over 3000 ft in around 3 miles. It took us the rest of the day to climb it, but we were so glad we did.
Just before camp, there was a spring where we got our water. We met Starburst there, a female thru hiker. She stayed at Ponds Flats camp with us along with a local.
We were tired, but glad we made the climb. It put us ahead of schedule.
Thursday, April 23rd. Anita woke up pretty sore., I’ve been at this a week and am feeling good. It takes a bit to get trail legs, especially climbing the mountains. Starburst was packing up when we were ready to leave. We took the opportunity to pray with her as well. She then passed us later. Several groups of hikers are on the trail today. Most are headed to Boots Off.
The trail down seemed so easy, compared to yesterday! We saw a great view of Watauga Lake as we climbed down.
Anita fell once yesterday going up the mountain and once today coming down it. We had talked of possibly slack packing this afternoon about 5 miles to the dam, but Anita wasn’t quite up for it. I don’t mind a day of rest either!
So we are at Boots Off in a nice camping spot, showers, laundry and resupplies. Starburst is here, along with Papa Bear, and others. Midnight is aqua blazing today along with Gasleak. The managers here are Sunshine and Lucky Moon. They run a tight ship.
I also met on the trail today Rainbow, who hiked the trail in 2018. She has several family members with her.
An interesting note. Whenever I lose something on trail, I usually find it a few days later. It will show up later. A backpack is all I carry. First I thought I’d lost my rock bag for my food hang. I used something else the night I missed it. In a couple of days, I found it in my hip belt pocket, where it doesn’t belong. Second, I hadn’t worn my hat for two days because I couldn’t find it! I thought I’d left it somewhere. I bought this hat for this trip! Oh well. Then last night, when I went to set up my tent, it was in there! I had stayed in a bunk room the night before and didn’t use the tent. Glad to have it vack do these sunny days. Mystery solved! The lesson- don’t panic. It will show up in a few days somewhere in your pack.
We are adjusting our plans so Anita can meet her ride on Sunday. The adventure continues!
