Dates ........ Wednesday, September 12, 2001
Miles ........ 11 miles, climb: 3400 feet
From ........ Elmer's Hostel in Hot Springs
To ............. Spring Mountain Shelter (3300')
Weather ... 65 degF, clear, breezy, dry. (Much hotter and more humid in river valley)

Wednesday, September 12, 2001

French Broad River (1326'), Lovers leap, Rich Mountain and its fire tower (3600'), Spring Mt. (3600').

After a hearty breakfast of eggs, ham, homefries and pancakes, I bought a paper and headed out. I walked through Hot Springs to the French Broad River. I looked up at the canyon walls at a major rock outcrop and thought to myself: Thank God the trail doesn't go up there. But, of course, it did. After a brief but most pleasant walk along the banks of the French Broad River, the trail went vertical. Oh, it feigned switchbacks, but it was damn near vertical, with loose shale gravel and steep drop-offs to make it interesting. Then, in the middle of the steepest, worst part of the climb there was a huge blowdown across the trail. I had to remove my pack, fling it over, then snake my way through the treetop - there was no way around it. Anyone tackling this segment of trail must be stone cold sober and full of energy. The reward was Lover's Leap, a pinnacle of rock hanging out over the French Broad and offering spectacular views of the river valley, Hot Springs, and Bluff Mountain. It was a great place to catch your breath.

French Broad River and Appalachian Mountains in Hot Springs, NC

At times your shoulder and pack were rubbing against a vertical stone wall while your feet were on a narrow ledge, perhaps 12 inches wide, the edge of which fell precipitously to the river gorge below. After the 800 foot climb to Lovers leap it was another near vertical 400 foot climb to an unnamed summit followed by a brief descent and a 500 ft climb then another 1200 ft climb to the fire tower on top of Rich Mountain and a 500 foot drop followed by another 500 ft climb for an exhausting 3400 feet of total climbing over 11 miles. I get tired just thinking about it!

As I was taking a break at a little pond on the trail, I met a nice couple out hiking for the day. The pond was a man-made affair with a concrete dam, long abandoned for any purpose except to breed mosquitoes. Its water was the color and consistency of grandma's homemade pea soup. At its head was a spring, a semi-decent looking water source. Some brilliant wildflowers braved the inhospitable looking waters to rear their beautiful red flowers.

The trail traversed an endless series of ravines. Along one side, switch directions along the other side in the opposite direction, and on and on. Progress seemed painfully slow, and miles walked versus crow-fly miles covered, it was. In effect, the trail route put about 8 Z's between points A and B. Finally, I reached the summit of Rich Mountain and its fire tower - still intact, though maybe not in use. I climbed the stairs as I chatted with two ladies there and took a series of photos from its platform. The haze was heavy enough to diminish the view, but it was still impressive. On the way down to Huricane Gap, 500 feet lower, they cautioned me about a rattler they'd seen right on the trail. I told them I'd have my camera ready. But, of course, I saw no snake. I did see two of those awful gray wasps nests that had fallen onto the trail - I feared those far more than any snake.

At some point I realized how exceptionally quiet it was in the mountains today. Usually I am far enough away so I don't hear the sounds of civilization such as traffic, kids yelling, dogs barking, lawn mowing, farm noises, industrial and construction noises. Even in the Appalachian Mountains, it is common to hear airplanes flying overhead, often faintly in the distance, and to see their contrails against a blue sky. But not today. Today was total silence, save the sound of the wind and nature because there were no planes in the sky over the Appalachian Mountains. None. And the beautiful blue sky was unbroken by the contrails of man's flying machines. It seemed eerie - too quiet and almost too natural.

I climbed up out of Hurricane gap and onto Spring Mountain and its shelter at 3300 feet. My left foot is bothering me quite a bit because my hiking boots appear to have a bump or defect in the inside sole. As I approached the shelter, a very welcome sight, I saw that another hiker was already there. I extended a handshake and we both instantly recognized each other. "OH MY GOD" we both exclaimed as we tried to recall exactly when and where we had met before. It was Sept 22, 2000 at Little Rock Pond Shelter in Vermont - 10 days short of one year ago. We both remembered that shelter and the others there, real memorable characters they were. His trail name was Hoppin Hoosier and we had a lot to talk about. It was a very pleasant evening and it was so nice having someone to talk to on this lonely hike.

The water near the shelter was just a tiny trickle - it took me half an hour just to get my drinking water.

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