Dates ........ Sunday, September 16, 2001
Miles ........ 12 miles, climb 2100'
From ........ Tent camp 1.25 miles north of Sam's Gap
To ............. Tent Camp at Spivey Gap, US 19W
Weather ... AM: Chilly 40 degF, Clear, breezy, cool and crisp day, in the 60's

Sunday, September 16, 2001

BIG BALD, 5516 ' elevation, - highlight of this trek: So many beautiful mountains, so little time. High Rocks (4100'), return of two lost dogs to their owner.

It was another chilly morning, about 40 degrees as I knocked down and cleaned up the camp. I enjoyed another turkey sandwich for breakfast. Mmmmmm - I could eat these all the time! Getting water was the first order of business. In only a quarter mile or so down the trail I came to a good spring. The water bubbled up right out of the side of the mountain. I drank up the rest of my treated water, treated another quart, then resumed hiking. I climbed the steep trail next to an abandoned talc mine - indeed, the soft crumbly chalk-like rock underfoot must have been unrefined talk. As I reached the top of a knob, the trail opened up into a meadow and there before me lay Big Bald in all its splendor. I could see clearly the bald, treeless top of the giant mountain before me.

Though I am used to looking ahead to where I will hike and looking back to where I've been, it never ceases to amaze me how much territory I can cover in a few hours. Its 9:00 AM now and Big Bald lies directly in front of me with a couple of hills and gaps between me and its summit, at a distance of 4.8 trail miles. It is the second highest mountain I must climb on this trek. It seems improbable that I could climb to the top of that big, high mountain in a day, with all the forest between the summit and I. The third photo in my series uses a 105mm telephoto lens to capture a close-up of the summit, its bald top clearly visible, and may give one a sense of the terrain between us. Yet, it seems incredible that a mere three hours later I was on top.

Big Bald, 5516 foot summit lies ahead. Note lack of trees on summit.

WOW. The view is awesome. It is beautiful beyond description. First of all, it is a nearly perfect day, almost cloudless, almost no haze, and almost unlimited visibility. I can see forever, it seems. The Great Smokey's stand proud on the horizon to the south. There are mountain ranges stretching as far as the eye can see in every direction. In one of the valleys, a little town can be seen - it must be Erwin TN, to the north. Except for a nearby housing development (a plush, gated community) and its golf course, a ski slope and a few pipelines and powerlines gouging the mountainsides, it is all natural and beautiful. A couple parked on top are the only ones up here besides me. They get ready to leave and I ask them to take my picture. They nicely oblige and we enter discussions about the area and the recent terrorist events. They drive off and its just me, the mountains, the sunshine and the fresh mountain breeze. Tears well up in my eyes as I think of the events of September 11 and how many loved ones - fathers, mothers, kids, brothers, sisters and lovers will never have the opportunity to see their loved ones again, or will never have the opportunity to experience the raw beauty I am now experiencing. The lack of planes and contrails in the sky is particularly poignant.

Great Smoky mountains as seen from summit of Big Bald

I take my camera and try to capture some of the panoramic vista that lies all 360 degrees around me. Try as I can, I know my efforts will fall short. It is just too beautiful to describe. To feel its full impact, someone must be here and experience it. I feel so fortunate. And Mother Nature was so nice to provide good weather - exceptionally good weather - instead of a bleak gray wall of mist or clouds. The Appalachian Mountains are said to be cloud and rain magnets, that they reach into the sky and snag all the passing clouds. Well, today I beat the odds. All the mountains around me are reaching into the clear blue Heavens. I sit down, relax, enjoy the sunshine and breeze as I bask in the sunny beauty. I could stay here forever, but I have mountains yet to climb, streams, rivers and forests yet to enjoy. I must move on. Reluctantly, I shoulder my pack and head north along the trail.

From Big Bald, Irwin Tennessee lies in the valley ahead. I'll be there tomorrow.

I descend the summit onto Big Stamp, a treeless extension of Big Bald and follow the trail to the Bald Mountain shelter and get water. No one is at the shelter and, like most others, there is not even a register to sign. I am hiking towards Little Bald when two large black and tan hounds wearing special collars approach from the other direction. I extend a friendly hand, one stops, sniffs and licks it, and then moves on, joining the other. They looked awfully skinny. I figured they knew where they were going so I kept moving. My plan was to hike until nearly dark or until I got too tired; whichever came first. My original plan called for me to spend the night at Bald Mt. Shelter, but I felt energized by the magnificent vista and wanted to keep going. I was on top of Little Bald (5185') by 2:30 PM and had only a 500-600 foot climb and a 2000 foot descent ahead of me to Spivey Gap (3252').

As I was descending towards Whistling Gap, the two dogs returned. I stopped and they stopped. I walked and they followed closely behind. I wrote down the telephone number from the brass tag of the friendly female hound. They were both wearing some king of transmitter collar. The male was a little skittish, but friendly. She was limping and both looked extremely skinny. I gave them water and kept moving. They stayed right with me, limping along behind me. If they got ahead of me, they would stop and wait for me to catch up. Whether I wanted them or not, I had two buddies. I took a break and gave them the only non-chocolate item I had besides trail mix- molasses cookies. They gobbled them right down. Then they just curled up, one right next to me and the other a few feet away, and waited for me to make the next move. They appeared tired and lame but they followed me all the way to Spivey Gap.

There, I got more water and met another hiker that was headed into town (Erwin, TN, 9 miles away by road). I gave him the owner's phone number and asked him to call. I returned to my camp just out of sight of the roadway and set up camp. As I was checking the maps and planning my next day, I set my glasses down on the pack. It was getting dark and I couldn't find my glasses. Being careful not to move and step on them, I did just that - stepped on them and popped the lenses right out and bent the frames. The next hour was spent bending, twisting and coaxing the glasses back into a wearable shape that would retain the lenses. I had no tools at all save my pocket knife and that had a blade only. As I was trying to restore my glasses, the dogs kept begging for more food. The only non-chocolate item I had left was trail mix and no self respecting dog would eat that - but these hungry hounds did. They ate it like it was hamburger, even licking it off the ground. Then they went and lay down. They were such good dogs. I really felt sorry for them.

I returned to the nearby parking area when I heard a car stop, told them about the dogs and gave them the phone number, asking them to call., As they left another couple came by and I asked them to call too. As I slid into my tent for the night at about 7:00 PM, they both curled up next to the tent and went to sleep. I got my nightly NPR update and went to sleep.

About 10:00 PM I was awakened by the sound of a truck pulling into the nearby parking area. The dogs stirred but stayed. A bright light flooded the campsite and the dogs took off running to their master. One of the three persons I asked had called him. He lived about 25 miles away and the dogs had been in the woods a couple of weeks, since they disappeared while being trained. He thanked me and went off into the night, dogs in tow. Happy to have the dogs back to their owner, I went back to sleep.

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