Floyd Mt. (3560'el), Apple Orchard Mt. (4225'el), Radar Dome, Guillotine Rocks

It was a warm, hazy, humid morning - 62 degrees at sunup. I had one of my biggest climbs ahead of me - over 3500 feet up Floyd Mt (3560'el) and then my nemesis - Apple Orchard Mt. (4244'el). The 10 mile hike was almost all uphill. Apple Orchard was the mountain that eluded me in the heavy rain and fog of April 2000. It was my intended starting point, my first climb of that hike, but we could not find it that soggy day so we started at Petite's Gap, about 7 miles north. Traversing the summit of Apple Orchard Mt. was to be one of my biggest rewards.

Shortly after leaving Bryant Ridge Shelter I was treated to some pretty waterfalls along Hamps Branch Creek, then I began the assault on Floyd Mt, climbing 2200 feet in the next 4.5 miles. It was steep, hot and sweaty but I continued at a steady pace, each step taking me higher and closer to my goal. I cameled up, drinking all the water I could hold, knowing water would be scarce on the mountain. On the way up I saw the summit of Apple Orchard looming in the hazy distance, easily identifying the huge radar dome protruding from its mountaintop.

Just over the summit of Floyd Mt. I took a lunch and water break at Cornelius Shelter with Harry Carey, the ex navy hiker I met on the first day of my hike. The area was heavily covered with thick, lush rhododendron. Even at these high elevations, where one usually finds comfort in a mountain breeze, the day was now approaching a very humid and sticky 80 degF. The hiking became uncomfortably hot and sweaty as I climbed the last 1400 feet up Apple Orchard Mt. in the still air. I was motivated to make the summit despite the heat or other challenges - I was thinking about home sweet home and over that mountain was the way to get there.

Suddenly, at 1:40 P.M., I broke into a clearing with the huge overbearing radar dome - the summit of Apple Orchard Mt. I could hear the whir and hum of equipment. The dome wasn't pretty; it and all its support equipment cluttered the mountaintop, but it was probably necessary, and here I was. There was no view because of the extreme haze. Very disappointed, I took a few photos and moved on. I hiked down through the Guillotine, a most interesting rock formation. Then I crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway. There, the ground there was literally covered with crickets - fly-sized grasshopper type bugs all along the roadside. They made an eerie noise as they scampered, hopped and flew about. I crossed the road and descended into Thunder Hill Shelter for my last night on the trail.

Free Spirit nears the summit of Apple Orchard Mt and its radar dome.

There was no one at the shelter when I arrived. I got water, took a sponge bath and set up my sleeping gear then stretched out on the picnic table to relax in the sun. I could hear traffic noises from the nearby parkway. Harry Carey joined me, and then Brian and Michelle, a nice young couple from Connecticut joined us. They had been slumming about Florida and parts of the AT for about 6 months - enough for them. They were trying to figure the best way to get home.

Brian at Thunder Hill shelter.