Dates ........ Thursday, September 13, 2001
Miles ........ 8.6 miles, 1750' climb
From ........ Spring Mt. Shelter
To ............. Little Laurel Shelter
Weather ... 55 DegF, sunny AM, later 70 degF and very hazy and humid.

Thursday, September 13, 2001

Allen Gap & Tenn Route 70, foothills of Camp Creek Bald .

The morning started out clear, sunny and 55 degrees - great hiking weather. It was mostly downhill and nice graded trail to Allen Gap and a road crossing that, according to the guides, had a service station near the road crossing. I was looking forward to calling home. I was moving along at a fast rhythmic pace downhill when I suddenly caught my foot on a root and found myself horizontal. My right knee scraped along some rocks, removing flesh. Other than that, and my wounded self-esteem, I was not injured. I tended to my bloody knee and moved on.

At Allen Gap and Tenn. Route 70 I was disappointed to find the service station long abandoned and closed, its pay phone gone. There was a highway crew there, taking a break. They were quite interested in my journey and equipment, and they were very friendly and nice. After chatting with them for a while, I crossed the road and found a pretty spot in the woods and ate my lunch. I had a big climb ahead of me; from 2234 foot Allen Gap to Little Laurel Shelter at 4,000 feet - most of the way up to the 4844 foot high summit of Camp Creek Bald.

I met two guys and their dog on the trail and they had not heard "the news". I felt so bad giving it to them; I didn't want to spoil the enjoyment of their hike. I showed them the special section of the newspaper I purchased back in Hot Springs the morning after the attack. They were appalled but felt as I did - the AT was one of the safest places in the world to be right now.

In one of the sags on the foothills of Camp Creek Bald I found an old metal cowbell where I sat down to take a break. It was rusted but otherwise in good shape, and very heavy. I wanted to take it home but it was just too much weight to put in my pack since I was several days away from my next town stop and the ability to send it home. I was feeling the effects of adding six days of food to my pack. It felt heavy. Real heavy.

I reached the shelter about 3:35 PM, dripping sweat and tired. My left foot continued to bother me. It was uncomfortable and had burning sensations, but seemed to function OK. I headed to the water source and washed up, did laundry, and got my evening supply of water. The Polar Pure Iodine treatment system has been working very well. I found it much lighter than a filter (saved 2 pounds), very convenient and dependable, and the water did not taste bad.

At the shelter, I hung my wet trail laundry to dry and fought off hordes of hungry mosquitoes while I ate my supper. I tuned in NPR for the latest news. After I rolled out my sleeping pad and bag, I had to zip myself inside the bug mesh protection of my bivy to keep from being drained of all my blood by those buzzing little pests. I preferred that to dosing myself with toxic bug repelling chemicals that worked only marginally at best. These damn bugs meant business - as soon as you killed one, three took its place. Thanks to the tent's mesh, I had a decent night's sleep.

 

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