Uphillhike

Category: Hiking

  • Day 4 – AT – Bartram Loop

    Trailside Camp to Winding Stair Gap Road parking on Hwy 19 / 129 – 8 miles

    It was a short day. I was back to my car by noon. It had rained some during the night, but it was not blowing so I left one side of my tarp open and stayed dry. This lean-to tarp arrangement is comfortable and makes it easy to move around and cook and just open up to the outdoors.

    It was so muggy again that it made it hard to sleep with the down bag. I used my goretex rain jacket to cover my chest and down bag to cover my feet and legs. That seemed to keep me warm without feeling all sticky and hot.

    Light rain came and went during the morning. At one point shortly after crossing the high point on Rattlesnake Knob, I walked under large white pines on a bed of dry needles. Such a nice feeling on the feet. The boughs of the pines overhead were thick enough to block out the rain.

    The trail in this section was excellent. Unlike the descent to Nantahala Lake, there were nice short switchbacks down the last descent leading to the Duke Power Plant road. I am sometimes asked to compare these trails to those in the west. Just having hiked Alpine Lakes Wilderness on the PCT, it was easy to see how much shorter and steeper are the switchbacks in the Appalacians. I guess that is because they descend narrower ridges. After reaching the road, the yellow blazes nearly disappeared causing me some second guessing and backtracking.

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    Very tall water tank where the trail enters and begins following gravel power plant road. This point is well up the mountain. There is a 2nd short and squat water tank near the bottom of the road that signals to start looking for turnoff to left where trail passes through tall weeds.

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    Easy to miss turn off the power plant road. I nearly walked all of the way to the locked gates that close all access to the road.
    Paddlers passing under bridge as I wind up the hike.

     

    – Hiked on Monday, October 26, 2015
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  • Day 2 – Bartram – AT Loop Hike

    Day 2 – Bartram – AT Loop Hike

    Appalachian Trail

    Rufus Morgan Shelter to Wayah Shelter – 16 miles

    Had great camp mates from Atlanta (Reynoldstown). Ben, Mike, and Rusty. Ben had to help a hiker with a sprained ankle down to the NOC, then climb the 0.8 miles back to the shelter. Thanks for the campfire. They tented so I had the shelter to myself.

    It quickly became overcast, but I still had nice views from the jump up.

    I stopped for a long lunch at Wesser Fire Tower. I must have seen 50 people between Wesser Shelter and the tower. It was nice to see people hiking the Wesser Creek trail which is the old AT that my brother and I hiked in 1979.


    The Jump Up


    Me at the Jump Up. What a climb!


    Panorama from fire tower.


    Enjoying hot chocolate and the vies from Wesser Bald fire tower.


    Cold Spring Shelter


    Wayah Shelter (sleeping here tonight)


    Next morning: Standing Indian and Albert Mountains from Wayah Tower

    Hiked on Saturday, October 24, 2015
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  • Day 1 – Bartram – AT Loop

    Started on Hwy 19 at Winding Stair road. 5 miles on Bartram to AT And Cheoah Bald. Another 8 miles to the Nantahala Outdoor Center on Hwy 19. Another 0.8 miles to Rufus Morgan Shelter on AT.

    Didn’t see anyone on the Bartram trail. It follows Ledbetter Creek with beautiful cascades and falls. After climbing 3000 ft in 5 miles, the rest of the day added to the exhaustion.

    Now I am sitting at the Rivers End Restaurant at the NOC before hiking the last bit to the shelter. I slack packed this section. The outfitters store held my full pack for me.

    Added bonus was coin operated shower at the NOC.


    Railroad tracks at beginning of hike at Winding Stair Rd. I crossed these same tracks at the end of the day, only 6.3 miles downriver.


    Bridge over Ledbetter Creek. After this, the trail climbs climbs climbs.


    Finally reached end of Bartram near Cheoah Bald.

    Hiked on Friday, October 23, 2015
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    Location:Appalachian National Scenic Trl,Bryson City,United States

  • Day 2 – NC Bartram Trail

    Day 2 – NC Bartram Trail

    After breakfast of coffee and oatmeal with walnuts and dried blueberries I finally got my stuff packed. The other Mark B had been packed up ready to go a long time ahead of me. We soon discovered that we had not yet reached Jone’s Gap at all. We had assumed that we were camping about 0.2 miles past Jone’s Gap, but in fact we had camped about 0.2 miles short of Jone’s Gap.

    The must see view was a 0.3 mile hike off the trail to the top of Whiterock Mountain. There was a large granite face down the opposite side of the mountain with wide views. This is a popular spot for a day hike from Jone’s Gap and back. I recommend it.

    Panorama from Whiterock Mountain.
    Top of Fishhawk Mountain. The view is not worth the steep climb. It is a tree obstructed view. Sign at turn off shows trail length of 528 feet. The Bartram Trail guide states 1440 feet. The trail guide is right about the length, but incorrectly describes the view. The trees must have grown since the guide was written.
    Proof that I climbed to the top of Fishhawk mountain.
    Our last high view on this section of the Bartram trail.
    This old school bus is not far from Wolf Rock overlook and is well up the mountain. How it got here is anybody’s guess. It is right in the middle of the trail.
    Largest and most unusual tree burl I have seem. Burls are formed when a tree’s growth hormone gets hijacked, usually by a bacterium. This burl is unusually symmetric.

    – Hiked on Sunday, October 18, 2015
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  • Day 1 – NC Bartram Trail

    Day 1 – NC Bartram Trail

    Saturday- October 17, 2015

    Lying under my tarp writing this with the campfire smoke burning my eyes.

    My friend, Mark and I dropped his car at Buckeye Creek and we drove my car to Hale Ridge Rd where we began hiking north. Still in the 40’s by late morning.

    After crossing HWY 106 at mile 3.6 we went up log steps and proceeded up steep wash straight up the fall line. The trail turned left and began switchbacks just past the steps but we missed that. Eventually we were wandering around lost high up the mountain. We climbed up steep rock exposures and wandered a number of false trails, always trying to bear left in an effort to rejoin the trail. Unfortunately, most clear trails led us right. We climbed to avoid impenetrable laurel. To avoid undergrowth we climbed rock faces where we found them. I used my Iphone app GPS to bear closer to the trail GPS trail track. Reaching difficult laurel, I dropped my pack and slipped through the laurel thicket then climbed more rock until GPS showed me nearly on top of the trail. I didn’t know whether to trust the GPS track that I had downloaded from the Internet. In any case, too far to turnaround without knowing, I bushwhacked straight up through briars and overgrown laurel toward what appeared to be level area 30 feet above. Emerging through the vines and thorns I stood on the trail next to one of the Bartram’s yellow blazes attached to a tree. I yelled down to Mark that I found the trail and heard a whoop in reply. We were exhausted, I still had to descend to retrieve my backpack and repeat the last part of the ascent. My forearms were bloody, torn up by briars. We had emerged close to the top of Scaly Mountain. At Scaly Mountain, we took a break to enjoy the views and chowed down on the Subway sandwiches that we had brought along.

    The last part of the day was spent ascending toward Jones Gap. Around 11 miles we found a flat spot to camp. We camped 0.2 miles past Jones Gap without ever coming out on the road. Apparently, the trail has been rerouted and the guide is out of date. (Note: 10/18/2015 – The trail hadn’t been rerouted. We were actually still short of Jones Gap.)

    We pitched tent and tarp, ate dinner of stovetop stuffing and Moon Cerse. Built a fire and ate marshmallows and fig newtons and fell asleep exhausted and happy to be back on the real trail.


    Mark during break while lost.


    – Mark (me) on Scaly Mtn . Back on trail at last.

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    Location:Retreat Ln,Highlands,United States

  • Day 8 – Rain

    Ridge Lake to Snoqualmie

    6 miles

    The rain and wind started lightly, but in very little time I had water dripping from the roof at the lower end of my tent. I woke up at 1 AM and realized that the foot of my bag was in a puddle of water. I scrunched up toward the upper end of the tent and attempted to stay dry. Water was also leaking through the seam for the rain fly door and water coated the entire inside of the fly. I need to get rid of this Sierra Designs flashlight tent.

    Big puddle of water at bottom of my tent. See the sagging roof at top of photo with water dripping.
    We arrived out of the mists of the mountains seen in the background. Photo take from Summit Pancake House where 10 wet dirty smelly hikers piled equally wet dirty smelly gear in the entrance vestibule before eating a big lunch.

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    Location:Snoqualmie