Day 15 – Rock Gap to Wine Spring Camp

Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. South wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

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Up at 7:00, breakfasted, and packed. Left The Grove hostel in Franklin just after 8:00. Got on trail at 8:30. Mike will join me at camp tonight. He plans to get dropped off at trail by his girlfriend around 10:00.

Interesting note…there have been reports for the past few days of a weird guy camping at Rock Gap brandishing a halberd and a long sword. We saw his camp but not him. Other people who came through Rock Gap later today (talked to them on trail) told me they ran into him.

I have 11.8 miles to get to Wine Spring Camp today. Goal is to get into the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) early Tuesday to avoid as much of the thunderstorms as possible. Got a small room there for Tuesday night. Then pushing on to Fontana Dam by noon Friday to ride out more rain and get ready to tackle the Smoky Mountains for a week.

It is different hiking alone even if only for a day. Mike should meet me at camp later today. I heard from Matt Canada, an old work comrade, this morning. It’s always uplifting to hear from people out here on trail. Keeps the spirits up.

I took a break at 10:00. Got out of my pack and shoes for a bit. Lots of uphill today with a very nasty climb at the end.  On the trail again at 10:30.

Paused for water and a snack at noon. Feel good and making decent time so far today. 

Embracing that “it’s the journey, not the destination” mantra, I hiked .2 miles UP a side trail to Siler Bald. What a climb! What a view! Took an awesome 360-degree video. And there is a cell tower right across the valley, which let me talk to Dana this afternoon. Yey! On the downside, why didn’t I think to leave my pack at the bottom of the hill instead of lugging it all the way to the top? Doh!

YouTube video from the top of Siler Bald.

I ran into some nice trail magic at Wayah Gap. Got a couple of orange juices and cookies. 

I made it to Wine Spring Camp at 5:15. That last 2.5 miles UPHILL was really nasty. My feet hurt, and my calves are threatening to cramp up.

Initially, I had the campsite all to myself. I found a nice flat spot and set up my tent and my bear hang. Zero cell service. About the time I got that done, a young lady on a two-week section hike came into camp. She is from Baltimore, and her dad is picking her up at the NOC day after tomorrow. I ate a big dinner at 6:45. Mike arrived about 6:40. The three of us chatted for a bit while the others ate dinner. I was really tired and crawled into my tent very sore at 8:00. And of course, it took me until after 10:00 to actually doze off 🙁

Technical Notes:

• Donuts 450
• Coffee 0
• Sweet and salty granola bar 200
• Trail mix 270
• OJ x2 350
• Chips ahoy 300
• Peak refule sweet pork 800
• Fritos 700
• Watch 30%
• Garmin 92%
• Phone 49%
• Shokz 40%
• Water 3.4 liters
• Miles 13.74
• Time 9:15
• Elevation gain 3575
• Calories consumed 3550
• Calories burned 6000