Day 16 – Wine Spring Camp to Wesser Bald Shelter

Rain showers likely before 11 a.m., then showers and thunderstorms likely between 11 a.m. and noon, then showers and thunderstorms likely between noon and 2 p.m., then showers and thunderstorms between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., then showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. South southwest wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three-quarters of an inch possible.

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Up at 7:00, breakfasted, packed up, and out of camp at 8:10. Mike and I are hiking together today. Stopped to get a little water about 100 yards from camp. No sense carrying a lot of water up the next mountain. Plenty of water after that. Kind of spooky as there is a bunch of abandoned camping gear strewn around the area.  Based on comments on FarOut, it’s been this way for a few weeks. Most likely belonged to a homeless person. Sad but not uncommon to see this on the trail near populated areas.

Summited Wayah Bald at 9:30. Mixed sun and clouds. We are literally in and out of clouds at this altitude. There is a pit toilet and trash cans at the parking lot up here. Used both 🙂 Always a bonus. Good cell service up here. Called Dana and had a second breakfast then checked out the tower.

We took a break at 11:15 for a snack. Took a long break at 12:40. Dropped my pack and got out of my shoes and massaged my feet. My feet and ankles hurt a lot. That’s 7.3 miles down, and 7 miles to go. Gonna be a long day.

I took a side trail up to the summit of Rocky Bald at 3:00. Tough climb up but amazing views.

Got to Tellico Gap at 4:15. There are 2.5 steep miles to climb then .7 down to camp. My feet hurt a lot right now. This next climb is going to be long, hard, and painful. Took a break for 30 minutes, stretched my feet, and got ready for this next climb. If there were a place here to set up my tent, I would call it a day. 

Did I mention there hasn’t been a cloud in the sky all day, and the leaves are not covering the trail yet? I’ve got a great tan going on! Sun shirts and sun tan lotion are for pussies!

We stopped to refill water partway up this nasty climb. I hate to carry the weight, but with this climb, sun, and heat, I’m going through a LOT of water. I’ve seen way too many idiots who try to tough it out and not carry enough water and pay dearly for it later.

We finally summited Wesser Bald and climbed the fire tower. Amazing views. 

Here is a YouTube video of Wesser Bald view.

We only had a .7-mile hike downhill to camp. Stopped for water just before camp. Made camp at 6:45 at Wesser Bald shelter. There are terrible tent sites here. Tree roots and nothing level. It’s supposed to rain around dawn. Mike decided to sleep in the shelter. I was tempted but went with my tent instead. 

Made dinner and crawled into my tent at 8:45. Gave Dana a call. The last two days have been a LOT of elevation gain and miles.  Looking forward to a short day tomorrow. I dozed off by 9:30.

Technical Notes:

• Honey Stinger 150
• Nut butter 200
• Fritos 500
• Kind bar 160
• Trail mix 270
• Trail mix 270
• Fritos 150
• Knorr rice 585
• Dehydrated pork 240
• Water 6 liters
• Miles 16
• Time 10:38
• Elevation gain 3061
• Calories consumed 2600
• Calories burned 6000