Day: |
008 |
Date: |
Saturday, 10 May 1986 |
Start: |
|
Finish: |
|
Daily
AT Miles: |
16.2 |
Daily Other Miles |
0 |
Total
AT Miles: |
144.1 |
Total All Miles |
150.4 |
Weather: |
Mostly cloudy, warm and humid. |
Accommodation: |
|
Nutrition: |
Breakfast: Grape nuts. Lunch: Soup,
bread, chilli-cheeseburger, chocolate milk, orange juice.
Dinner: Rice and vegetable soup. |
Aches: |
Feet very sore. |
Animals Seen: |
Dogs |
People Seen: |
Three AT Thru-Hikers, two overnight hikers,
50 others. |
Pictures: |
Here |
GPS Track: |
|
Journal: |
Got up at 6:30am and left at 8am. Andy and
I were both aiming for Wesser for lunch, but were happy to travel
separately, meeting occasionally. For most of the morning the Trail
descended steeply from Wesser Bald (4627ft) from where there were
reasonable views on a hazy day from an old fire-tower. The descent
was long, steep in places, and punctuated by sudden sharp climbs
over knolls. The forest was lovely and, as the Trail got lower,
there were lots of blossoms and leafy glades. I arrived in Wesser
about 11:40am and went to the campstore to buy a few items for the
one night I anticipated spending on the Trail between Wesser
andFontana. I then chatted with a couple of AT Thru-Hikers, Angus
and Tony, who were spending a day in Wesser and going white-water
canoeing in the afternoon. Wesser was really
the Nantahala Outdoor Center which comprised a restaurant, shop,
hostel, etc., and ran rafting trips on the Nantahala River. I went
to the restaurant and ordered a reasonably-priced lunch of soup and
a chilli-cheeseburger. About 30 kids arrived at the Center in the
middle of my meal. I left the restaurant, got a chocolate milk,
filled my water bottles, and set off at 1:30pm. I hoped to go 13
miles, but this next section is supposed to be one of the toughest
on the Trail. I said farewell to Andy and set off. The Trail
climbed steeply out of Wesser and I regretted the
chilli-cheeseburger which was making me sweat even more than
necessary on a humid day. The Trail was spectacular and cut across
steep faces and went along rocky ridges. My feet were very sore
from the morning’s descent and I began thinking that 13 miles in the
afternoon was too much. I eventually decided to stop at Sassafras
Gap Shelter and did so at 5pm. Stopping here made it unlikely that
I would get to Fontanaon Sunday morning in time to do grocery
shopping in the store which possibly closed on Mondays, and also
meant that tomorrow night’s dinner would be a hodge podge, but it
was nice to stop early. Andy arrived about 20 minutes after me and
we had a pleasant relaxed evening. Kept waking up again during the
night and, at one point, found a mouse nibbling on a cherry pie
inadvertently left out. All other food was hung up. Maybe my
sleeping bag is too narrow to use a sheet in. Will experiment. |
|
ADVENTURE LIST
Round Ireland
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Hume & Hovell Walking Track
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Via Alpina
(2012)
Australian Alps Walking
Track (2011)
Land's End to John O'Groats
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Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
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Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
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Round Oz Bike Record Attempt
(2007)
Australia Tip to Top MTB
(2006)
Adelaide to Darwin MTB
(2005)
Sydney to Melbourne MTB
(2004)
Three Peaks Race
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Appalachian Trail
(1986)
Alpine Track
(1983)
|