Day 16: April 19, 2021
Cold Spring Shelter to Rufus Morgan Shelter – 10.7 miles
Pickles and Mike woke up early and got moving before most of us. Their goal was to make it to the NOC, the Nantahala Outdoor Center, to resupply. Yogi, Freshly Baked and I, however, decided to camp one mile short of the NOC. Since there wasn’t a huge hurry to get moving, I hung out in camp for a while and watched the sunrise as I drank my coffee with Fresh.
After looking at the elevation map for the day I guessed it would be a hard day. My new shoes were helping with my foot pain. The tendonitis was gone, and the plantar fasciitis was on the mend. Fortunately, I didn’t get any blisters. Since I had to wear the shoes right out of the box I was worried about the break-in period, but they felt comfortable from the very first day. My knees, however, were still in agony with every step.
I scrolled through all of the icons on the section of map for the day to map out my water sources and viewpoints. Yogi, Fresh, and I decided Wesser Bald would be a good place for lunch. I sighed as I saw the four mile stretch of downhill at the end of the day. Yeah, this is going to suck.
The chilly mornings were very rough. I always tried to take as many videos as I could so I could share these with my friends and family, and now you! I didn’t carry any kind of thermometer, so I never had a clue what the actual temperature was. Thinking back now, it definitely wasn’t in the 20’s but I bet it was about 35-degrees.
I was only a couple of miles in at this point, coming down the first big descent. Yogi and Fresh had hiked ahead of me; they could always fly downhill, everyone seemed to be able to, except me. In times like these, it was hard for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel. At this point, my knees had been hurting since Day 3, about 100 miles, and I was sick of it.
The three of us got to Wesser Bald around 1:00. The boys leaned on their backpacks, serving as makeshift backrests. With food bags opened and shoes and socks discarded nearby, they seemed perfectly comfortable. I followed suit and unlaced my shoes and peeled off my socks that were both sweaty and stiff. Once off, my socks still held the shape of my feet. Lunch was a favorite: tortillas, some kind of flavored tuna packet, and a sprinkling of crushed chips to give it some crunch.
Yogi grabbed his shoes and began to lace up, signaling that lunch was over. I enjoyed my first barefoot lunch, but putting my socks back on felt so uncomfortable. They were still damp which made putting them on difficult. I might have mentioned this earlier, but I wore two pairs of socks on each foot. The first layer was an Injinji liner, which is foot-shaped, with separate sections for each toe. From my research, I found that these helped prevent blisters. After getting each toe in its place, I put on my Darn Tough socks (that’s the brand).
I knew the worst of the trail was yet to come, but I also knew the only way to get it over with was to do it. I set off.
The four mile downhill took me hours, but not for the reason I expected. The hike wasn’t grueling and painful, but instead it was beautiful! Going lower in elevation meant warmer weather which helped the flora and fauna thrive. For the past week or so, I had been at elevations of 5,000 to 6,000 feet. It felt cold and barren up there, but down at 3,000 feet, the landscape was completely transformed. It was as if I’d stepped through a portal that transported me from winter to spring in just a few steps.
The lower I hiked, the greener it got. I stopped frequently to take pictures, and in doing so, my knees got a lot of rest throughout the hike. I couldn’t believe this was where I was, this place had so quickly become my home.
In this video, you see an example of a perfect water source. Someone had put a leaf in the stream to help make a spout for easy filling of bottles.
When I got to camp, my spirits were high! The camp was under large trees with new leaves popping through. As I looked up though, I noticed they were littered with cut ropes and rock bags.
“That’s a lot of rope,” I commented.
“Looks like I’m sleeping with my food tonight,” Yogi said.
“That’s what I did last night. This place is a bear hang graveyard,” a hiker named Sober commented.
“Last night? Did you zero here?” I asked him.
“Yeah, when I got to camp yesterday, I thought it was perfect, and I wanted to stay another day. I’ve spent the day relaxing and gathering firewood,” he said gesturing over his shoulder at the pile of wood he made.
I walked down to the stream that ran through camp to set up my tent. Well, I thought, I’m definitely not sleeping with my food. Unlike most of the men I met on the AT, I was not so keen to fight a bear for my food. I wandered around after dinner and found a hillside away from camp. I set my food bag down and hoped it would be there in the morning. I made my way back to my tent and settled in for the night. I fell asleep quickly listening to the sound of the babbling brook just feet away from me.
Next time on Packing It In: Yogi, Freshly Baked, and I do a nero into town and spend the night at a nearby hostel.
Did you see a word you didn’t know? Check out my Appalachian Trail Thru Hiker Dictionary for a list of hiker terminology. If you don’t see the word on this list, comment below and I’ll add it!
Big fan of the leaf faucet 🍃