Day 25 – Sunset at Big Bald

I slept well last night, although while the quantity was there, probably about 9 hours, the quality was not. I’m still fighting that chest cold that mainly manifests itself as a barking cough. It might be some morning optimism, but I think I’m feeling a little better. Anyway, I got up at 7am and was on my way at 8am

Magic trail!?!

The first few miles of the day were very smooth and easy until Devil’s Fork Gap. A good way to start the morning. It got even better when I was descending towards the gap and saw white tables set out with lots of food, which means one thing: trail magic!

The Carolina Mountain Club, trail maintainer in the area, was organizing magical trails for hikers in the Gap. They didn’t have the grill up and running yet, but they treated me to a variety of fruits and baked goods, as well as a cold Coca-Cola to start the day. The baked goods were fantastic! Especially the brownies and banana bread. Very good, I had to take some. After stalling for about 30 minutes, I pressed on and faced the downside of trail magic. Let me explain to you. The magic of trails is almost always found in a hollow, a low point in the mountains where a road passes. I mean, after stuffing my face, I usually have to climb a mountain. I’m not complaining, but as with most things, my actions have repercussions.

The climb out of the gap was quite good, with steep parts interspersed with more forgiving ones. The good thing about this climb was that it paralleled a stream and crossed it several times. Which provided a nice quiet landscape and background noise to compete with my huffing and puffing.

While I may feel a little better today, the climbs are still very difficult, more so than usual. However, after a long climb, the next three miles were quite difficult and led me to the next shelter, Hogback Ridge Shelter.

I took a short break here, filtered some water and then moved on. It was just a couple of miles downhill to Sam Gap, and everything went smoothly.

Other!

At Sam Gap I had to cross under a highway bridge and when I came out on the other side, who did I see, none other than Nomad! He was introducing trail magic, along with Skywalker. A double header from Trail Magic, an embarrassment of riches today. It was a great spread and I’m not ashamed to say I made the most of it. Banana, couple of beauties, 2 hot dogs, hot ham and cheese sandwich, 2 Gatorades and a Coca-Cola. I even applied some sunscreen that they had on hand, since it was very sunny today and there was no break in sight. I also took the opportunity to sit in a real chair, a simple but underrated comfort. After resting for about 45 minutes, my internal clock told me it was better to keep moving. And once again I had a big climb out of a hole with a full stomach in front of me…

Sam Gap’s departure was long and hard. My cold chest and full belly certainly didn’t make it any easier. After a couple miles of climbing, I had a brief respite and a great view of Big Bald in the distance, which I’ll get to soon.

Big Bald looming in the distance

More climbing followed. It was an even harder and longer climb until we reached Big Bald. I ended up finding a sneaky spot a little off the beaten path, where I set up my tent for the night. Afterwards, I grabbed some snacks and water and headed to the top to watch the sunset.

big bald

The top of Big Bald is an open grassy area, with no trees or obstacles. Provides 360° views of the surrounding landscape. On a clear day, it’s probably impressive in itself. But he wasn’t up there at any time, he was up there at dusk. During the sunset, the surrounding mountains and sky came alive with color. The mountains in blue and violet tones, and the sky dazzled with yellows, reds and oranges. It was truly a sight to behold.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it would happen so quickly. But I’m afraid I have to say: move on to Max Patch, because Big Bald takes the cake for the best view of the trip! (Drink)

Statistics for the 25th:

16.5 mile + 0.5 mile bonus for Big Bald Sunset

5,243′ ascent, 3,232′ descent

Hidden site to hidden site

17DSLC…

Stove use times: 4

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