Gone with the Wind (Day 35)

I spent two hours awake last night worrying about falling trees. And this morning I’m paying for it. I could barely get up and didn’t leave camp until late. Today was my longest hiking day yet (18.5 miles), so these circumstances were unfortunate. But we persist.

New perspectives

After hiking Unaka Mountain, we almost immediately entered the 5.8 mile Hurricane Helene Detour. It was mostly a flat road ride. But it ended up in the forest, with extremely steep stairs that we had to climb up and then down, on the other side. I spent the detour talking to an older hiker I had just met. He is part of the Warrior Expeditions team. I learned that this is a program that supports combat veterans doing AT.

He was interesting to talk to and I enjoyed hearing his perspective on different topics. He told me that the founder of the program climbed the AT himself after serving in the military. He wanted to give others in his situation the same opportunity.

Fearless

The day was long and ended with a 3 mile climb to Ash Gap, a campsite halfway up Roan Mountain. When we were almost there, I saw two deer eating. They noticed me, but didn’t seem bothered. I approached to take pictures and they still didn’t get startled. They seemed almost not afraid of me.

impressed

At the campground there were open grassy fields and plenty of flat tent sites. At 5,300 feet, the wind blew violently all night. A storm is brewing tomorrow, which may have contributed. The noise was intense, like ocean waves crashing against rocks. I frequently woke up to my tent shaking so hard that I feared it would collapse.

Tomorrow, a group of us have decided to hike another 18.5 mile day. We hope to stay at a lodge that is just off the trail while the storm passes overnight.

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