Day 14 – Incomplete roots

Last night was a cold night, dropping back into the low twenties. But that being said, I slept pretty well. Probably my best night’s sleep on the road. Which has more to do with how poorly you slept the other night than how well you slept the night before, but it’s progress nonetheless.

Before Fontana

Today will be a shorter day, just looking for the last shelter before reaching Fontana Dam, the southern gateway to the Smoky Mountains for NOBO hikers. That will set us up for a NERO to Fontana Dam tomorrow to resupply and pick up packs before entering the Smokies the next day.

We broke camp a little before 8:30 in the morning and began the day with a short climb before beginning a long descent. It was difficult to get going in the cold morning, but as the sun peeked over the mountains, warmth slowly spread through my body. The morning was marked by a couple of steep climbs, interspersed with some descents, which surprised me in their difficulty. Another aspect that increased the difficulty was the amount of dead leaves on the path today at some points. They have been thick enough in places to make it slippery, causing extra effort to not slip and fall, and greater effort. Which is annoying and currently the bane of my existence.

Leaves dead for days.

Snakes?

Another thing I’ve been thinking about that has slowed down progress has been searching for snakes. Yesterday, 3 different people mentioned seeing snakes at some point during their hike in the last two days. So I’ve been on high alert, surveying the terrain very closely all day. I’m happy to report that other than a couple of sketchy roots, the coast has been clear so far.

There are no snakes here

In the afternoon I sped ahead of my group to sit at a well-received campsite to catch up on some blog posts. I spent over 2 hours working on them, but made some good progress. I also took advantage of this time to dry my floor (due to soil moisture) and my clothes (due to sweat) in the sun.

As I sat working on my posts, there was a constant flow of people passing by and I was reminded of the fact that I knew almost everyone who passed by. Kunjungi Click3here. Which is great, knowing that most of the 30 or so people walking around me in our little “bubble.”

Arriving at a decent blogging spot, I packed my bag and continued to the shelter site where I would end the night. After sitting for a good part of the afternoon, I felt pretty good and covered the last 3.2 miles in about an hour, which was a pretty fast pace for the terrain. Once at camp, much of the normal routine followed. I set up my tent, laid out my sleeping gear, changed into camping clothes, and made dinner.

The day ended with a bedtime serenade with a pair of barred owls discussing their plans for the evening’s dinner.

Statistics for the 14th:

11.7 miles

2,543′ ascent, 3,314′ descent

Locust Cove Gap Shelter to Cable Gap

6 DSLC (Days since last cathole)…

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