I woke up around 6:30am as that was when they served coffee and there was a mad rush from the bunk to get it. Followed by breakfast promptly at 7:00 am. The breakfast served at the Quarter Way Inn is legendary.
Breakfast and the Quarter Way Inn are serious business!
After two rounds of buffet breakfast, I had my fill and put my backpack in order. But before I left I needed to work on my blog post. I was a little late, so I needed to stay a while to take advantage of the Wi-Fi. I worked on my blog until almost 11:00 am, before settling in and leaving.
stream crossing
I hit the road around 11:30am, much later than I had planned, but that’s life. On my 0.3 mile hike back to the trail, it was evident that the fog had lifted and there was an almost cloudless blue sky. It was already quite hot, which should make it a sweaty day! The first half mile or so of the trail was uphill through a grassy pasture, before re-entering the forest.
Green fields and blue skies
The next two kilometers had me weaving in and out of forests and grassy meadows. Which was followed by a steady climb back up to the ridge. The track continued climbing for several more kilometers, until there was a steep descent to a stream crossing. There used to be a bridge there, but it was destroyed in a storm and now you have to get your feet wet. Fortunately, it was quite warm outside and the water was not deep, which made splashing around a fun experience!
Ford the river or caulk the cars and make them float?
I took a break at the stream crossing, taking the opportunity to have a snack and fill up on water. It was also a pretty social place, so I took the opportunity to chat with some of the other hikers hanging around.
Will you take me higher?
The grass is really starting to appear around the trail.
After the creek crossing, the first mile was nice and calm, but then it was all uphill for several miles. It was the longest climb I’ve had in a couple of weeks. As I reached the top of the climb, the trees gave way to grassy meadows.
Approaching the top
Not exactly bald, but some open fields. It was in this section that I refilled my water at a spring that flowed into a pond. When I turned around and looked back where I came from, I was blown away by the view of the surrounding mountains.
Wow -Owen Wilson
lost dog
As I continued onward and upward, I ran into a guy with what looked like a giant walkie-talkie type contraption. Apparently he lost one of his dogs yesterday and was using the device to try to find it. But the good thing was that it only worked if I was within 0.25 miles of the dog and it finally got into that range when I got closer. I stopped and chatted with him for a while and while I was talking to him, his dog appeared! Apparently I was training him and the dog got lost while chasing the scent of some animal and was outside all night alone. And this guy had been looking for him ever since. The dog was a little skittish around strangers, so I started walking away to speed up his reunion. Leaving it, I only had a short distance to the top of the mountain, where the Chestnut Knob Shelter was. I reached the top and was greeted in the complete opposite direction from where I came, with some excellent additional views of the valley below me.
View from the chestnut knob
I took a short break at the shelter to check it out, as it was made of stone and completely enclosed, like an old firefighter’s cabin used to be.
Chestnut Knob Shelter, a former firehouse
It was great to see, however I didn’t stop because I had some extra distance I wanted to cover today. From there it was all downhill to Walker Gap, where I found a campsite and settled in for the night. Shorter day today, but if you don’t start it until almost noon, what else can you expect.
Day 42 Statistics:
15.5 miles (+ 0.3 bonus miles)
4,400′ ascent, 3,478′ descent
Quarter Way Inn at Walker Gap
5DSLC…
Times the stove has been used: 7
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