The Unpolished Princess

Start: Fontana Dam Road (AT mi 164.3). Stop: Stecoah Gap (AT mi 150.6). Today’s miles: 13.7 miles. Total AT mileage: 2042.5 miles.

I slept in some today. And honestly, I had no qualms with it. My bed was comfortable, I was warm, and I slept well. Eventually I’ll be back on an actual schedule and the idea of that stinks.. and I’ve realized I’ve never really let go of the “schedule” while out here. I’ve always had somewhere to be by this date, miles to hike by this time.. and while it sounds stressful, it’s actually somewhat comforting to have control over it.. and know that if I don’t technically keep control over it, nothing bad will happen.. weird, right?

So, I got up around 8.. the shuttle driver couldn’t drive me back to the trail until 9 anyway, so why rush? I was going to pack, and did pack a few things, but then decided to walk upstairs in my warm sleep clothes for breakfast instead. It was a buffet, and I ended up sitting there until 9:30.. haha. I ate four biscuits and gravy, along with eggs, bacon, sausage links (I don’t even like those, not sure why I got them or ate them), and hashbrowns. I also had several cups of coffee and orange juice. The sweet waitress sat me at a window table so I had a beautiful view of the lodge with the mountains behind it.. and I could feel the cold coming off the window panes. Yep. I took my sweet time eating, prolonging the inevitable return to the cold. I tried to use the WiFi to upload some pictures, which worked, and I saw that my Braves won the first game of the World Series last night! Wahoo! My watching some didn’t jinx them!

It was in the high 30s outside, but warming semi quickly, and it was sunny. It would eventually get into the 60s and be gorgeous, but knowing it was that cold right now, I just couldn’t be motivated to get a move on. After eating, I went back to my room and took forever to pack.. I sat and blankly stared awhile before finally pushing myself to get it done and check out of my room. I returned my room keys and asked for the shuttle around 10.

The driver was there in minutes and had me back at the trailhead by the marina. I had a 3+ mile climb right out of the Fontana Dam Marina. I’ve learned I like to call it quits for the day right before another huge climb.. yesterday was clearly no different. Ha. I didn’t get started until 10:15, and minutes after I started huffing and puffing in all my rain gear (put on for warmth, not rain today) I ran into Ox doing trail maintenance!

We laughed about my late departure this morning and talked a minute before I trudged upwards. He was making the steep lunge like steps smaller, easier, to get up. Sadly for me, he had only recently started so only the bottom several steps were done. He still had a whole lot to do-and I had to lunge my way up the rest.. I’m amazed at the work trail maintainers put in, volunteering most of the time no less. He was doing some very labor intensive work.. I was and still am very impressed and grateful.

After the big lunge steps came smaller stone steps.. all of which were still steeply climbing to Walker Gap. Which was strange, because gaps are usually low spots, not at almost tops of mountains. A mile or so from the top I got a good chuckle at myself when I realized that this is the climb I had thought I would do yesterday afternoon, before I snapped and decided I needed a hot shower to warm up my cold toes. How silly was I to think I would have climbed this 3 plus miles, soaked to the bone and cold as ever, and then slept in the shelter I was now passing. I’m forever thankful my toes protested that plan by 11am yesterday.

The rest of the day was rolling, ups and downs, deep in the woods without many views. At some point I had a hunting dog run up on me and follow along with me a mile or so, continuously whining but wouldn’t let me pet her.. she’d flatten to the ground and then cry so I quit trying to love on her. She’d follow at my heels, several times stepping on my feet, making me worry I’d somehow trip over her and accidentally hurt her. Strangely enough, as quick as she appeared, she vanished off the side of the mountain in full chase of something she saw that I didn’t.. and she didn’t return to me.

I had big intentions of hiking to a campsite, a climb out of a road crossing that was steep but not horrible. The campsite was on the way up to Cheoah Bald. Before I settled on the campsite, I had thought I might push forward and camp on the bald or even go a little farther to the shelter past that.. but that all quickly went out of the window when I took so long to leave the lodge this morning. Just after 2pm, I was stepping over a huge downed tree in the middle of the trail and some how double bounced my right knee on the log and skinned it. Blood started to trickle and the bottom scrape started to swell. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t spew a buttload of explicatives. It hurt!

I took my time attempting to walk it off, letting my brain realize I’d be fine after all. But, I was walking slower now and decided maybe I should try to stealth camp near the road crossing instead of attempting to push across and up to the campsite. I even went so far as to filter extra water when I crossed a stream so I’d have plenty to stealth camp. I was thinking I’d get up at 6am and leave packed and ready by 7, when the rain was supposed to hit.. not ideal, since I hate waking up, but a decent plan to not have to pack a wet tent.

And then, as it started to inch towards 5pm, I decided I was silly. I called Lonnie at Wolf Creek Hostel and asked him if he had a bed for me tonight. He said he did, I told him I’d be at the road crossing in 20 minutes, he said he’d be there. I dumped my extra water while passing a pristine stealth site, laughing to myself. Not even 14 miles today, but I got a great breakfast and a warm bed for the night. No regrets.

Lonnie met me at Stecoah Gap and drove me to the hostel. Roundhouse was there! I asked about Finch, but Roundhouse seemed to think he was behind him. I was shocked at our meeting up, honestly. And come to find out, we had both been dropped off at Clingmans Dome the same day, he had gotten off trail with his girlfriend for a few days.. ahhh. Now it clicks.

Shadow is the caretaker here, so he gave me a quick tour after Lonnie left to head back to work. I walked next door to the gas station and got a pizza and a Gatorade, then sat it on the kitchen table before hopping in the shower and getting clean. My knee burned in the water. Once out and in loaner clothes, I gave my clothes to Shadow who started the wash. I bandaged my knee so it wouldn’t get stuck to the loaner pants I was wearing, and then took my food to the fire pit out back and ate dinner while chatting with Shadow and Roundhouse all while sitting around a perfect campfire.

I hung out awhile, then when I was too cold to stand it, and the fire wasn’t keeping me warm enough, I headed back inside. I turned on the tv to find the World Series.. the Braves and Astros were literally tied 1-1 and I turned it on right as the Astros knocked in 3 runs and had the bases loaded. I immediately yelled and turned off the tv-mad I jinxed my Braves like that. I sadly walked to my room, which was a private room with a double sized bed! Not sure how I lucked out there, but I was happy about it, quickly forgetting my sadness over the game.

I laid down to type this up, snuggled in the quilt I found on the dresser. I’m pretty tired, and honestly frustrated with the lack of service and decent WiFi.. I’m still not able to get any of my posts up. It was a thing of being too cold to type the journals out, now that I have, I don’t have the service to post them. Oh well, if things continue in this fashion, I’ll hopefully be able to do a mass upload when mom comes this weekend and I take a zero in Franklin. We shall see! Sorry about the inconsistency with posts, but such is life on the trail. If you have great service, your fingers are frozen and it’s raining and you just can’t type it out, or you’re so tired you fall asleep before you can.. when you’re wide awake and ready to knock it all out and get things up to date-service is non existent. Haha! Love y’all. Sweet dreams.

Start: Stecoah Gap (AT mi 150.6). Stop: Nantahala Outdoor Center (AT mi 136.7). Today’s miles: 13.9 miles. Total AT mileage: 2056.4 miles.

I couldn’t have been happier with my choice to sleep inside last night. It got cold and windy, but more so, the bed I slept in was a cozy one.. with a nice heavy quilt that reminded me of one my mom has that I absolutely love. I slept so good, snuggled under that thing, so good in fact that I overslept. Ha. Seems to be my way, lately.

I got up at 7:41, instead of 7:00, but still had plenty of time to pack quickly, eat my instant grits I bought yesterday, and high tail it over to the gas station to buy a new chapstick and a toboggan. I have a headband that I usually sleep in that keeps my ears warm at night, but I’ve been getting so cold during the day hiking that I wanted something extra so I wouldn’t be stuck without a dry one ever.

I made it back at exactly 8:30, just in time to say hey to Lonnie and for him to load up me and Roundhouse in his truck. We got dropped off minutes later. After a picture for Lonnie, we were immediately starting a climb. It was in the low 40s, but I was warming up because of the climb, in all of my rain gear.. and my new toboggan. The wind made it feel a little cooler than it was, but so far the rain was holding off-according to the weather app it was supposed to be dumping buckets starting around 7am-hence my want for indoor snoozing last night.

Roundhouse was ahead of me and I started listening to an audiobook to distract me on the almost 5 miles of incline this morning. It worked too. I just kept moving, climbing, and listening. Before I knew it, I was standing at the top of Cheoah Bald, the wind coming in gusts so strong I thought it would rip my rain pants (I like to hike in them unzipped to the knee, but clipped at the boot, so air flows and I can bend easier). It was gorgeous up there, and I could see the appeal to want to camp there-during a warmer month.

From there began the descent into the Nantahala River Gorge area. Miles and miles of downhill, sometimes so steep on packed dirt that it felt like attempting to ski on the leaves as I slipped my way down. Thankfully, I never fell-although I’m honestly shocked I didn’t. I think if the rain had actually came, I wouldn’t be making that statement.

At some point 2 hunting dogs came barreling at me just a barking like lunatics. Minutes later the 3 of us were friends and I think I may have given them their first ever belly rubs. They seemed so skittish and scared of being smacked, because every time I stood quickly or leaned over them they would cower. It was so heartbreaking. Mind you, I don’t know how these dogs are treated regularly, so I could be very wrong and they could just be eerie of new people. But so far, I feel like every “hunting dog” I’ve come across is so skinny and skittish and the second they get any kind of love you have a new hiking pal for miles.

Which, that’s exactly how that turned out. Those two girlies followed along at my heels for hours, until we came across two hikers with their own dog, Shadow, a chunky, clearly well loved (and fed), black lab. Shadow didn’t like my new friends, so after explaining to the hikers that these aren’t my dogs.. I tried to get them to keep following me so they’d have some peace after Shadow showed teeth a few times and had to be held back by his dad. My new friends didn’t care though, they ditched me faster than mean girls in 6th grade. And honestly, I was ok with that.

Sometime mid afternoon, I realized I didn’t eat lunch, and then decided I should just wait to get to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in a couple miles and eat something there-instead of the stupid tortilla and peanut butter I had with me. I did decide to go ahead and pee while on trail, instead of having to navigate public bathrooms in a hurry later, since I didn’t really know what to expect at the NOC.

I had gotten my shorts back up and was attempting to tuck in my shirt as I pulled up my rain pants, hardly even off trail-definitely not out of sight at all-when Roundhouse appeared out of nowhere coming down the mountain. He had stopped at a shelter to eat lunch at some point and I had gotten ahead of him and didn’t realize it. Luckily for me, I had pulled my shorts up before coming into his view. It was pretty funny to me, although he seemed oblivious, maybe he was just saving face for me.

We walked and talked the rest of the way to the NOC. He was having his mom come to get him from there a little later today, to get off trail for a couple zeros. My mom is coming to do the same thing tomorrow after work, for me to share my last trail zero with her on Saturday. Both of us attempting to skirt the worst of the rain in the forecast. Speaking of-we were both ecstatic with our luck today! It literally started to rain as we walked up to a restaurant on the river and ordered our food.

We both ordered our food and beer then sat at a table under the covered deck of the restaurant on the river. It is so pretty here, this atmosphere. Although, it was still cold and now rainy. The guy behind the bar that took our order originally thought we were together as a couple. We explained our situation and how he was getting off for a couple days but that I was considering either staying somewhere here or hiking out-but that I was leaning towards staying, now that the rain was coming down. He gave me some advice on places for the night, and I decided I’d figure all that out after eating.. a full stomach to help the brain work.

We got our food, Philly cheesesteak for me, with Mac and cheese and baked beans. Talk about delicious. I was inhaling it all when the guy came over to mention that he would be willing to let me stay on the staff housing grounds, where he and his girlfriend live, for the night-if I wanted something dry and not fancy. There was a tiny “shack” (his words) that they used to live in but recently moved to the big house, so no one is currently in that shack.

Before I agreed, I asked a few questions, and told him I planned to slack pack tomorrow and have my mom pick me up from the NOC instead of off of some mountain road crossing in the dark. I was telling him this part only to know where the shack was so I could arrange a shuttle to pick me up in the morning from there to take me to the mountain road crossing to start hiking back-HE OFFERED TO DRIVE ME THERE! For FREE! Not only stay in the shack for free, but to drive me 45 minutes south of here for free, too! DEAR GOD the kindness of strangers, especially lately, is just mind blowing! I was shocked!

Roundhouse started laughing and talking about how the trail provides and that I manifested this scenario. And I mean, I sort of did.. I knew I needed to figure out where to stay and how to slack pack, but I was more focused on the food and it just worked out so beautifully, right before my eyes. We talked a bit longer and then after finishing my beer I walked to the outfitter across the bridge. I ended up getting a fleece half zip to wear under my rain jacket because I just couldn’t seem to stay warm. My puffy jacket is always in my dry bag tucked in deep, so it doesn’t get wet with rain or sweat, so I have it when I’m done hiking-but I’m getting cold WHILE hiking, so this solved that problem for me.

I wore it out of the store, went across the street to the general store and got a soda, then walked back to the bar restaurant to wait for my new friend to get off work. I hung out, uploading pictures to Facebook with cold fingers, until he got off work at 5:30. It wasn’t until this moment that I learned his name: Fish. Sounds funny to think about making a plan to get in someone’s car, go to their house, sleep there, go with them in the morning and not even know their name. Hikers are like that though.. and come to find out, Fish and his girlfriend, Rachel, hiked the AT in 2016 (the year I first read about it and decided I wanted to do it!). They met on trail and have been together ever since!

Fish showed me my digs for the night, literally it’s a shed with 2 windows (actually the perfect size for what I need in my backyard at home lol) and a door that doesn’t have a door knob. It has power and one light bulb over head and is absolutely all I need. He showed me the bathhouse, and then said if I wanted to shower to just come up to the big house and use theirs, it’s cleaner, and to come hangout with them if I wanted to. So, I unpacked my gear, set up my sleep stuff, changed into my sleep/warm clothes, and then made my way up the hill.

I met Rachel and their roommate, Margo, and her dog along with another coworkers dog that happened to be there playing. This community is full of people working for the NOC-the staff lodging.. apparently there are more compounds to accommodate staff, too. In the summer, the NOC houses close to or over 200 employees.. river guides, seasonal workers, restaurant employees, outfitter and general store employees, management and everything else in between. It’s pretty neat, really.

I hung out and had a beer, talking and playing with the pups. Eventually, I ended up coming back to the “shack” to lay down. They were mortified that I wasn’t hungry, but I had already eaten so much food, and I’ve been staying in towns the last 2 nights, too.. so I dont feel hungry or the normal scavenger like feeling I get when I’ve been in the woods for days eating camp food and peanut butter tortillas. And, honestly, with this hike almost being over, I don’t even feel guilty for soaking up the towns along the way these last few days. Actually, Im full on loving it.

I don’t have enough service to stream a movie tonight, which normally wouldn’t be something I’d be concerned with, BUT my friend, Tijuan has a role in a new movie “Horror Noire” that started streaming today on the Shutter app and on AMC’s app, too. I wanted so badly to watch it on premier day, but it looks like I might be making mom watch a scary movie tomorrow after she picks me up! If I can’t get it on the TV in our hotel room, I’ll be watching it on my phone with my headphones in after she falls asleep. I’m so incredibly proud of Tijuan, chasing her dreams and never giving up on them. She’s talented as hell, and an all around incredible human.. so y’all should watch it, too! (PS, both of those apps give a 7 day free trial.. just sayin..)

And with that, I leave you. Time to get some shut eye so I can try to get up on time tomorrow for my 21 mile slack pack in the rain. Goodnight, y’all.

Start: Wayah Gap (AT mi 115.3). Stop: Nantahala Outdoor Center (AT mi 136.7). Today’s miles: 21.4 miles. Total AT mileage: 2077.8 miles.

I slept nice and cozy in my shed with the electric heater Fish and Rachel gave me to use. I got up on time and quickly got ready, eating breakfast in the little shed before heading up to the bathhouse to brush my teeth. Fish was ready right at 8am and we started the almost hour drive to Wayah Gap. It was a beautiful drive, mostly along the river until the road wound high up in the mountains-all of the fall colors popping.

Fish dropped me off just before 9am and I started my northbound trek back to the NOC. I had over 21 miles to cover and needed to be done by the time mom got there to pick me up. It had already started raining. I was prepared though, wearing my rain gear and toting my waterproof day pack. Plus, I had my new fleece hoodie on under the rain jacket, and my gloves were on, too.

Pretty quickly I made my way to Wayah Bald and the rock firetower there. Sadly, I was in a cloud and all of my views were socked in. As sad as I was, it was almost a good thing, because it kept me moving! I carried on and missed view point after view point with my numb and wet toes and cold fingers. Even with the gloves on it was hard to keep them warm. The trail was pretty though, with its shiny wet leaves in an array of burnt oranges, yellows, and deep reds. Some of them looked like they were tie dyed.. which then made me miss TieDye the man. Weird how your thoughts go some times.

I listened to the audiobook, “The Great Alone” and at some point towards the end I was blubbering like an idiot and thankful for the rain masking my tears. Not that I saw people to explain myself to.. I literally only saw one man the whole day. And my crying episode was well over by then! But this book was such a good one, although I do tend to say that about every book I read or listen to. I think it’s because I appreciate the work and effort the author had to have put into it to create it, so it makes me like almost everything I read.

Close to 4pm, the clouds started to part and let the sunshine come through. At the firetower at Wesser Bald had no views, but once down a bit farther, just starting down the steep descent into the NOC, the views were incredible! The trail was exposed and rocky, reminding me of southern Maine a little bit (just not as difficult to maneuver down), and I could see for miles all around. I just stood there for awhile, taking in the beauty and thanking God for letting me have these views.

I continued downwards and soon found myself back into the woods. I tried to hurry, thinking about the logistics of getting my pack back from Fish without holding him and Rachel up for any Friday night plans they may have had. And-I didn’t eat lunch. I’m so sick of peanut butter tortillas that I couldn’t even force myself to make it today, let alone eat it. Usually I’d be willing, just to shut my stomach up and get rid of the weight, but not today. I couldn’t do it.

I made it to the NOC just after 5:15pm. I text Fish and then went to the other little restaurant in town and sat down for a couple appetizers to hold me over until mom and I got dinner later. It ended up being a bowl of black bean chili and some Parmesan fries. I took my time and Fish came to meet me for a few. He and Rachel did indeed have plans, a Halloween party.. I didn’t want to hold them up and so I declined the offer of a shower at their place.

Once I finished eating, I paid my tab and walked with him to his Jeep and got my pack. Mom would only be 45 minutes, so I left my pack outside of the outfitter and walked inside to piddle. I bought a new buff (an AT one, because why not?), and got warm. Once I could feel every digit on my hands and feet (although my feet were still wet), I headed outside to sit down, back leaned against the store wall, and worked on the blog.

Before I got very far at all, a man and his wife stopped to chat with me about the trail and to see if I needed them to take me somewhere. I explained my mom would be showing up any minute, and then we got into the trail talk-he completed the AT a few years ago and he remembers the cold days and wanting to get off trail and quit a couple times, but his wife refused to let him-knowing it would eat him up inside and she’d have to let him try again later.. she said,“better to just let him get it all done at once and not have to deal with the sadness that comes after not making it..” I think she’s pretty spot on. Sometimes lately, being so close to home, those pesky thoughts creep into my head about quitting, but I’m so close that it would be absolutely ridiculous to succumb to those thoughts. But cold and wet weather can burrow deep into my thoughts sometimes.

As we were swapping stories, my mom appeared right on time! I jumped up and ran to hug her! We tossed my gear in her SUV and then after I got inside and she turned the heat up for me! Then, she rolled the windows down and began to gag so badly I thought she might actually throw up. Apparently, I stunk. And pretty badly, too. Hahaha! This still makes me laugh, because I knew she’d be dramatic about it.. I hiked in the pouring rain, my shoes and socks were the main smelly culprits.. which I promptly took off once in the car, making her wretch even more.

Laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes, I put them in the back floor board as she drove off with all the windows down. When she saw me shivering, while still laughing, she rolled them back up-but I swear she didn’t breathe through her nose the whole way to the hotel. It was a good 45 minutes to get there.. and we laughed and talked the whole way. Every now in then she’d make a face and I’d know she just got another accidental whiff.

We checked in and I put my stuff on the patio of the hotel room (which was located right on the Tuskegee River, so absolutely gorgeous), and then I took a long, hot shower.. hoping to scrub away the hiker trash smell. I got dressed in pjs mom brought me, and then we ordered a pizza and went to pick it up. Back at the room, we ate it and watched our Braves beat the Astros while I worked on getting a blog post or two up.

I’m so happy she’s here! And our hotel room is so perfect for a comfortable, happy zero tomorrow. Anyway, tomorrow will be my last zero of this trek I’m on.. I’m almost home! I can’t believe it. Goodnight, yall.