Got up the Ocoee on Sat evening at about 8 pm after spending (time and money) 3 hours at REI. Drove into Thunder Rock Campground to pouring down rain. Truck was too packed to sleep in, so I braved the weather to try and set up my tent. BIG MISTAKE!!!! Got soaked setting it up as well as soaked within it. Thank god it was warm and I didn't need a sleeping bag. I felt like a mullet in a mud puddle by morning.
Woke up and made some coffee and headed for the river. Being lazy I went and played at Jump Rock and Cat's Pajamas for about 4 hours then went and watched some boaters at Hell Hole. Then headed over to the Nantahala for dinner and a hostel room. Wasn't about to spend another wet night out. It was very nice.
Vegged for the next few days doing whole lot of nothing to occupy my time. What a way to spend your vacation!! On Tuesday I decided to cover my ass and purchased a Mountain Hardware Solitude tent from the NOC store for my backpacking trip. Just didn't want to take the chances of getting soaked with the other tent. Glad I did. They didn't have one in the Wesser store and had to have one brought over from the Asheville store. It was delivered on Wednesday evening. Stayed at the hostel tonight so I wouldn't have to deal with a wet tent(if it rained) and it also gave me a chance to get my gear in order. Also enjoyed grossing out a couple vegetarians by cooking some chicken.
What a beautiful day for a drive in the park. Unfortunately, it was loaded with tourists. Finally found out where I where I was supposed to go after talking to Don Ho (I didn't know that Don had left Hawaii) at the Sugarlands Visitor Center. The directions from ATC didn't paint an accurate picture of where to go.
Walked in the back door into the kitchen to an absolutely wonderful smell. I walked into the main room to find Janet(camp coordinator), Richard, with his feet up on the back of couch reading and Dave(our oldest volunteer). Richard, I later found out, was a holdover from the previous sessions. Eventually met Andrew(Trail Leader).
Back to the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen. Janet had made some home made pizzas as well as some black-eyed pea salad. Desert was I believe a apple and raspberry cobbler. GREAT EATS and my compliments to the chef!!!!!!
After dinner, our formal introductions happened. We basically introduced ourselves and gave an idea of why we were there and what we hoped to accomplish. Those in attendance included Dana Steve Matt Sarah Bill Richard Andrew John Clay, Janet, and Me. And we had one no show. Janet and Andrew gave us an idea of what we were going to do as well as what was expected from us. They made a point of stressing that this was a group effort and without everyone's help, it wouldn't work. Safety issues were also discussed.
As far as sleeping accommodations went, we were a little tight. Janet, Bill Andrew and me slept outside in the backyard. If I hadn't have just purchased a new tent, I probably would have found room in the house. It was a beautiful night and I had a great nights sleep.
Woke up to Janet making French Toast, Bacon, cereal, and fruit. Janet is great!!! After breakfast, everyone made lunch and a few jumped on the dishes. The majority of the group piled into the van and I rode up with Janet (after moving the food out to the roadside to be taking to the horse people for transport up the hill)
Plans had changed a bit. A crib wall, at Newfound Gap, originally built by the CCC's in the 30's collapsed and had to be rebuilt. The previous 2 sessions had worked on it and we needed to finish it. It was pleasant walk up to the work site. I was first put on traffic duty (I guess when you are late to the site, you might not get the most glamorous job, but it was ok) with Clay I believe. Unfortunately, the trail we were working on was still in use, so we had to sometimes stop the tourists when we were moving large rocks or doing anything that might be a safety risk. Dana, Steve, Bill and Matt were mining for rocks along the hillside above us. Clay, John and Sarah were put on Crush and Fill, ie, make big rocks into little rocks. This is where Sarah earned the name "Sister Sledge"! We also had to brush the hillside to help hide any of our presence there. This was actually more of a pain than quarrying for rocks as we had a heck of a time finding brush, limbs, etc to cover our tracks. Did manage to get some time in the pit working on the crib. We are just about finished with the project. Still need to do some crush and fill as well as a little bit of sidehill digging.
We headed back to basecamp I would say sometime around 5:00. Can't quite remember what we had for dinner, but as per all the meals it was good and filling. Later that evening, John Dana and me went into Gatlinburg to have a beer at the Microbrewery.
Side note. Sleep was not a problem last night.
Was up at 6am this morning. Helped Janet with breakfast. Had pancakes, cereal, and fresh fruit. Dave hiked up a day early to make sure that all our food got put in the bear box and the bear fence was turned on. We headed back to Newfound Gap around 8:30 to finish working on the crib. Today was a busy but enjoyable day. Richard and I had the fun task of pounding rebar into any and all nooks and crannies of the wall. Managed to get some in, while others did not want to cooperate. We did try and use as much as possible so we wouldn't have to carry it back down the hill. Then the hard part began, cutting off the excess rebar. We had one really crappy hacksaw. We were able to get 1 and ½ 1" bars cut per blade. Eventually the wing-nut assembly that holds the blade on stripped out and put us to a crashing halt. We decided to try and just cut the bars with the blade itself. No such luck. I don't think I got more than a 1/8" in 20 minutes. I'm sure glad we weren't sitting in jail trying to get out of jail with this method. I think we would still be there.
We essentially finished the wall around 3:00 pm. As were near finishing the crib, Janet got an excellent idea. Why not take advantage of all the hikers walking by. She asked and succeeded in getting a great many of them to carry a tool down the hill for us. She really saved our butts a lot of trips up and down to tote out tools. Way to go Janet!!!! Andrew then tied up some flagging tape so we could have an official ribbon cutting ceremony. We got some woman (who John had earlier told we were running electrical lights for night hiking) to take our pictures. Then we had Andrew get a bunch with us sitting on the wall.
We left feeling confident that we did a good job and that we were getting off a little early. WRONG!!!! About 2 miles down the road, we got caught in the Gatlinburg Traffic From Hell!!!!!! After more than a hour in traffic, we got back to basecamp. John our hero, went back out in the traffic to get us some beer (so we could fulfill the 2 beer minimum per night). I took down my tent as I didn't want to carry a dew-laden tent up the hill (I slept on the porch). We had Tortelenni thingies for dinner w/salad and apple pie. Good as usual. I packed most of my backpack this evening. Andrew also told us we would get to sleep in a little as we weren't in any real rush to get up the hill.
Before bed, Andrew, Sarah, and Steve walked into town to pick up a few things we needed. They found a newspaper that had an article about our work at Newfound Gap. And we made the front page!
Got up a reasonable hour (before everyone else). Took a shower and put the coffeepot on. I went out and repacked my pack and discarded a few things that I didn't really need. We piled into the van and headed towards Cades Cove for the start of the hike. The first part of the trail was a nice gradual grade then it started to get pretty steep. We stopped at few locations, to allow everyone to catch up and then to eat lunch. Other than the steep parts, it was a beautiful hike. The leaves are great. And we really didn't encounter too many people on our hike up. We were camping a few hundred yards above Spence Field Shelter. We set up our tents and began to think about dinner, etc. Luckily the day before Dave went down and got us 18 gallons of water.
One of the first orders of business was to dig a privy. It was a beautiful site. A foot deep, a foot wide and about 7 feet long. A shitter from Heaven! Not quite sure who was the first to use it. After dinner, most went to bed. I put on a pot of coffee and Dana brought out a dice game. Richard Clay Sarah Dana, Steve, and me played for probably a good hour. I headed for the tent around 9:30pm. We got gusty winds and I believe it's going to rain (cold front moving through). I started reading The Loop (a book that Janet let me borrow).
Andrew woke us up at 7:00. It was really foggy and kind of nasty out. The heavy winds last night and the dew dropping from the trees made it sound like it poured, when it really hadn't. Hiked out with rain gear on though. Had to carry a few tools and the hike to the trail relocation was about 2 miles (+/-). We were going to be working on a trail relocation where we have a potential drainage problem. Before we started, we had to go and pick up some tools from near the other end of the trail relo(about a mile walk). While on the walk, Bill came back and told us there was a mother bear and her 2 cubs ahead on the trail. We could just barely see them. As foggy as it was, she probably couldn't see us, but most likely could hear and smell us. One of the cubs stood on it's hind legs and looked in our direction while one came down a tree it had climbed. They took off in quick fashion. As far as I was concerned, this was the highlight of my trip!!!!!! When we got to the tools in a state of disarray. It seems that a bear (or 2 or 3) had decided to play with our tools. It destroyed a pair of our shin-guards as well as clawing the bottom of one of the canvas bags that had cable and straps in it. The other canvas bag (probably weighing 50 lbs.) was thrown some 30 feet from the rest of the tools. He also felt the need to supplement his diet with some chainsaw bar oil. We cleaned up the mess and headed back to the work site.
Back at the work site, Richard, Dave, and me went out to quarry for rocks while. Meanwhile, Matt, Dana, Clay and John spent the better part of the morning and all of the afternoon to move this one big rock. I thought it was a little ridiculous to spend so much time moving one rock.
Dinner was Lentil Soup w/dumplings. We put a little too much water in so we had to find something to thicken it up a bit. Janet started pulling out things and dumping them in. We used instant mashed potatoes, polenta, and noodles. It was excellent and really filling. As far as deserts usually went, we had a few instant cheesecakes and candy bars. We had a nice campfire and even heard some Coyotes howling. Another highlight of my trip!
Very gloomy looking this morning. We slept in a bit because of the rain. I thought it might rain all day, but it cleared up. We were back at the crib again on the relocation.
Bear Report: Busy guys(or girls) dug a few holes in the trail looking for snacks as well as destroying a gallon of bar lube (for chainsaw). They also put about 6 holes in the bottom of the gas can.
Richard and I worked in the pit placing rocks w/Andrew and I believe Matt. John is looking really ragged. Found out he's not sleeping at night. Not sure if he's just not used to camping or what. He has decided to walk out tomorrow morning. Bill also is leaving tomorrow. Really hate to see him go. He has to get back to England for his sisters wedding. Not to mention his visa was running out. Dinner tonight was Burritos w/rice, salsa and whatever else we ate from the box. It was filling and excellent as ever. Played some Euchre as well as Dana's dice game. It's raining somewhat tonight.
It rained most of the night. Was great sleeping weather. I was really glad I purchased the new tent before the trip, as most of the group (except for 3 of us) got wet in their tents. Janet and Andre let us sleep until 8 am in the hope that the rain would stop. We had pancakes, oatmeal and coffee/cocoa for breakfast. Andrew let us know that John had already left. I enjoyed working with him, but I think he was better off leaving. I think if had stayed, he would be putting himself in danger.
I left early for the work site hoping to see some wildlife. My wish was fulfilled as I saw a bear. He looked at me and busted a move in the other direction. I tried to get a picture, but if I had captured him, all that would have been would have been his ass. Worked in the pit again. Bill left at 2:30 so he could hike down and make his ride. Janet didn't work today. She was under the weather. Morgan (Janet and Andrew's boss) came out to look at the crib and see how everything was going. Dana went back to camp early because he wasn't feeling well either. Think the flu has him also. We had scalloped potatoes w/sausage. Oh, I can't forge the parm. cheese that we put on everything(we can thank Andrew for all of the cheese).
Played some dice tonight. It's gotten really cold tonight and it's supposed to get colder (according to Mr. N.O.A.A.). Heck we might even get some snow on Sat night. Read some tonight as well as wrote in my journal.
Cold. I slept in till 7:30 this morning. Never heard Andrew come by, or was too tired to care. Janet is still sick and Dana is getting worse. The concern is that his flu might turn to pneumonia if he stays. Really hated to see both of them go. Dana was an inspiration both at the camp and the worksite with his enthusiasm. Was going to miss Janet's wit at the camp, but will get to see her again on Sunday afternoon. Work went as normal today. The crib wall is looking good. Might just get it finished by Saturday.
At about 3 pm today, Steve, Clay, Dave, Matt, Sarah and myself left and hiked up to Rocky Top. The weather was supposed to turn for the worse, so we wanted to go up and enjoy the view before it did go bad. Fantastic views, but a serious bitch of a climb. What really stunk was the fact that we could only stay for a short while as we needed to get back to camp and it was nearly 5 miles back and none of us had flashlights. So we really had to double-time it. On the walk back Steve and I saw a turkey and I later saw an owl. Dinner was Red Beans and Rice w/parmesan cheese and a peanut butter cheesecake. We heard the coyotes again tonight. They were closer to us tonight than they had been the previous nights. I'm really tired tonight. I guess the work is finally starting to catch up with me.
Wasn't as cold last night as it had been or expected. Made the coffee and set out food and lunch stuff. Breakfast was enjoyable. I left early again this morning, but didn't have any luck with the bears. It appears that a bear played with our chainsaw last night. Found it laying on the trail. No teeth marks were seen. But he/she did leave a paw print on the chainsaw chaps
The crib is proceeding, but I don't feel we'll finish it tomorrow. We had a couple of UT students come out to help us today. Dinner was veggie burgers. They were a pain to make, but were damn good! It was interesting to eat the burgers on the smashed buns. You basically had to take a whole bun(top and bottom) and use one for the top and one for the bottom.
We heard the coyotes again while sitting by the fire. Played some Euchre, but was difficult as the wind is really blowing hard. Read a little bit and am just finishing my writing, Good night.
Today is the last day we will have to work on the crib wall. This morning was the coldest of all. Probably was in the low to mid 20's with a wind chill in low teens. My water bottle had ice in it this morning. Most of the group was moving very slowly and we didn't see the UT students. I guess they were going back today. I think it was too cold for them. Really enjoyed giving Clay grief about how much UT people were wussies!. Bryan did stay and worked till about 3. Got to the worksite after a mad dash to the woods for an emergency. Was really cold and could have really done without working today. With being in the shade till around noontime, the worksite was really cold. I was in the pit for a while, but was getting really discouraged as not much was happening. I spent a fair amount of time (as well as Richard and Andrew) trying to rest a rock that was placed the day before. We never could get it to sit right and ended up finding a new one. I left the pit(but later returned) because I was really cold(especially my feet).
For the most part, the crib wall is finished, except for needing some more fill. There is still some more side hill to do as well as some tree removal, but that will have to wait until next year. We started carrying stuff back. I had the cargo pack loaded with Pulaskis and a few picks along with my day pack. Weighed more than the pack I hiked in with did. We did manage to get everything back in one trip. Actually we had carried few things back the day before to make it a little easier.
Last day. I got up and starting packing my personal gear up. Other than the fact that I needed a bath, I really hated to leave. We ate breakfast and started taking down the kitchen. Our water filter froze and it appeared that we cracked the element. The packhorses would be up soon, so we needed to get things taken care pretty quickly. And also, the thought of an awesome dinner by Janet moved us along also. We ended up using about 10 or 12 horses and a mule to get all the heavy gear down.
We started down around noon and picked up bits and pieces of the water jugs on the hike down. Steve, Richard and myself hiked down together. Was really nice. When we got down to the civilized campground with all the tourists, Richard got a little wild again. He stated that they look at backpackers like they have antennae coming out of their head. So he took a couple of flags for marking trail and stuck them out of his hat. And yes we did get some strange looks. We finished over at the Cades Cove Ranger station where we powered down a package of fig newtons in victory. We also managed quite a few looks and stares from the clean tourists! The rest of the gang came in shifts. We loaded our stuff in the van and Andrew bought us Ice Cream at the store.
And back to Sugarlands for DINNER and SHOWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And dinner we had. Janet made several pans of Chicken Pot Pies as well as sweet potato casserole and for dissert. We had showers and most headed out. Janet passed out our T-shirts as well as everyones address. Only Richard, Janet, Andrew, Ben (Janet's and Andrew's Boss) and myself stayed the night. I wasn't about to drive 2 hours back to the Nantahala, especially after that huge dinner.
Got up the next morning and had pancakes, eggs and coffee. What a nice ending to a wonderful and absolutely fulfilling trip. Said my goodbyes and headed to the NOC. Am looking forward to doing it again this coming year!