| May 02, 2005 |
| Will dropped me off at Sams
Gap and I headed south through the NC wild life game area.
I've been in this NC game area from coming from Davenport Gap area.
It's a beautiful Monday morning, the sky is really blue and white
puffy clouds. Yesterday was a beautiful day to which was the
first day that we've had out of the rain in about 4 days. So
I'm quite thankful for this sun. I'm starting to have a little
bit of an incline, but it looks like this area right here that close
to I-26 use to be field at one time. It's full of young maple
trees, probably six inches in diameter with some fairly large white
pines. |
|
I'm headed south towards High Rocks which
are 4,460' , and then past that about a couple miles will be Hogback
Ridge shelter. So far the trail has been switch backs climbing
up the mountains with a smooth trail lined with May Apples, and
yellow rag weeds. From here I can look down and see traffic on
I-26. |
| Simon really enjoys being
back on the trail. Yesterday was a 15 mile day and by the time
he got done, he was really tired, but I guess that expected since
this is his second day back on the trail. |
| I was right about this area
being a pasture field at one time, I hiking along side a bob wired
fence that been there for several years. A lot of pretty
purple violets along the side of the trail. I've seen some
blood root, club moss, pine moss, and some kind of other frilly moss
that grow in the mountains at home, but I don't know the name of it
is. |
| The hardwoods
are changing, I still see a lot maple, but I also locus, a lot of
oak, with some cherry mixed in. It's not as open as some of
the trails that I've been in, a lot of briars and stuff underneath a
little rhododendron here and there. On the trails yesterday
coming through I could see all this brown stuff on the rhododendrons
and it looked like they were dead, well to come to find out, forest
fires burn where they want to clean out the under growth underneath
the big tall trees. I'm not sure that's a good idea after
looking at all the mess and stuff left over after they do those
burns, there's big logs that were half burned, the tree were falling
down, it just wasn't a very pretty sight, let alone the smell.
I know it cleans out the grape vines, briars and stripped
maples and some of the unwanted stuff, but it had burned to the
point where there wasn't any last year's leaf coverage or anything
on the ground. However that had been a couple of months ago
and there were new seedlings that were sprouting, ferns, lilies of
the valley, may apples, moss and thing like that. |
| I'm on the
ridge line at the High Rocks area and now looking over into the
north, towards Erwin. I don't know what's happened to the sun,
it's now a little overcast, I'll probably get into one of those
damnable hail storms or rain storms after a bit. Right now
it's just overcast and cool, the wind is cool. I'm looking
down into a little farming valley, looks like its probably cattle
and if you look up to the you'll see one of the country roads
going back towards Erwin. |
| I've been
hearing more birds the last couple of days than I have since
crossing the Smokes. I think part of it is due to the fact
that I'm not hearing the roaring wind and the fact that it's
starting to warm up as I go farther north. Right now I'm
seeing little black-eyed junco, a warbler about a half a mile
back on the trail, and the day before I got into Hot Springs I saw a
scarlet tanager which is the first tanager I'd seen out in the wilds
like that probably since I was a small girl. Yesterday, I saw
my first snakes on the trail and here again I think it was because
the sun was out. The one was across the trail sunning itself.
Simon walked completely over the snake and I did too, but then I
realized what it was, that it wasn't a stick and turned around and
looked; it was probably 2 to 2 and half feet long ground snake with
dark striped down its back, and I could tell by looking at its head
that it wasn't a poisonous snake. I nudged it with my hiking
poles, he was a little bit on the feisty side, but I soon nudged him
enough that started on crawling of the lane. |
| Then when I
got into the Mill Ridge area; a game protected area and it's
protected for grout and turkeys, I saw another snake laid off
to the side, it looked like some type of guarder snake. |
| I'm at Hogback
Ridge shelter, I thought I'd stop in for a few minutes, there's no
one here, signed the register before heading on south. I'm
glad this s pretty day! This is sure a wonderful moldering
privy - I can look way over top of the mountains and down into
the valley, nice contemplating area.
|
| I just
run into Dirty Harry and Obie, they're going north d going to stop
by Hog Ridge shelter and have some lunch, then they're headed on
towards Big Bald. |
| I've just had
4 through hikers pass me by, I'm sitting here in a nice protective
cove eating some lunch and resting my foot a little bit. Then
there was this other 2 hikers that came by and stopped and talked to
me for a little bit. They are hiking with a group with a guy
by the name Model-T Tasty that has hiked the trail 2 or 3 different
times, and he is a writer. He wrote, "Hiking On The Better
Side Of Misery" which I've seen in the AT magazine. So I'm
kind of anxious to meet this guy. He's writing his second book
now. This was an interesting lunch! I met Model-T!!
I was glad to be able to meet him and maybe I'll get a chance to
order his book. Note: This meeting
is all on tape. |
| I can tell I'm
coming down in elevation because I'm seeing more wild flowers now
and stuff is a lot greener on the sides of the banks and seeing
squirrel corn, lilies, may apples, lots of purple and yellow
violets, spearmint, tooth wart and yellow trilliums.
|
| Coming down
the mountain side towards Devils Fork been continuous switch backs
one right after another. I've had a couple of stream crossings
and its an area where some large boulders much like you would find
in Hocking Hill,. Ohio with lots of moss and wild flowers growing on
them. I've come across an old log homestead, there's part of a
chicken house or shed that is still remaining and it looks like part
of the log house is still in tact. I see what looks like a
stove and maybe a sink or something on the back side of it, just the
corner of it is standing. A log house with maybe clap board on
the inside, can't really tell. It has a metal roof which saved
it this long. The corners of this house have been dove tailed
and in between they used a mud mortar. |
| I hear the voice of
Little Willie Peake right on time an end to another good Monday |
|
Swing'n Jane and
Simon The Wonder Dog |
|
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