Bud and Vicki Hogan's 1996 Appalachian Trail Journey
May 29
Standing Indian Shelter to Big Spring Shelter.....................................14.25 miles
We're doing good with our mileage. We planned for 10 miles a day average. I thought this would be easy. Back home, in the flat lands, I can hike about 3 miles an hour with a full pack. I had planned for us to sleep late, take long lunch breaks, possibly a mid-afternoon nap and to stop early in the day. I'm sure glad that I hadn't planned more than 10 miles a day. It was killing us to keep up the pace. We had to start each day early and walk late to make the mileage. I guess it really wasn't that bad, but it wasn't a cakewalk, either.
The hills in Georgia had really been hard on us. We could sometimes only walk ten steps before having to rest. I'm not exaggerating. Ten steps..then rest...ten steps...then rest. The hike out of Standing Indian shelter was getting much easier. We could walk 20 steps before we had to stop for a breather. Then as we stopped, we noticed the sign on the tree. "North Carolina Bear Sanctuary". Oh, no. I'm still not ready to see a bear, I'm not sure what to do, and I know that I'm not ready to have a bear eat me. If a bear sees me, am I history? Is it going to chase me down until I drop my food for it to eat, while I run like crazy? Oh, well.
We kept hiking. On to the dreaded Albert Mountain. The elevation profile on the map looks like it is straight up. And it is. Thank goodness it is rather short. We actually had to use our hands to pull ourselves up. This is great. It's just like rock climbing and I like to climb. Vicki takes a small slip. We sure have been lucky not to slip on the wet rocks that we've had to walk on the past few days. Our feet are still wet. After we get rained on, our boots stay wet for three days. Our feet are wet for most of the trip. It sure is nice when we get to put on dry socks. We reached the top of Albert and climbed the tower for a view and to chill for a while before heading the next half mile to Big Springs Shelter.
There is a hiker already in the shelter, so we set up our tent in the camping area. We are not antisocial, we just like privacy at night. Vicki's comment: "I don't know if it was hormones or the uncommonly long hike or the Sassafras Gap experience catching up to me, but I broke down in tears once we settled in. Bud was taking care of me this whole trip-what a hero." Bud's comment. "I love it when she talks that way."
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page