Daily Diaries (9/5/10 - 9/6/10)

Date:  9/5/10
Trail Section:  Tenn 91 - Wilbur Dam Rd.
Distance:  16.1 miles

Today will be one of the longest, if not the longest, hikes we have had since we started at Springer Mtn. in Georgia.  Weather is perfect.  At the start, it is in the high 40s to low 50s, and a breeze is blowing just about all day.  With these temperatures, it is feeling more and more like fall.  We start with a decent climb the first two miles.  It is relatively level for the next six, then a long downhill until Wilbur Dam Rd.

No critter sightings today but there are a lot of trees.  Of interest today: we passed a monument to Nick (Uncle Nick) Grindstaff.  Nick had traveled west in the early 1880s to win his fortune but was robbed.  He returned to Iron Mountain where he lived as a hermit until he died 40 years later.  His memorial is a plaque placed on the chimney.  It was placed there in 1925, two years after his death.

Also on this hike, we had Watauga Lake in view for a lot of the time.  When TVA built the lake they displaced about 700 people.  With all the dams they built in the south, TVA displaced nearly 75,000 people.

In summary, even though the hike was a long hike it was an interesting one.

Nick Grindstaff memorial

Watauga Lake

Date:  9/6/10
Trail Section:  Low Gap (Shady Valley) - Damascus, VA
Distance:  15 miles

Today is the last day for this year’s Appalachian Trail hike.  It will be a fairly level hike for ten miles, then a slow descent into Damascus.  Should be an easy hike.  Weather is perfect for hiking again today.  We have been blessed with good weather for most of the last 200 miles.

With the knowledge that this will be the last hike on the AT this year and the anticipation of a juicy hamburger in Damascus make this day feel like the longest day we have hiked.  It wasn’t; we did it in 6.5 hours which includes stops for breaks.

We passed a shelter today (McQueens Knob Shelter) which was built in 1934; it looks it.  Near the shelter on McQueens Knob, there were concrete bases for towers that were constructed in 1932.  There was no indication as to what the towers were for.  However, being engineers, we made the assumption that they were for a radio repeater.

In addition, we crossed into another state (Virginia), three down eleven to go.  And at the end of today’s hike we only have 1,715.6 miles left to hike on the AT to complete it.

The hamburger was delicious (sorry no picture of the burger).  Now the wait until Ellen and Margie arrive.  Until then, it is laundry, cleaning up the hiking gear and several good naps.

Thank you all for your comments, I enjoyed them.

McQueens Knob Shelter

Richard

Jerry