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May 24, Tuesday (2000 miles to go)
Got
up, took another shower, and went to the restaurant for 2 eggs,
2 pancakes, and 2 sausage patties. Probably could have eaten twice
that much, it tasted so good. Packed up and left Wesser. Nice place
to hang out, but we were on a mission. A mission that did not allow
for any slackers. Today we were headed for somewhere along the trail
near Stekoa Gap. The first shelter out of Wesser was Sassafras Gap
Shelter, only 6.8 miles out. Not hardly enough miles for the day.
The next shelter after Sassafras Gap was Cable Gap shelter. This
shelter was 21.5 miles out of Wesser. Considering we had just dropped
down, down, down, out of the Nantahalas to the river below, it was
now time to climb up, up, up to the mountains ahead. Cable Gap Shelter
was too far out for today.
Sassafras Gap shelter would have been a good place to stay considering
the effort needed to do all that uphill climbing, but we elected
to move on to Cheoah Bald for lunch in order to take in the view
while we ate and rested. The view was terrific. The day's weather
had turned out to be wonderful, mostly clear and pleasant. After
lounging in the warm sun for a while we pushed on toward Stekoah
Gap, or somewhere in the vicinity for camp tonight. Knowing that
the climb up out of Stekoah Gap was also a good climb, and the guide
mentioned nothing about water on the ridge, we picked up some water
for the night while in Stekoah Gap found in a ravine to the left
down an old fire road. We headed on up the ridge not knowing where
we would camp, or how much farther we could travel before pooping
out. We ascended the ridge for about three quarters of a mile, and
then descended a half mile into Sweetwater Gap. During the climb
Jim began to get tired so we found a spot along the crest where
we pitched our tents right in the middle of the trail. The footpath
was the only "level" spot along the narrow ridge. We prepared
our supper of Mac & Cheese and Raspberry yogurt pudding, cookies
and koolaid. Could not exactly see the sunset, but it was beautiful,
especially after setting - orange sky and purple mountains. Now
I know where the song gets the lyrics "purple mountains majesty."
Temperature in the fifties at sunset with a clear sky, hopefully
it will stay that way. Started seeing Yellow Trilliums today. On
to Fontana Dam tomorrow.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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