Locust Cove Gap
This morning I woke up 5 miles shy of the NOC. The NOC is one of those places that all AT hikers knows about. Gear, food, and bunks are all available, about all and hiker could want.
I was not much different than others. I hiked in and picked up a replacement spork for one I broke, a mylar blanket to use as a ground cloth under my tarp (the old one wore out), and some non liquid soap to save weight. After doing that and email I lunched with Mississippi Mule and Foot Pilot. A Spinach melt, yummy!
Then onward I went. Almost immediately I ran into a trail crew and McGyver. They were accepting voluteers and we were happy to help. He did some rock work and I did some grading and widening the trail into the steep slope on the side of the mountain. We did that about an hour and then went on our way. Everyone said their respective "thank yous" for helping build this wonderful trail.
The climb that followed was brutal, over 3000' of almost continuous up. It took over 2 hours but it was nice to be back at elevation on Cheoah Bald at 5062'.
During the climb the air started getting very smokey. It was so thick with smoke that the sun was turned red and orange and our lungs felt raspy. We hiked in the smoke for about 3 hours and for a while I thought there was a fire near by but then I caught a view of the other side of the valley and decided it must be farther out than that and that we would be fine.
This was one of those days that never seemed to end. We, McGyver and I, rolled into camp just after sunset exhausted. We threw up camp before dark but had to eat dinner in the dark. Neither of us were hungry but I eat anyhow. I didn't realize how tired I was and I spilled and scorched my food ad generally made a mess of my kit. Finally I went to bed exhausted.
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