Fourth day off the trail. Been off as long as I was on the trail and written nary a word. A brief recap is in order.
On Friday, April 8 I woke up to overcast skies but no rain. Not as foggy as yesterday. Took my time getting out of camp--only one of the 14 people who spent the night was still at the shelter when I left. Saw no reason to bolt out since I was only four miles shy of Neels Gap and didn't need to be there till noon. When I finally started walking it felt good. Climbing Blood Mountain went quickly. The view from the top was grand--ridges, peaks, valleys and cloud filled sky in all directions. View south was intimate with lots of ridges under a high ceiling. I could see the occasional clearing and building but mostly I saw the gray-brown mass of mountain. The view north was more dramatic. Clouds dominated, covering the peaks, filling the valleys. Blood Mountain shelter sits on the peak in the lee of a massive stone outcrop. The shelter is stone construction and has two rooms. One room has a filled-in fireplace. The other room has a couple of windows with no shutters so part of the floor is wet. The shelter feels drafty. Don't think anyone was here last night. The mountaintop is solid rock and a bit slippery on this wet morning. Day seems to be trying to clear up with only mixed success. At least it's not raining. I hear traffic long before I reach the gap at noon.
Maggie is not here yet but plenty of hikers are. I grab a quick shower at Mountain Crossing and Maggie arrives about the time I finish. We load up to head for Asheville. A hiker named Forever North is trying to get back to Amicalola Falls with his Springer Spaniel. It's out of the way but we give him a ride anyway. He seems to be in a permanent hiking mode, now heading to Davenport Gap to work the season at Mountain Momma's. After dropping him off we head for Asheville in intermittent rain. We pick up a couple of thru-hikers at Winding Stair Gap and drop them off at a motel in Franklin, NC. We reach Asheville around 9:00 pm. Friends Shelly and Shannon are out but Maggie has a key to their place. We feed the dogs, soak in the hot tub and go to sleep.
On Saturday we go out for breakfast with Shelly in West Asheville, run errands and do laundry. That evening we eat pizza and drink been at a local movie house. A few days later I am browsing in an outdoor store and mention to the clerk that I am making up missed miles from my 2002 thru hike and learn that one of his co-workers is Kali-Frodo, one of the group that was with Red, Gary and me on Katahdin at the end of our 2002 hike. She and her trail partner, Polish Ninja, join Maggie and me for dinner.
The next stage of my hike starts in Hot Springs, NC. I'm planning to meet Kutsa and Montreal, my partners for much of the 2002 hike, there and walk with them to Erwin, TN. I haven't located them since I've been in Asheville not entirely sure if I will. Maggie and I head for Hot Springs.
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