Stats from May 8,
Beginning Point: Wesser Bald firetower
Ending Point: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Daily Mileage: 13.4 miles
Total Mileage: 141.0 miles
Weather: beautiful, sunny and warm in am; showers, hail, lightning and thunder in pm.
Today was one heck of a day. The sunrise on Wesser Bald was really awesome, I can't really describe it. We had a 6+ mile hike down into Wesser for another shopping adventure... We started at 4,627 ft at the bald and hiked down to the Nantahala River at 1,740 ft. Some of that was pretty steep, but we made good time. Upon arrival in Wesser, we made haste for the nearest restaurant. We placed bets on our arrival time into town, which Dan won (he guessed 11:21 am and we arrived just before that) so Stephan and I were going to have to buy the beer, however, (surprise!) they don't sell liquor in Wesser so we settled for lemonades and cokes. Lunch was good, but then it was time to shop at the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center).
While there, we ran into lots of folks, including ARGO, Tray, Mercury, Pat (who now is going by Goofy) and Chris (Shiver Me Timbers). ARGO seemed to be up on all the hiker gossip. One hiker had a bacterial infection and vomited 2 pints of blood. I guess it was very acute and is over it now (he resisted a hospital stay); another hiker was having some other intestinal problems and went to an Atlanta hospital. Most folks are having issues with their knees or blisters, that sort of thing.
Stephan checked out a sleeping bag, but it wasn't roomy enough (he's 6' 4"); he and Dan both purchased gaitors. Dan looked at trekking poles but they were too expensive. I found some capiline underwear that were so comfortable - I wish I'd bought 2 more pairs (I've been having some bunching issues). So Mom, don't be surprised at whats in the box next time I send stuff home.
Okay, enough about town. I have to continue the afternoon in another journal entry so I don't overload this thing.
BTW, I recently added some folks to my family mailing list. I'm really sorry that I didn't have you on the original listserve, but this thing will only send a limited number of addresses at one time and it takes between 5 and 10 minutes on the phone to transmit and receive. So please accept my apologies and send me messages of encouragement - I'd love to hear from you. And if you haven't been checking the website, its
www.hikingat.com
steph
Posted by steph at May 11, 2004 02:47 PM