#011 Day 6: Cheese Factory Camp Area to Deep Gap Shelter. ATMM 56.2 – 65.6
There’s a possibility that I might be sleeping alone tonight in an area that reminds me of the movie Deliverance
Cold winds coupled with sunshine greets us this morning. Fortunately, the rain stopped before sunrise. The wind dried our tents hammocks. Problem Child is walking out of camp as I unzip my tent fly. “I’m heading to the next shelter to make breakfast,” she yells from across the open area.
I catch up with her two miles up the trail at Tray Mountain Shelter. We hide from the cold wind inside the mountain top shelter as we cook breakfast. There are two tents in the field near the shelter, but I haven’t seen their owners yet. Inside the shelter, our cold and hungry souls savor hot coffee and bowls of oatmeal as we lookout over the clear mountain view.
She leaves before I do. I often find it difficult to walk away from these moments of leisure and solitude. I take my time. There are miles to be hiked but it’s good to appreciate the simplest experiences of being on a trail for days at a time, to appreciate each moment, to allow oneself the luxury of slowing down for a minute, to look around, to take it all in, to stop. I heat water for a second cup of coffee.
I pass a handwritten note hanging from branch that reads, “Beware! Mama bear with two cubs active in area.” I had caught the scent of a large animal on the wind just prior to running across the note but it was most likely a deer. I would like to see the bear family but certainly don’t want to surprise a mama bear with cubs. That can be deadly, or at least painful, for a hiker. To be sure not to surprise them I begin clacking my hiking poles together while walking.
It’s another clear day full of great views and encounters with other hikers, but no bears. As I get farther from the beginning of the trail I run into fewer hikers. Some are behind us, some are before us, and a few have gone back home.
The long blue blaze trail to Deep Gap Shelter has me a bit concerned. I turn where the sign directed me to. The shelter is supposed to be about a third of a mile down the mountain but I’ve hike farther than that already.
It isn’t very late in the evening but the high mountains cast long shadows due to the the low April Sun. Though I can see a bright blue sky above, it’s getting darker as I hike deeper into the gap.
There is no sign of a shelter and no evidence that anyone has been here for a while. There’s a possibility that I might be sleeping alone tonight in an area that reminds me of the movie Deliverance.
While crossing a creek I hear voices in the unseen distance. As I approach the shelter I begin hearing music. It’s a guitar, or maybe a banjo, oh crap, Deliverance. The sounds the music and voices grow louder. Good, it’s a guitar.
I’m not afraid to stay alone but I am relieved that I will have good company tonight. It’s the last night on the trail and it sounds like there’s going to be a party.
I had met Chief Two-Feathers and his little guitar a few days earlier on top of Blood Mountain. I had not yet met the others who were coming in throughout the evening.
Just as I finish setting up my tent, I see Problem Child standing by the shelter looking around for two trees to hang her hammock. Once we are set up, we join the others near the shelter to eat supper.
This was the first shelter I’ve come across that had three levels. I think it would be cool to sleep on the third level of a shelter but decide to stick with my tent.
I use my hygiene bag as weight to throw my line over a branch to hang my food. It becomes stuck. I tried to shimmy up the tree but can’t. The bag has something important to me in it, nothing with any monetary value, but something my son gave me when he was ten years old. Unable to reach it or get it unstuck, I reach for my knife to cut my losses. Just then, a young hiker offers to climb the tree and is successful.
After supper all the food bags are hung in the trees away from the bears. We sing along with The Chief and his little guitar into the night. Most songs everyone knew, but some were written by Chief Two-Feathers himself. He was eager to share. It was a great way to spend our last night on the trail.
Unity abounds on the trail.