Appalachian Trail in TN – Backbone Rock Trail SOBO to Low
Gap – 6/18/16 – 12.2 Miles
Steaming in the summer humidity of the North Carolina
Piedmont, it’s important to remember that reasonable temperatures and cool
breezes are waiting in the mountains. In
mid-June the Appalachian Trail was calling, “There are still parts of me you
haven’t seen just over the state line in Tennessee!”
I had a little difficulty working out a shuttle for my
hike. Sun Dog Outfitters in Damascus was
not able to make my timetable, which wasn’t surprising since I was calling just
two days ahead. But…when I asked if they
could recommend any other shuttlers they said no, they didn’t know any. [I thought perhaps a local resident might run
shuttles on the side.] Well, my next
call was to Mount Rogers Outfitters, which set me up in about five
minutes. They were dropping off hikers
at my starting point at Low Gap at the very time I wanted to be picked up. Curious that Sun Dog didn’t mention MRO to
help me out. When I asked the MRO shuttle
driver what was up with that, he shrugged and gave me a meaningful sideways
look, but no comment.
90+ degrees in Charlotte, NC, 69 degrees in Shady Valley,
TN, low humidity, a spectacularly clear day.
I’ll take it.
My hike started on Backbone Rock Trail in the Backbone Rock
Recreation Area on Highway TN-133 in Cherokee National Forest. Several years ago I hiked down Backbone Rock Trail to exit the AT and today was the day to connect back up. The 2.3 miles going up the trail felt easier
than that earlier descent, still steep but minus the slippery leaves, and the
trail was easier to discern. I’m
thinking some good trail maintainers have been at work.
At the AT intersection I turned south and hiked for about a
mile to an unnamed gap. There was a
sweet campsite with log benches around a fire pit, so I sat down for a
leisurely lunch. Two men going
northbound stopped at the same time and introduced themselves as James and
James, father/son. For the past 10 years
Dad has been talking about hiking on the AT and had recently retired. Son said, “Let’s go and celebrate retirement
and Fathers’ Day.” So here they
were! Today was the first experience on
the AT for both, day hiking 15 miles from Low Gap to Damascus. Son James is a Marine veteran, early 30’s,
physically fit and having a blast. The
15 miles seemed like a big bite for Dad, but he was making a memory with his
son and it was all worth it.
Son James was operating on practical experience in the Marines
where he learned “forced marching” but carrying weight, etc., and he knew
enough to have plenty of fluids for this stretch where no water was available. He had a multitude of questions about all
aspects of day hiking, section hiking and thru-hiking. He asked about maps and guidebooks, and I showed
him AWOL’s pages and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy map that I carry and how
I use both to stay oriented on the trail.
I introduced myself as Smoky Scout and the younger James
asked about the concept of trail names.
“How do you get one?” I explained
that hikers are often christened by other hikers with a trail name because of
some circumstance or trait, and sometimes it’s good to choose your own before
someone else chooses one you may not love.
For example, he’d said he was carrying Gummi Bears, so I said his trail
name could be Gummi Bear. He laughed and
said he’d take it because a hiker had now given him his trail name. Dad used to be called Eight Track, so that is
now his trail name.
What a treat to meet these fellows at the dawning of a new
adventure! I wish them well.
The rest of my hike was over easy terrain, rolling gently up
and down the ridgeline, verdant with every shade of green from chartreuse to
jade to fern to olive to hunter green. Sometimes
I was elbow deep in the lush grasses.
 |
| Always remember to look up! |
A tree’s second life as a wildlife habitat
A fallen giant
At Abingdon Gap Shelter, a maintenance crew from TEHCC
(Tennesee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club) was replacing gutters and painting
the shelter a dark brown. We discussed
renaming it the “Chocolate Pudding Shelter.”
Just a mile south of the shelter I encountered the brief but
steep bump up to McQueen’s Knob. At the
tree-covered summit (no views) stands this old shelter, built in 1934 and one
of the oldest still standing along the entire AT. Creepy and cramped quarters, no water source,
reserved as an emergency shelter.
In record time and without even trying, I soon descended to
Low Gap and the end of the day’s hike. All
together I met more than a dozen hikers enjoying a beautiful day on the
AT.
The fun doesn’t necessarily end at the car, though. I made a quick stop at Shady Valley Country
Store, a throwback (intentional?) to days past.
Three fellas rocking on the porch said hey. Inside, the shelves were sparsely filled but
there were plenty of cold beverages floating in the ice-filled bucket. The farmer in front of me at the cash
register was buying ten feet of rope, paying with a third-party check. He made the teenaged cashier work it out with
a pencil first to check the math. However,
this store does have a Facebook page!
As often happens, the drive home was painful payback on a
Saturday, fighting the traffic through Boone, Blowing Rock, Lenoir, Hickory (where
a traffic accident created a detour off of the main road through a
neighborhood), and my personal nemesis, the town through which all western
destinations flow: Gastonia.
“For in the true nature of things, if we
rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of
gold and silver.” ~Martin Luther
