Rock Gap Shelter to Campsite on Wine Spring Bald

Appalachian Trail, 12 miles

Slept in a bit since I was in no hurry to get started today. I planned a low-mileage day -- only 7.5 miles -- but adjusted that plan later in the day. There was a beautiful full moon out this morning about 6 a.m. when I woke up. I went back to sleep till about 8. I could get used to this. My initial plan was to hike to the Siler Bald Shelter today and spend the night there.

Okay, before I go on, the word "bald" needs some discussion. Yank that I am, I had only ever heard the word "bald" used to describe people, not mountains. Turns out, a bald is basically a mountain with no trees on top -- just a broad grassy expanse. There's a lot of debate about what created these open spaces. Theories include fire, drought, insects, harsh weather extremes... some people even think that white settlers cleared these mountaintops as places for grazing their animals. (That theory seems a little odd to me... why would you march your herd 5,000+ feet up a mountain to graze?)

Anyway, it's kind of a surreal feeling to emerge from the tree canopy onto a broad, grassy mountaintop where you can see for miles. And that's what happened to me... I reached the top of Siler Bald (and the beginning of the shelter side trail) at about 1:30 p.m. Being so early in the day, it just didn't feel right to stop. Plus the side trail to the shelter was .6 miles long, and I thought I'd be better off investing my mileage in a forward direction rather than off to the side... so I pressed on, admittedly a little nervously, because that decision meant I was bypassing my only chance to sleep in a shelter tonight. I'd have to find my own stopping point and get out the ol' tent.

I ended up rounding out the day at 12 miles, and stopped at a little clearing near the top of a bald called Wine Spring. Doesn't that sound like a place you'd want to stop after hiking 12 miles? It is really beautiful here. My tent is up, a bear rope has been tied into a nearby tree for my food (and it sure as heck better work), my feet are up, and all is well. There are lots of birds around. I've been hearing a woodpecker pretty much nonstop since I got here. Hope he goes to bed when I do.

My cold is still plaguing me. Today, at Pete's suggestion, I perfected the very unladylike "farmer nose-blowing technique" -- that is, blowing my nose without the aid of a Kleenex. Sure makes a girl feel primitive. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and I'd rather save my dwindling Kleenex supply for use in the privy.

I was delighted to find that my phone works up here (I'm pretty high up -- about 5,400 feet) and once I got situated I dialed into my voicemail and got to hear messages from both Jay and Janet. That was a treat -- I miss my homies!

So it looks like tonight I'm all alone, in my postage-stamp-sized tent. I've set the thing up so that I can peek out the screen and get a good look at my bear bag. If my food's gonna go down, I at least want the thrill of watching it happen.

Hiking time: 5 hours (6:20 with breaks)