{"id":453,"date":"2010-10-12T18:02:03","date_gmt":"2010-10-12T23:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/?p=453"},"modified":"2010-10-12T18:02:03","modified_gmt":"2010-10-12T23:02:03","slug":"max-patch-to-hot-springs-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/trailstealth\/max-patch-to-hot-springs-and-more.html","title":{"rendered":"Max Patch to Hot Springs, and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the 3rd consecutive year, the event known as \u2018Rat\u2019s Birthday hike\u2019 did occur; this year, my hiking buddy, \u2018Rat Patrol\u2019, decided to hike from Max Patch to Hot Springs (NC).\u00a0 One of the things I like best about the \u2018Birthday hike\u2019 is that I don\u2019t have to plan anything\u2026all I have to do, usually, is load up the backpack and go.\u00a0 I was quite inspired to go, too–not only because Max Patch is such an awesome place, and I haven\u2019t been there in several years, but especially since I had hiked over \u2018Snowbird Mountain\u2019<\/a> last year, and was headed toward Max Patch<\/a> when my camp-stove inexplicably quit working, and I was forced to retreat back over Snowbird Mountain without food in the pouring rain.\u00a0 I had already planned on going back sometime to make up for that failure.<\/p>\n

\"RAT<\/a>

RAT on Max Patch (9-9-2010)<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I began loading and unloading my backpack days in advance, tweaking and re-tweaking just about everything, trying to get acclimated to camp life; finally the day arrived, I tossed (well, \u2018heaved\u2019 would be more accurate) the pack into the back of Rat Patrol\u2019s car, and we were on the road to Hot Springs<\/a>.\u00a0 We arrived around 2:30 in the afternoon, but had to wait around a few hours before we could get a ride to the Appalachian Trail-crossing<\/a> just South of Max Patch.\u00a0 We climbed up<\/a> the impressive bald mountain just about as the Sun was setting, and the views<\/a> from the summit were incredible.\u00a0 Fortunately, we hadn\u2019t planned on hiking very far the first day out on the trail, anyway, and we set up camp<\/a> just before dark about a quarter mile off the summit on the Northern slope under the trees.<\/p>\n

\"Ascending<\/a>

Ascending Max Patch<\/p><\/div>\n

It was a bit difficult to sleep that evening, mostly because of the \u20181st night out in the woods camping adrenaline\u2019, but there was also the sounds of the raucous, loud cicadas<\/a> reverberating in waves, and the occasional cluster of acorns<\/a> falling through the tree leaves.\u00a0 I also remember listening to an owl off in the distance, but that was rather pleasant by comparison.\u00a0 Just before dawn, there were some coyotes howling, and a little while later, I heard at least a dozen large birds, quail perhaps (judging by the sound), flying off from the ridgeline nearby\u2014apparently they had camped with us on the ridgeline, without our knowing.<\/p>\n

\"Bol'Dar<\/a>

Bol'Dar hiking across Max Patch (9-9-2010)<\/p><\/div>\n

After breakfast and breaking down the camp, we were on the trail.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t gotten very far (just to the bottom<\/a> of the first hill) before I stepped in a hole, sprained my left ankle, and fell to the ground.\u00a0 It was a bit sore, being the \u2018high ankle sprain\u2019 kind, but I walked it off and continued on to the \u2018new\u2019 Roaring Fork Shelter<\/a>, where I stopped for a snack at the awesome picnic table there.\u00a0 Rat arrived a short time later. After the snack break, we continued on toward Lemon Gap; we hadn\u2019t gone far, however, before I inadvertently stumbled again, this time twisting and spraining my right foot and ankle\u2014it was quite painful, and I had to take a few moments to \u2018rub a little dirt on it\u2019 and re-tie my boot before continuing down the trail.\u00a0 We met a couple with a boxer at Lemon Gap<\/a>, who had passed us while we were getting water at the \u2018old\u2019 Roaring Fork Shelter site<\/a>, and stopped to talk with them for a couple of minutes before climbing Walnut Mountain, where we set up our tents<\/a> just above the old shelter<\/a> near the summit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"old<\/a>

Old wooden stairs beside Roaring Fork Creek<\/p><\/div>\n

Sometime during the night, a pack of dogs<\/a> arrived\u2014I could hear them stomping around outside my tent<\/a>\u2014I was a bit sleepy and wasn\u2019t quite sure what they were at first (and didn\u2019t really want to know), hoping that if I didn\u2019t pay any attention to them, perhaps they would go away and leave us alone.\u00a0 That was not to be, however, and they became very annoying, barking and stomping around.\u00a0 It seemed like they would never leave.\u00a0 Eventually, I guess they finally left, but just before dawn, a big rainstorm came, swamping my tent as the water somehow found its way underneath.<\/p>\n

\"Walnut<\/a>

Walnut Mountain Shelter during the rains<\/p><\/div>\n

It was still raining quite persistently around noontime, and, having \u2018tent-fever\u2019 by then, decided to get up and move around anyway.\u00a0 My rain gear mostly consisted of an umbrella, and as I walked down past the shelter I noticed that the couple with the boxer were still in the shelter (they had stayed there the night before), but they left soon after.\u00a0 When I became aware of their evacuation, I told Rat, who was still holed up inside his tent, and we both decided to sit inside the shelter and cook up some breakfast while the rain was still falling.\u00a0 The rain finally slacked off around 2 pm, but Rat\u2019s back was very sore, and he was still having pain from the motorbike accident, and he had already made the call to have a \u2018zero mile\u2019 day.\u00a0 Perhaps I could have convinced him to walk a few miles, if I had wanted to try, but I was a bit tired, having gotten very little sleep, and the truth was, my right foot felt like it belonged to Frankenstein, and my right ankle was still very sore, so as it turns out, there wasn\u2019t any discussing whether we should hike or not\u2014it was Rat\u2019s call, anyway.<\/p>\n

\"strange<\/a>

Strange variety of Bee Balm on Max Patch<\/p><\/div>\n

I did, however, decide to move my tent about 75 yards further up the hill to a nice, level camp-spot<\/a> that made my previous camp seem more like \u2018the ghetto\u2019.\u00a0 Rat moved his tent, as well, and we spent much of the afternoon drying out our equipment and resting in the comfortable hammock<\/a> that I had carried–It was very relaxing, and a great way for me to elevate my foot.\u00a0 I decided to cook an early supper, which turns out to have been a good idea, because not long after dinner, a huge storm blew in from the Tennessee side, the remnants of tropical storm Hermine.\u00a0 First the sky grew dark, and the wind began to pick up, as we could hear thunder off in the distance.\u00a0 Soon after, we could see flashes of lightning from our vantage point on top of the ridgeline.\u00a0 We \u2018battened down all the hatches\u2019 all we could, so to speak (I fastened a plastic rain poncho outside of the tent door, which obviously saved me a lot of problems later), and braced for the impending onslaught.\u00a0 I was already in my tent, but could see Rat was still outside facing the storm, like that guy<\/a> on the shrimp boat in the \u2018Forest Gump\u2019 movie, while lightning flashed three quick bursts, like x-rays, all around us.\u00a0 I told him he better get in his tent, and thankfully he did, just as the wind, which had been blowing in on a straight line, began to play tricks with the walls of my tent, causing them to vibrate as the wind now seemed to be swirling as it passed over the mountaintop; it was kind of scary.<\/p>\n

\"Pink<\/a>

Lyon's Turtleheads<\/p><\/div>\n

That was just the beginning, however, as the rain began to pour down upon us, as if propelled out of a cannon, while the lightning flashes lit up everything, and the thunder rumbled like the voice of an angry Mayan storm-god<\/a>. It was all very loud, and this went on for a couple of hours, I suppose, if not longer, with the rain and thunder returning in powerful bursts.\u00a0 At one point, we both heard a large tree fall not far up the hill above us.\u00a0 I don\u2019t mean to carry on about the storm too much, but it was very, very intense.<\/p>\n

\"Summit<\/a>

Clouded Summit of Walnut Mountain as seen from near the shelter <\/p><\/div>\n

Eventually, there was a lull in the storm, and we had a chance to survey our situation; there was a small pond just outside my tent door, and the rain poncho I had placed in front of it was covered in mud.\u00a0 I was really thankful that we had re-positioned ourselves up the hill to the new camp-spot (what Rat had called the \u2018hiker relocation program\u2019) and had taken all the precautions that we did to ride out the ferocious storm.\u00a0 I heard Rat over in his tent say something about getting stung by a yellow jacket, and later on mentioned something about a mouse trying to chew its way inside of his tent, which somewhat surprised me, being at least a hundred yards away from the shelter, where most mice tend to gather, and, after he had banished it from his residence, predicted that it would heading my way.\u00a0 A couple minutes later, something was indeed shaking the walls of my tent, perhaps stress-testing the tent-walls to find the best way inside.\u00a0 I forget what exactly I did to dismiss the critter, perhaps I shook the tent wall, but what was interesting to me was how a minute or two later, I heard the flutter of birds wings flying off from just outside my tent and just knew that an owl had eradicated<\/a> the pesky mouse for us.\u00a0 Owls are our friends.\u00a0 Although I had hiked this section of trail several times, mostly in the \u201890\u2019s, I had never camped on Walnut Mountain before, staying only long enough to eat lunch, but I feel that I more than made up for that affront by camping out two nights there.<\/p>\n

\"Camp<\/a>

Camp #2 at Walnut Mountain from the 'Ham-Cam' <\/p><\/div>\n

The rest of the night was uneventful, and when the morning broke, it was difficult to tell, because it was still rather dark as a thick bank of clouds<\/a> rested upon the mountain top.\u00a0 It was also quite windy.\u00a0 Anyway, we ate breakfast while breaking down the camp, packing up everything as it was (soaking wet), which made for a heavier than expected pack-weight.\u00a0 Surprisingly, my ankle felt quite a bit better, and after we were on the trail for a while, we descended out of the thick cloud into Kale Gap<\/a> before beginning our ascent on Bluff Mountain.<\/p>\n

\"Face<\/a>

Face Rock seen while ascending Bluff Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n

The climb up Bluff Mountain, something that I was somewhat dreading, because of my memory telling me how difficult a climb it is, was much better than expected; in fact, the ascent up this large mountain was quite scenic and enjoyable\u2014getting a fresh start on it in the morning after a whole days rest is much preferable to trying to climb it at the end of a long day of hiking.\u00a0 There were interesting looking boulders all along the trail, and the wind was very refreshing once we reached the main ridgeline, as we re-ascended into the cloud-bank<\/a>.\u00a0 I decided to stop and take a break at the rocky summit<\/a> (elevation 4,686\u2019); the circular mound of boulders reminded me of something out of a \u2018King Arthur\u2019\/Merlin the Wizard\u2019 story, and I enjoyed taking off my boots and allowing my feet to breathe, while eating a snack and waiting on Rat to catch up.<\/p>\n

\"Rocks<\/a>

Rocks on the summit of Bluff Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n

The descent off of Bluff Mountain was long and steep<\/a>, even with all the new switchbacks that have been installed in the last decade.\u00a0 I was out of water, and since there wasn\u2019t supposed to be any good water sources between Bluff Mountain and the Deer Park Mountain Shelter, I \u2018tanked up\u2019 at the \u2018Big Rock Spring<\/a>\u2019, making my backpack even heavier\u2014it was a bit uncomfortable with all the wet equipment and the extra gallon and a half of water.\u00a0 Normally, I wouldn\u2019t carry that much water, but I didn\u2019t expect to make it all the way to Deer Park Mountain Shelter, and was hoping to find a good campsite somewhere beyond \u2018Garenflo Gap<\/a>\u2019.\u00a0 Rat gathered water as well, telling me that he had gotten stung by bees 2 more times.\u00a0 A little while later, I met a friendly southbound \u2018thru-hiker\u2019 by the name of \u2018Jinglez\u2019<\/a>, who informed me about the water situation between Bluff Mountain and Hot Springs.\u00a0 I suppose I should have asked her about potential campsites, but it completely slipped my mind.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>

View of Northern side of Bluff Mountain from Lamb Knob<\/p><\/div>\n

Finding a decent campsite was somewhat of a challenge, but I eventually found one<\/a> on the \u2018land bridge\u2019 between \u2018Lamb Knob<\/a>\u2019 (which had a few nice views looking back toward Bluff Mountain) and \u2018Canebrake Ridge<\/a>\u2019.\u00a0 I was mostly set up, and had stuff drying in the warm late afternoon breeze when Rat Patrol finally arrived; he was expecting to have to walk another 2 miles to the shelter, but I figured, what with all the extra weight we were carrying, that 9 miles was plenty far enough for the day.\u00a0 Although this was the day that we had intended on getting to Hot Springs, as it turns out, that was the most peaceful night that we spent on the trail; the weather was very nice, and no animals bothered us\u2026we were even treated to a beautiful new moon<\/a> and plenty of stars that were visible through a break in the tree-canopy.\u00a0 I slept like a rock.<\/p>\n

\"Deer<\/a>

Deer Park Mountain Shelter<\/p><\/div>\n

The next morning<\/a>, while we were breaking down the camp, we were passed by nearly 20 friendly day-hikers on their way to Hot Springs.\u00a0 We passed 4 more on our way down to \u2018Gragg Gap\u2019.\u00a0 We weren\u2019t in any hurry, having only 5 miles to go until the end of the trip, so we walked up the side-trail<\/a> to Deer Park Mountain Shelter, and took a snack break there.\u00a0 The rest of the hike<\/a> to Hot Springs was relatively uneventful, as no one sprained any ankles, or was stung by bees.\u00a0 All in all, it was a good hiking trip.<\/p>\n

More…<\/strong><\/p>\n

5 days before leaving for Max Patch, Rat, Tyler, and I<\/a> went for an 8+ mile day-hike up the \u2018Fork Ridge Trail\u2019<\/a> to Coldspring Mountain, and out to the \u2018Big Rock\u2019\u2026and back.\u00a0 Although it was rather steep<\/a> in places, I was mostly impressed with the Fork Ridge Trail.\u00a0 It was better maintained, in fact, than the Appalachian Trail was through the \u2018Meadow<\/a> \/ Bassette Knob<\/a>\u2019 section, which was completely grown up in head-high stickers and weeds.<\/p>\n

\"green<\/a>

Green Dragonfly hovering over Deer Pond on Coldspring Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n

There was a bit of an incident on the way to the mountaintop meadow, when I fell off a large, perpendicular boulder<\/a> that I was attempting to climb.\u00a0 I fell several feet on top of some angular big rocks that were below and ended up upside down, wedged in between a few gnarly azalea bushes.\u00a0 Although I did sprain an ankle and get somewhat bruised and scratched up, I did managed to avoid any serious, lasting injury.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>

View of Tennessee Valley from Big Rocks on Coldspring Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n

The views from the mountaintop trail and the Big Rock were pretty good, although it was very hot and quite hazy, which isn\u2019t favorable for getting quality photos.\u00a0 It was nice, however, to be standing on the Big Rock, the summit of Coldspring Mountain (elevation 4,838\u2019).<\/p>\n

\"Orange<\/a>

Orange Yellow Mushroom Fungus<\/p><\/div>\n

There is one other hike to briefly mention:\u00a0 The hike to the summit of Unaka Mountain<\/a> (elevation 4,957\u2019), which is a beautiful, and peaceful, place to spend an afternoon.
\nNow that autumn has arrived, I expect to be out in the mountains quite a lot, and have several trips planned already.<\/p>\n

\"Summit<\/a>

Summit of Unaka Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n

Okeepa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sadly, my trail-friend\u00a0 \u2018Okeepa\u2019\u00a0 passed away on September 28th, at the age of 40.\u00a0 He had battled cancer for the last 3 years, and was still optimistic about his chances when I last talked with him at Trail Days in May.\u00a0 He was a very intelligent fellow, having earned a Master\u2019s Degree in Biology from William and Mary College, and also knew a lot about music; in fact he knew a lot about many things, which made him something of a \u2018renaissance man\u2019.\u00a0 He and his wife, ‘Bev’, were\u00a0 accomplished adventurers<\/a>. \u00a0 Among his noteworthy adventures, Okeepa had hiked the entire length of the\u00a0 Appalachian Trail in 1996, which was when he received his ‘Okeepa’ trail-name.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He was well liked by everyone , and while it is sad to know that he is gone, it is perhaps comforting to realize that he lived a good life and is now off \u2018on his next great adventure\u2019.\u00a0 He will be remembered as much as he will be missed.<\/p>\n

\"Jeffery<\/a>

Jeffery Douglas 'Okeepa' Hager - 1970 - 2010 R.I.P. (photo by Lowrider)<\/p><\/div>\n

More adventures soon\u2026<\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Boulderman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 9\/23\/2010<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the 3rd consecutive year, the event known as \u2018Rat\u2019s Birthday hike\u2019 did occur; this year, my hiking buddy, \u2018Rat Patrol\u2019, decided to hike from Max Patch to Hot Springs (NC).\u00a0 One of the things I like best about the \u2018Birthday hike\u2019 is that I don\u2019t have to plan anything\u2026all I have to do, usually, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":473,"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions\/473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trailstealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}