3 Day Backpack Trip (day 1)

Labor Day weekend fun!! We got up bright and early and drove to Hot Springs NC, where I had scheduled shuttle service with Bluff Mountain Outfitters, from Hot Springs to Max Patch. We (my boo, and my two dogs) were going on a 3 day, 2 night backpack trip and covering 20 miles in the Pisgah National Forest. We got there an hour early and decided to shop around a bit. Bought a hankerchief and a thermarest chair converters (which was a great buy). The outfitters called in our driver to come pick us up and our driver Ruth was an interesting character. She drove us to the trail head at Max Patch(4629). It was awe inspiring from the parking lot. Just this huge grassy bald mountain. The dogs were getting ansy from being in the car for over 3 hours so we put on Thing 1's pack and to my surprise, he didn't try to wiggle out of it. We slipped on our packs and I put thing 2 on a 15 foot leash that I had strapped around my waist. And off we went!! After a short .8 mile climb, we stopped for a bit to take in the views. Amazing... Then we got to the Appalachian Trail and started following the white blazes down the bald and into the forest. It was a nice gradual descent but I was really glad I had my trek poles. After about 2 miles we stopped for lunch at Roaring Fork Shelter. It was neat to see and read the registery book all the AT thru hikers use and I even signed it! After feasting on focaccia bread, turkey pepperoni, and string cheese, we packed up and headed 3.4 miles to Lemon Gap(3550) and then push the 1.8 mile ascent up Walnut Mountain(4260). It was a pretty tough climb filled with lots of little stream crossings, which were great for the dogs to stop and camel up. We were holding out to fill up our water at Walnut Mt. Shelter spring. So up we went. The top of Walnut Mt. just a tall grassy bald with what looked like blueberry bushes (with no berries). We descended back into the forest and in about 200 yards we see Walnut shelter. There are several bear siting warnings so we knew we didnt' want to camp there, even after hiking 7 miles. We decided to load up on water and head 1 mile to Kales Gap to stealth camp. The water situation was rather funny. We head down the blue blaze, off trail, down a prickly, tall grassy trail to a "fenced in spring." Poor Boo about broke his shoulder trying to break a tree branch, instead of just crawling under it. then, when he sees the water situation, (a tiny puddle of non moving water) he goes " NO WAY". It took some coxing to get him to pull out the Katadyn hiker water filter and fill up one of our 3 liter water bags. He was afraid he was sucking up larve and mosquito eggs from this little puddle, but we honestly had no other choice. We were out of water. He decided to wait til camp to boil the water b/f he drinks it. We loaded our packs onto our backs and continued, even though we were both spent. We knew we only had 1 mile of down hill to get to camp, so on we trudged. After a while we started going up again and it was nearing 5pm, so I knew we had to get to camp. I just assumed it was some PUD and kept going. We ran into a family who told us about a bald we could camp at in about a mile. Argghhh.... another MILE UP! that would put us at a 9 mile day and we were exhausted already. We finally get to the grassy ridge campsite and I read a sign that said "Catpen Gap". WHAT!! we had climbed 1/2 way up Bluff Mt.!! We had agreed to camp at Kales Gap so we could tackle the 2 mile ascent of Bluff Mt. (4686), (the tallest mountain on our hike), in the morning with fresh legs. We rushed thru camp chores and I broke down and lost it from exhaustion, pain in my feet, and hunger. After dinner (dehydrated Mountain House meat Lasagna, and a dark chocolate bar) we decided to call it a night. Around 11pm, we woke up, pulled out the star chart and were just in awe with the amazing star show happening just for us. It was probably the 2nd best star gazing night I've ever experienced. (Jamaica was the best). We finally climb back in the tent with the dogs and attempt to sleep. (I'm seriously considering becoming a hammock hanger. All this ground dwelling hurts my back and causes fitful nights of sleep.)