On the Appalachian Trail: Plumorchard Shelter, GA to Muskrat Creek Shelter, NC

Day 4 Plumorchard Shelter, GA - Muskrat Creek Shelter, NC (Miles Today: 7; Trip Miles: 28; Total AT Miles: 78)

Last night's storm was crazy. I looked up at one point and saw a big just of wind pick up the coals from the fire pit and spray them into the woods. Orange sparks flew everywhere but thankfully there was no fire. With all the rain that was falling from the black sky I don't know how there could have been. The winds howled, bending the trees back and forth as lightning filled the sky all night long. Finally the storm passed around 4 or 5 in the morning and by the time I woke up everything was calm again. I pulled my sleeping bag around my head and propped the back of my head against the back wall of the shelter so I could look out at the woods and watch the first few people get up and retrieve their things that had blown off the table during the storm.

It was cold, cold this morning. My hands were freezing as I gathered up my stuff and worked to make oatmeal for breakfast. We all headed out of camp at pretty much the same time which is a bit of an oddity. The cold morning had everyone dragging just a bit. We all said our goodbyes and hit the trail. The boys and I wore our rain gear, hats, and gloves to stay warm. After an hour of hiking we stopped to brush our teeth but still couldn't take off any of our layers. It was just so windy we couldn't completely warm up.

Around midday we came across the sign we had been waiting for. Coming into Bly Gap we had finally reached the state line. We were forever leaving the Georgia trail and entering North Carolina. This was to be the highlight of the trip and it did feel pretty great. We climbed up a rock ledge to have lunch. I sat in Georgia. Ty in North Carolina, and Muluken straddled the two. As we sat and ate three other hikers passed through and we enjoyed yelling down the trail to them that they were about to cross the state line.

North Carolina greets you with some crazy hard climbs. They aren't so much long as they are steep. It feels as though they go straight up. By this point we were pretty used to climbing so we took them in stride and enjoyed taking short breaks and laughing at the absurdity of such a steep climb.

As we neared the base of a more steady climb two older gentlemen said "There you are! We've been looking for you." I didn't recognize them and had no idea how they could know who we were. I assumed maybe they had us confused with someone else.

"We came across Zach and Alex a little earlier today and they told us to keep an eye out for you three," they explained. "They told us to tell you guys hello. So 'hello.'"

"How about that, guys?" I asked the boys. "Zach and Alex sent a hello back to us from further up the trail. That's pretty cool." They were both around my age and had kids at home. I hoped we would meet up with them at the next shelter but they wouldn't be there. They had decided to hike on further.

We reached Muskrat Creek Shelter a little before 4. It was far too early to be in camp but we were only four miles from where Tricia would be meeting us the next morning and it made no sense to sit around there all morning and freeze. So we stayed at the shelter and waited for others to come. And come they did. A new group of hikers, many of whom we had seen two nights ago at Deep Gap Shelter before their trip into town, popped up a tent in every clearing to be found. We decided to stay in the shelter again so we wouldn't have to pack up our tent in the morning. The overnight temperatures were supposed to be below freezing and I assumed the morning would be just as cold.

It wound up we didn't have to wait until nightfall for the temps to drop. By five o'clock it was bone-chilling cold. With nothing to do we sat and shivered. Bored and miserable we decided to fix an early dinner and desert, do our camp chores, and bundle up in our sleeping bags to wait until nightfall. With every layer of clothing we had on our bodies we crawled into our bags around six o'clock. We warmed up quickly and Muluken and I even decided we could brave pulling our arms out of our bags to journal. We were asleep before nightfall and each took a turn getting up in the middle of the night to water the foliage. Of the six people in the shelter only Muluken and I didn't snore (the two old snorers from last night were here as well as a younger one we hadn't met before).

(Dad, age 36)

We hiked 7 miles. We passed the state line.

(Ty/Flash, age 7)


We hiked a few miles before we passed the state line to North Carolina. Dad stayed in Georgia to finish his last lunch there and I sat in the middle so that I'd be half and half. Flash sat in the North Carolina for his first lunch there. We sat up a hill under a rock that guarded us against the wind.

After lunch we hiked up a huge and steep bunt not long mountain with the angry wind on us. We had on our rain gear to keep us warm from the wind. The weather was weird today because the sun shined and it was warm but then in a few minutes the wind would be on you. The worse way to go is flat because it has nothing to guard the wind and the top of the mountain is the worse. We said it wasn't as windy in Georgia. That 's a nice way to welcome us.

(Muluken/Jolly Roger, age 9)