May 6th: Brown Mountain Creek

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Happy Birthday Sis.
Well it rained well into the night. The rain let up and cleared around 3AM. The moon created nice shadows on the side of the tent. Wind whistled through the pines and hardwoods all night. Our tent spot was somehow sheltered from being battered, but we heard the wind all night long. Temp dropped just below 40 degrees and getting out of the bag was slow. Cold breakfast just like dinner. Had everything packed and on the trail by 8:30AM.
Camp was at about 3,500' and we started off down hill to Salt Dog Gap 300' lower. As we were headed down we met a northbound couple. They had started walking at 2AM from the Brown Mtn. Creek Shelter just so they could get a free lunch at "The Dutch Haus." They looked beat and real cold as the wind chill was still quite cold. Up over Tar Jacket Ridge about 3,800', down through Hog Camp Gap at 3,500'. This was a real nice tent camp area near a Forest Service Rd. There were fruit trees in the field with a couple of swings and a big fire pit. One hiker was still in the tent as we walked by.
After Hog Camp it was up Cold Mountain just over 4,000'. This has to be one of the best view points we have seen yet. The hill top was mowed; the sky was very clear after last night's rain. The wind made it cold, but we could see for over 100 miles in many directions. It was a day that the pictures we took will never do the scene justice. From there we went down into Cow Camp Gap below the 3,400' level then up Bald Knob at 4,100'. Bald Knob wasn't bald and had no real view.
For the next three miles we wound down almost 2,000' to US Hwy 60. We took a break to do some foot doctoring. While sitting there, a woman pulled into the rest area, popped open her trunk and pulled a cooler out. She said her trail name was "Double Nickel" and she had done a Thru Hike in '04 and lived in the area. On weekends during hiking season she leaves the cooler by the trail with goodies for the hikers and to help ourselves. We both grabbed a piece of fresh fruit and a candy bar - more "Trail Magic".
After that we lost more elevation winding down beside Brown Mountain Creek. All the way down to the 1,400' level. It was a nice warm walk. The lower we went the warmer it got. This shelter sits above the creek (a small river) in a stand of tall pines. We looked around and found a very beautiful stream side spot for the night. Flat and soft ground with running water just out the front door. I would love to be able to build a house in this spot.
We only did 10.5 miles today and were in camp by 3:30PM. Took our time setting things up, letting them dry out from last night's rain. We finally enjoyed a NICE HOT DINNER! Then we washed out some socks and enjoyed the afternoon. 7PM now and time to relax with some music before bed.

Patrick, Deborah Mooney aka OD & CC
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

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