I got up, and packed by 8:30 am. There was no set plan for the day, except we knew we wanted to stop and get some food in the Town of Catawba. The town was 13 miles away and 1 mile off the trail. After chowing down, we figured we could find a nice spot close to the store and set up camp. The weather was warm and clear. It was a challenging but interesting hike 4.3 miles up to Dragon’s Tooth. Dragon’s Tooth was a rock out cropping at the top of a mountain. It was an awesome area, and since it was a weekend, there were a bunch of people all over the place. We snapped some photos and then I lead the way as we started to descend off the mountain.
Chillin’ on Dragon’s Tooth.
An excellent view from below Dragon’s Tooth.
The Vegan, chillin’ in front of Catawba Grocery.
I must have lost the trail right after Dragon’s Tooth, because all of the sudden we were in the middle of nowhere. Thinking back, I know excatly where I lost the trail. There was a white blaze on a tree and an area of runoff that looked like the trail. Basically we walked straight down a steep hill and off the mountain. We were 500 feet down and hiking back up from there would have been extremely difficult and the likelihood of getting lost again was pretty high. Vegan and I talked about our options. I knew we had lost the trail, but we weren’t really lost. Since I was the one who was leading the way, I felt responsible for getting us back on the trail. There was a road and a town close by, so I figured we should just follow the powerlines downhill until we reach a road, then find the main road and hitch out. We followed the powerlines for a quarter mile or so, but then we encountered brush that was so thick we couldn’t find our way through. We walked around the brush and then just followed the path of least resistance down the hill. Soon we found a path that lead to a larger path, that lead right into someone’s back yard. I felt relieved. We hurried across the yard and down the driveway toward the road. As soon as our feet touched asphalt, a Toyota truck pulled up next to us. An older guy in the truck rolled down his window and asked if we were lost. After telling him that we were A.T. Thru-Hikers that lost the trail, he told us to jump in the back. He drove us through the winding mountain roads to the Catawba Grocery. What a crazy morning! When we arrived, there were three or four other hikers sitting around in front of the convience store stuffing their dirty faces. The Catawba Grocery was a glorified gas station convenience store. I grabbed the door handles with both hands and swung them wide. I cannot confirm this, but I am pretty sure a half dozen doves flew past me in slow motion as I strolled in slow motion toward the junk food. I had pizza, sodas and ice cream. Without leaving any time for digestion, I immediately started hiking again. Eating that food so fast, hit The Vegan pretty hard and he just decided to take a nap on a pile of leaves and said he would catch up. I knew exactly how he was feeling, and thought that the decision to just lay down in the middle of the woods was pretty awesome. I felt alright, so I kept hiking. The trail lead across some sunny, open fields. At the edge of one of the large fields, I could see a white blaze leading back into the shadowy forest. It seemed like a videogame. I was having a good afternoon, but once my body started absorbing all the chemicals I had just ingested, I started to get tired. The trail went over and down a bunch of 100 foot hills, one after another, after another. I was getting annoyed because it was taking way too long to get where I was going. It turns out there were about 4 unnacounted for miles that weren’t in the trail guide. With out knowing the mileage, I would have enjoyed that section of hike, but feeling like I wasn’t getting anywhere was very demoralizing. By late afternoon, I finally arrived at the Catawba Mountain Shelter. That was our stop for the night. As I put my bag down, I heard some voices from behind the shelter, it was Glide and Ramblin’ man. I knew Glide from before. He was a nice dude in his late thirties, and Ramblin’ Man was a little older. I had passed the 700 mile mark and aside from some indigestion, I felt great. An hour after I showed up, Vegan appeared out of the woods. I didn’t eat a real dinner because I was still full from the junk food I ate a couple hours earlier. The shelter was perched on the edge of the mountain, and there were no camp spots. All four of us slept in the shelter. Glide snorred all night long.
A large field near the Catawba Grocery.
Smooth's Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike 