Monday, July 22
I awoke refreshed and with a better outlook. We packed up camp and headed the hell of out of Betty Creek Gap. And of course, about a quarter of a mile down the trail, we hit Mooney Gap which had a campsite that looked a million times better than any of those in Betty Creek, although there was a “No Camping” sign posted and was situated right along a forest road. We stopped for water, which didn’t take as long as it did at Carter Gap, so maybe perception is everything in these instances. At this point, the next mile and a half was all uphill to Albert Mountain. I donned the GoPro, and off we went!
The going was tough, and the tough got going indeed. We made great time as I pushed forward to make it to our next checkpoint. We passed a group of hikers from the ATC Biennial conference, whose only warning was “It’s about to get rocky.” Rocky was an understatment. There were boulders that we had to climb up in order to get to the summit of Albert. The overhand climb was a little tough because I wasn’t used to the extra weight of my pack and there were moments when I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it. I cursed mothernature many a time on the way up, but when we finally made it, I was exstatic. Beautiful views and clear weather greeted us at the top, and we celebrated with a hot lunch. This was a bad idea.
We hung out on Albert longer than Chase wanted to, but I welcomed the break after our tough ascent. On the way down, the food weighed heavy in my belly, and it we moved slower than anticipated. My feet began to hurt from the steep desent, but it leveled out soon enough. We made it into a beautiful valley area and stumbled upon a brand new shelter. We took the opportunity to rest and to talk to a guy who camped at Standing Indian Campground often. We weren’t too far from Glassmine Gap and the trail back to the parking lot, so we pressed on, stopping to take pictures at a stream coming out of the base of a tree. The trail was pretty easy through here and we were at Glassmine Gap sooner than we expected.
We took a short break and then turned down Long Branch Trail. This trail was narrow and seemed like it wasn’t used very often. There were a few downed trees and we were forced to reroute around them. A lot of the trail was downhill and my feet and ankles were starting to really hurt. We weren’t too far from the car at this point, and I was yearning for a bit of AC and a place to sit down. The guy we were talking to at the shelter caught up to us and passed us, which was a little discouraging until I realized he wasn’t carrying 30lbs on his back.
We made it back to the car and I was happy to unload my pack and take my boots off. I would have plenty of time to recoup as we now had a 6 hour drive to Raleigh ahead of us. We pulled out of the campsite and pulled off the highway to snap a couple of victory pictures at a scenic lookout. It was a great feeling to be finished! We got back on the road and celebrated further with a big, fat, juicy, disgusting Hardee’s burger.
Our trip was amazing and we learned a lot. I’m hoping to post brief reviews of some of our gear soon!
Betty Creek Gap to Glassmine Gap: 5.3 miles
Long Branch Trail: 2.0 miles
Total mileage: 22.6 miles
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