Shakedown Hike #1 / North Carolina Adventuretime: Betty Creek Nightmare

Sunday, July 21

We awoke around 8:30am, made a quick breakfast of oatmeal and hot cocoa, and packed up the campsite. It was a beautiful morning and we had some great views of the surrounding mountains from the lookout point at the top of Standing Indian. I felt great as we descended into Carter Gap and we were making great time. The area that the Carter Gap shelter is located in is beautiful , though it is a bit of a hike to get to the water source since it is located behind the old shelter that has since been dismantled. It took almost 50 minutes to filter 6L of water with our Squeeze and were really annoyed by the setback. I also realized that my monthly visitor had arrived and I had not packed sufficiently! Thus began the moment in which everything turned south. We packed up and hiked on planning to make it to Betty Creek Gap before nightfall. The clouds began to press in on us It slowly got darker and eventually the rain began to fall. We pulled on our gear, excited to test out our gear and set off again convinced the rain would stop before we had to make camp. We were wrong.

I became evermore agitated at the whole prospect of hiking to Betty Creek as we got closer and the rain continued to fall. I was tired, sore, annoyed, wet, etc. We had just another mile or so to go, and I became downright unbearable to be with. I apologized to Chase later, as I was taking out my frustrations on him as we hiked the last quarter of a mile to the gap, blaming him for our unfortunate circumstances. Chase had said there was a shelter at the gap, and I was so looking forward to a dry place to sit and nurse my sore feet and tender belly. There was no shelter at Betty Creek. I thought I was going to break down crying. Chase was ever so patient with me though, and I can’t thank him enough for setting up camp and letting me relax and calm down in the tent.

Our campsite sucked. It was muddy and rooty and Betty Creek Gap was extraordinarily creepy. We had a cold dinner in the tent, finishing off the last of the summer sausage and bagels. I was significantly happier after eating and drying off a little in the tent. Chase left to hang the food bag and I sat alone in the middle of creepy Betty Creek Gap, absolutely terrified at every raindrop that sounded like a snapping twig. Chase told me after he came back that the entire gap was filled with an eerie fog, and that he was also creeped out a bit. We tried to get some sleep, and I definitely slept better than the first night, but Chase was up off and on due to the angle of the campsite. He woke me up in the middle of the night to show me a mouse that had chewed a hole in my brand new pack to get at some trash that I had overlooked. Cheeky mouse!

I was pretty grateful for this day in retrospect. Not every day can be awesome and I like knowing how I will react in bad situations. I felt bad for acting like such a brat, but if I had been more prepared, everything would have been better.

Standing Indian to Betty Creek Gap: 9.2 miles
Total mileage: 15.8 miles

Shakedown Hike #1 / North Carolina Adventuretime: (out)Standing Indian Mountain hiking!

Saturday, July 20

We woke up around 8:30am and enjoyed a simple breakfast. I had a banana and a cup of Tang, while Chase went for the honey bun and a cup of coffee. We left the hotel soon after and arrived at the trailhead a little after 11:30am. I was super stoked to finally get on the trail and was ready to go soon after arriving. Chase took a little more time to make sure he had everything and that the car would be secure, but we were soon making our way happily down the trail.

We did it! I kept thinking to myself, We made it and we are actually hiking! I am setting out on my very first backpacking trip! It was surreal! And awesome!

The Kimsey Creek Trail starts at the Standing Indian Campground Backcountry Information center and then cuts through some of the campground before shooting off to follow the Kimsey Creek up to Deep Gap. This trail was listed in the “More Difficult” section of the backcountry trails surrounding Standing Indian, and they really meant it. The trail began going uphill very steeply within the first half-mile, and I thought I was going to hate backpacking. I am not in very good cardiovascular shape, and I was breathing heavy in under 2 minutes of the climb. But it got easier elevation-wise and we were soon paralleling the creek.

This was both refreshing and bothersome! Such a beautiful mountain stream! So many gnats! I was stopping every few steps to pick them out of my eyelashes. Yeah. Totally gross. (We used a picaridin-based bug spray, and it worked awesome! But it doesn’t repel gnats.)

Eventually we made it the 4.2 miles to Deep Gap! How wonderful it was until I realized that it was another mile to Standing Indian Shelter, and that hiking a mile takes more than a minute. The hike from the parking area to the shelter was pretty and less buggy for sure. We could hear thunder in the distance and the skies threatened rain, but we were spared. Making it to the shelter was wonderful. There were two hikers there who were setting up to spend the night. They had come from Carter Gap that day and enjoyed several weekend hikes throughout the year. They were very nice and even let us have a spare lighter when we realized we had forgotten to stop at the convenience store to pick one up.

We ate a lunch of a bagel with summer sausage and cheese spread at the shelter. Chase and his dad enjoyed the old “bagel and log” during scouting, but I don’t think it will be something I take as a viable meal on the trail. It was heavy in my pack and heavy in my stomach! One of the hikers at the shelter said he was cooking chicken and dumplings from scratch that night, but I didn’t ask him how he did it. It sounded too good to be true.

We filtered water to refill our hydration packs and bottles and carried dirty water to bring to the summit of Standing Indian, which is where we planned to camp that night. After leaving the shelter, it was a quick but steep two and a half miles to the summit. Our campsite was perfect. A grassy spot for the tent, exposed rock to cook on, a clearing to hang the food and relieve ourselves in, everything was wonderful. We got there a little bit late, so we ended up cooking a dinner of black beans and rice and tortillas in the dark. We didn’t get to bed until after 9:30pm. I didn’t sleep very well due to my sleeping pad going flat in the middle of the night (an REI garagesale item that I got for $20, so I’m not that upset). It rained in the middle of the night, and it was quite peaceful listening to the rain hit the fly.

Shakedown Hike #1

… is approaching quickly! Too quickly almost!

Chase and I will be hiking the popular Nantahala Basin Loop trail, which encompasses about 18 miles of the AT from Deep Gap to Glassmine Gap. I found this hike on Everytrail and it seemed to be the perfect hike for what we needed: a multi-day loop with a variety of terrain. We have a few options regarding the actual route of the hike, and I’d like to present those options here:

Option 1:
Long Branch Trail from Standing Indian Campground to meet the AT at Glassmine Gap (2.0 miles). Take the AT south to Albert Mountain, with the option to camp on the summit (3.5 miles), or continue to either Betty Creek Gap (5.7 miles) or Carter Gap (9.4 miles) depending on how we feel. I’m expecting a short day and the 5.5 miles to Albert might be enough to exhaust us completely. The next day, we could hike from the summit of Albert to Carter Gap (6.2 miles) , Betty Creek Gap to Beech Gap (6.9 miles), or from Carter Gap to Standing Indian (6.1 miles). Day 3 would encompass either Carter Gap to Standing Indian (6.1 miles) , Beech Gap to Standing Indian (2.9 miles), or taking the Lower Ridge Trail from the summit of Standing Indian back to the campground (4.2 miles). The 4.2 miles from the summit of Standing Indian would make for a short half-day hike on the last day. This would be 22 miles total over possibly 3-4 days!

Option 2:
Kimsey Creek Trail from Standing Indian Campground to Deep Gap (3.7 miles). Take the AT north to Standing Indian Mountain (2.4 miles) with the option to camp on Standing Indian. We could also push on to Carter Gap another 6.1 miles from the summit of Standing Indian, but I doubt we will. From there, Day 2 would be Standing Indian to Carter Gap (6.1 miles), or Carter Gap to Albert Mountain (6.2 miles). Albert Mountain to Glassmine Gap is only 3.2 miles, and the exit trail along Long Branch is only 2.0 miles, making for a short Day 3/4. This trail route is 23.6 miles!

Option 3:
Lower Ridge Trail straight up to Standing Indian Mountain (4.2 miles), where we could camp or press on another 2.9 miles to Beech Gap. On Day 2, from Standing Indian to Carter Gap is 6.1 miles, and our hike would be much of the same as Option 2 for the final miles. If we make it to Beech Gap, Betty Creek Gap is 6.9 miles away, and our third day would encompass the steep climb up Albert Mountain (2.5 miles) and camping at Long Branch Shelter (4.9 miles total from Betty Creek), and a short day from Long Branch Shelter back to Standing Indian Campground (2.8 miles). This would add up to a total mileage of 21.7 miles!

I’m personally leaning toward Option #2! This option will show us the trail as we will see it when we set off next year, with the opportunity to summit two mountains and camp on each. The mileage is also uniform, which I think I will benefit from as this will be my first backpacking trip.

AWOL’s A.T. Guide (2013 edition) shows the terrain for this section hike on page 16, which will be very convenient for us. I highly recommend this book to anyone hiking the Appalachian Trail, thru- or not.

Overall I’m really stoked to finally get out on the trail and test out my gear. I really wish we could bring the dog, but the logistics didn’t work out this time since we will be spending time after our hike with friends and family.

I will be posting lots of pictures and probably initial gear reviews after the hike!