April 9, 1996 8.8 miles On to Bly Gap, NC . I got a ride from the motel to the trail head and walking by 8:30am. I was at Bly Gap by 3pm. Its a nice meadow with water right along the south edge. I was the first to arrive, but within an hour the place was packed with tents. I counted 16 tents plus mine. Most of these folks started on April 1 ^st and have been traveling in packs. Most of them are first timers like me. I imagine that I will be around them for about a week. The weather has been improving, but its going down to freezing tonight…I can feel it in my legs 8^). One of the hikers has a little Scottish terrier. The sweet little %^$# dog will not stop barking! This too will pass…Overall these are a great bunch of people.

April 10, 1996 8.9 miles Standing Indian shelter. Snow! Wow! It was really beautiful. We hiked in it all day. Despite all of the slipping and sliding, it was a joy to hike high up in the Alpine like terrain. The photos should be neat. The scenery took my mind off of everything else i.e. my aching legs. In fact I felt as though I might be getting stronger. I am also eating more to keep my energy level up. I must be losing weight though. I have to cinch my hip belt a little more each day.

April 11,1996 7.6 miles Carter Gap shelter. It wasn't a long day today. I have been hiking with a group of women since Bly Gap. Rose, Cat and Mia (Susan and the Scottish terrier "Mighty Dog".) Susan has been hiding a bad knee for a couple of days in the hopes that it might heal itself. She barely made it to the shelter today before we convinced her to get off of it for a while. I needed to go to Franklin, NC and said that I would escort her in where she could rest for a few days. We ran across a couple of high school kids at the shelter on Spring break. They offered to give us a lift into town the next day. We were joined later in the afternoon by a hiker from Jacksonville, FL. He was a fairly nice guy. He talked to himself a lot and we had to bail from the shelter when he started to have a really erotic dream and none of us wanted to be mistaken for his pillow 8^)

April 12, 1996 7 miles Hike to Franklin, NC . Susan and I got an early jump on the two high school spring breakers from Carter Gap shelter. Their truck was located at the head of Betty Creek trail. We didn't want to hold the kids back because of Susan's knee. It worked out well because we got a 30 minute rest before getting onto the un-maintained blue blaze creek trail. For Susan it must have been the hike from hell. Most of the trail had been grown over with mountain laurel and the rest of it suffered from blockage a la hurricane Opal knock downs. We had to bushwhack our way for the first ½ mile. 3 hours later we came out to a clear area that had several medium sized knock downs across the trail. Many times I had to actually lift her leg over the trees because she couldn't bend her leg at the knee. The last 3 miles were just a little bothersome as we had to feel around the dead-fall for rocks and ruts. My knees and ankles were somewhat strained by the end of the day from all of the traversing and the rocks. Once we got to the end of the Forest Service road, we plopped our aching parts down in front of a farmer's house and waited for the kids, who had gone ahead, to return with the truck. Susan and I got our boots off and admired the farmer's daffodils, and he later came down from the hillside and gave us some water. The two guys showed up within a half an hour and lifted us to Franklin. What a day…

April 13, 1996 I spent an entire day in Franklin at Henry's Motel . I was in heaven because I had a grocery, Laundromat , and a couple of county cookin' restaurants within short walking distance. I got a room and a shower, then made a direct hit on the grocery store. I stocked up on soups and mac'n-cheese, some mixings for gorp and ½ gallon of whole milk. I took six steps out of the store and down a pint of the milk in one big wonderful gulp! I sipped the rest on the way back to the motel. A couple of hours later Susan, some additional hikers who wandered in to town and I had a huge Mexican dinner. I don't have any idea how much food I really ate, but I had mine, some of Susan's and someone else's who couldn't finish his meal.

April 14, 1996 We left town and caught a ride to Rainbow Springs Campground . Susan wanted to get closer to the trail and do some light hiking to keep the knee limber. We went to the hospital in town and she was pleased to find out that there wasn't any damage to her knee, but she was told to stay off the trail for a few days. From Rainbow she can get back on at Wallace Gap . I stayed for a day and moved on. The campground is a really cool place. I could put my feet in the stream and ease the swelling. It was a really restful day. I worry a little about myself though. I don't seem to have the same drive that I had in the beginning. This trip is becoming more of a long vacation that I really need, but if I plan to finish this year, I need to spend more time hiking. One day at a time.

April 15, 1996 11.4 miles to Wine Spring . What a hiking day. Rain loomed overhead, and it looked like it could snow. I hiked with four women from Maine who were on their way home. By the time we got to Wine Spring, the wind was kicking up and it had begun to rain. I set my tent up in record time and got some hot food inside me. I listened to the wind pushing through the Gap above our campsite and it sounded just like a hurricane. I thank God that our campsite was on the protected side of the mountain. It must have gone down into the low 20s last night.

April 16, 1996 9 miles Cold Spring Shelter. More snow! What a wonderful view. There was a light dusting of snow covering everything. The rain had frozen last night and I had to wait until noon before my tent thawed out enough to fold it. Days like this are so nice because I have something else to look at besides leafless trees and meandering ridges. Once I got to the shelter, we had to work a geometry problem to get one more body inside. We even had a medium sized dog in there, but she slept on my feet and kept them toasty!

April 17, 1996 6 miles Wesser Creek Shelter. Such a beautiful day to bum around. I took a side trail to Rocky Bald Lookout and shared some pleasantries with a day hiking couple and their two year old little girl. I yogied some fig bars and climbed an observation tower. I found a couple hikers already enjoying the view. Mouse and Rapunzal who I had met yesterday. It was only another 3 miles to the shelter so I took advantage of the day. Shoot…I was at the shelter by 3pm. This is the way it should always be, but I know that it isn't. So ya gotta' enjoy the moments as they come. Tomorrow the NOC.

April 18, 1996 6 miles Nantahala Outdoor Center and a cheeseburger cooking that I could smell from a mile out! What a place! There were kayaks playing in the river, tons of pretty people and FOOD! I got MY cheeseburger and a bunk in the hostel. Met a fellow hiker who called himself "Funkfoot. "His name very aptly described his right foot which was playing host to something organic. He said that it didn't hurt, but I couldn't look at it. I convinced him that it would eventually fester and perhaps creep up his leg. That put the fear of God in him! I ran into Lynn Setzer again. She is still following the hikers and gathering insight and personal thoughts. I hope that I have something worth saying to her. It is difficult to convey the transformation taking place without sounding like I am beating my own drum. Tomorrow brings another day of one foot in front of another.

April 19, 1996 7.1 miles to Sassafras Gap Shelter. The day began with a long, steep climb out of Wesser . Yesterday's weather was nice, but today was wet and muddy. There were some hikers already at the shelter and we had a good time talking about different things and horsing around. All of us made the same observation about Wright and Grassy Gaps ; they were real leg pounders!

April 20, 1996 9.1 miles and Brown Fork Gap Shelter. Another leg pounding day. Downhills like the sides of buildings. It stormed much of the day and I was pelted by hail about 2pm. I took a nasty fall on a downhill just up from Simp Gap and my right knee hurts. Just out of Simp Gap at the road, a car pulls up and a lady roles her window down to take my picture. Her only words…"I wanted to take your picture because you look so pathetic." …I'll show her pathetic!!! Not even a snickers bar…just rolled her window up and drove away. That was the low point of my day. I had lightning strike near me about an hour after the incident and it nearly ruined the electronics in my camera. I got to the shelter before dark. At least I wasn't the only one who had a bad day. Everyone in the shelter had taken the direct trail to the camp and in doing so wound up sliding on their butts in a river of mud. I was fortunate to have met a southbound section hiker who warned me to take the alternate approach trail along the ridge. My feet are soaked and I am out of dry socks. Wet feet and downhills tomorrow will make for sore feet tomorrow night.