Mile 119
So I’d just come down from Wayah Bald where the stone tower is and there was a split in the road and the sign said left was the shelter in a quarter mile. So I was thinking, well, I don’t want to go to the shelter if it’s a quarter mile away. I’ll just keep going down the trail. And there’s a sign pointing back the way I came that said Appalachian Trail and Bartram Trail.
Basically for the past couple miles or so, it’s been two trails in one. Appalachian Trail is white blazes and this other one has yellow blazes. And so I was like, well, I don’t really want to go to a shelter. I’ll just keep going. So turn to my right, and there’s no, you know, no explanation of what’s left or what’s right. So I just go right where the trail keeps going. And there was a yellow blaze, which I didn’t really think anything of because there’s been more yellow blazes than white.
So I kept going and I keep going and I keep going. I’ll probably go about a mile and you know, it’s half, you know, probably half a mile has been going downhill. So I’m going down the mountain and then it starts to get really steep and the whole path is covered in leaves. Like you can hardly tell there’s a trail. And I’m like, this is not right. The AT is a well-worn path and there’s just a thick layer of leaves on this trail that’s super steep. Any other hiker would have just, you know, been sliding on these leaves and pushing them down the hill. So I was like crap, I looked ahead, no white blazes. Well, I walked a little ahead a little further, no white blazes, but a couple yellow blazes. So that’s when I knew, OK some point.
So I walked all the way back and finally got back to that same split and then saw that the shelter sign pointed down the path and there was a white blaze. So I just assumed that the shelter sign was a side trail because every other shelter sign up to this point has been a side trail and nowhere did it say AT this way and this trail this way. So I was pissed but then I did it again.
So just down that trail a little bit, not even to the shelter yet, there’s like the path keeps going straight and there’s like a log to the side. So, you know, I’m just, I’m just going head down following Kooper is leading the way. And, uh, I keep going and then the trail starts getting rough again. And I noticed there’s no white blazes. I’m like, I did it again. So I go back and that log is, and really, there are stairs going down the side of it, but, but this path just keeps going straight and it’s a clear path that you can walk on. So I picked up a big log and basically laid it across the path that keeps going straight. So it would force people to least glance up and see, there are stairs, these pseudo stairs going down the side. And then you would look up and see the white blaze.
So anyways, I’m frustrated. I’m pissed. I’m hot. Sun’s blazing down on me. I stopped at Wayah Shelter just to take a break. And I’ll be moving on. Peace.