Iron Mountain Gap 1829.8 to Chestoa 1849.9 (20.1 miles, 1849.9 total miles)
Falling asleep for a solid eight hours without feeling like I moved once all night was the treat I’d been waiting for since I’d gotten sick. Miss Janet had set me up with my own room in her home, and I sprawled on the large bed, completely unconscious until 7:45.
I snoozed my alarm for an hour, though, feeling like I might still be in some sort of sleep debt. Finally, I got myself up knowing I had to pack and get ready to hike 20 miles before dark.
Miss J had perfect daypacks in her car, so I prepped one while eating a breakfast burrito and drinking instant coffee. Homework gave me a croissant, and Dexter ran around all excited we were still there.
We drove back to the trailhead, talking about Hiker Thanksgiving and repeat offenders, such as myself. I mentioned I would probably still be hiking another few times in the future, and noticed we passed a road called Frankie Lane the moment I said it.
Homework and I were off on the trail at quarter after 10, stopping unexpectedly ten or so minutes in, when a sign announcing trail magic caught my eye on the side of the trail, just across from a cooler sitting on the leaves.
Inside were homemade bacon gouda scones, blueberry scones, and chocolate chip cookies, all courtesy of a very kind woman named Lyn, who’d been posting in one of the Facebook groups looking for SOBOs to trail magic.
I ate while I walked, crunching up a mile and a half easy incline toward a nice view on top of the hill. I felt good, but still very tired. I’d also gotten used to taking prednisone in the morning, and it had been giving me hours of hiking energy to start the day, which I didn’t have anymore.
A mile and a half descent brought me to Cherry Gap Shelter, where I stopped to sign the logbook and dig a cat hole. The trail had been bouncing back and forth on the TN/NC state line, but I still hadn’t seen a privy since Virginia.
Homework was ahead of me now, but I saw Heat Lightning had been at the shelter the night before and was feeling rather down, from his logbook entry. I decided to try to find him and see if he wanted to come to Miss Janet’s for the night.
The next mile took me up and down a tiny climb, then put me at the base of a 2.2 mile climb of 1,209 feet up Unaka Mountain. I listened to Order of the Phoenix as I hiked, still feeling tired as I made my way up.
The day had turned overcast, and the foliage changed as I ascended over 5,000 feet into the magical wooded summit of Unaka. It reminded me of the spruce fir forest on Roan, with verdant green moss creeping up the trees.
Descending down the mountain was just as special, with open views through bare trees giving glimpses into the ridges ahead, some still with deep orange leaves scattered here and there.
A couple steep miles down got me to Beauty Spot Gap, where a short side trail led to a very good water source. I collected a liter and a half and sent Miss J a picture of where I was, before starting an easy 1.6 up to Beauty Spot, a lovely open, grassy bald.
I was surprised and pleased to see trail magic was going on up there as well. Mango, a 2022 NOBO thru who had finished last month, was set up with his neighbor, Jane, and her two dogs, including the cutest little puppy.
Mango had sandwich fixings, fruit, soda, beer, chips, and desserts. I was in desperate need of caffeine so I cracked open a cola and sat down for lunch. In addition, I’d also found Heat Lightning sitting with the others.
Heat Lightning was happy to be invited, and got hiking a bit after I arrived, wanting to make the miles to where we were getting picked up. I spent a while with the others, before tearing myself away just after 3:00, still having 10.5 miles to go before dark.
Luckily, the rest of the day was almost entirely downhill, and I coasted down the mountain grateful for that. The day stayed mostly overcast and breezy, while I listened to a couple podcasts to keep my mind entertained.
Toward the bottom of the ridge, I crossed several small bridges over water sources, watching the sky get dim around me. The last couple miles were extremely pleasant, with views down to my left, making it hard to keep my eyes on the trail.
I crossed train tracks, went through the woods one more time, then ended up in a parking lot just before the Nolichucky River at 6:40, right at sunset. I sat in Miss Janet’s car while we waited for the others who were just a few minutes behind me.
We stopped at Food City for Heat Lightning to resupply, then grabbed burgers, though I decided to finish my leftover pizza and salad from the day before at the house.
We were all rather tired, and turned in early, around 10:00. Determined to catch up on my sleep again, I laid down without preamble and fell asleep almost immediately without another thought.