Why is it that my server always seems to know when I’m out of the country to fail?
I had a really intensive week in Atlanta, but the project was completed successfully, and I’m quite happy to see it was on time.
While I had to work last Saturday, I made sure I didn’t carry all of my gear accross the planet in vain. I took a Sunday/Monday weekend and headed off to Smokey Mountain National Park. My route was given to me by someone who knows the area very well, and was simply stunning.
Since I hate mornings, I took off Saturday night at 7pm from the office. I drove to REI where I bought some last-minute supplies and rented a sleeping bag. Home, pack, dinner, ready to go. Oops. I’m used to a push-button trunk release back home, but my rental car in Atlanta didn’t have this. I was in such a hurry, I accidentally locked my keys in the trunk. Stupid me. Thankfully, the car service worked on US and not Israeli scheduling, so they were there in an hour (in Israel it’s 3hrs). By the time I was ready to leave again, it was 00:15.
I think I hit the Newfound Gap parking lot around 04:00 and immediately fell asleep in the car. When I got up 4hrs later, I found that there was no ranger station nearby to get a backcountry pass. I would have to drive 15 miles back the way I came, only then to hear I needed a reservation for the shelter I wanted. The reservation office doesn’t open until after 9.
So finally I hit the trail at around 10:30, pass & reservation in hand. I walked a few miles along the AT until I reached Charlie’s Bunion. From there I turned around and climbed Mt. Laconte via Boulevard Trail. It’s a long steep grind. Clouds were low and completely engulfed me, leaving zero visibility. I think I reached the summit around 4pm, got settled in and had a great evening at the AT shelter with some cool people.
In the morning I climbed down and hitched a ride up to the Clingman’s Dome, the highest point on the AT. From there the trail goes down a bit until there’s another climb, and then downhill again all the way back to Newfound Gap. Strangely enough, the person who stopped to pick me up was Jewish. What are the odds of running accross someone Jewish purely at random on the Tennesee/North Carolina border?
I wound up doing about 12 miles each day, virtually all of it either up or downhill. My knees were sore at the end, but it was a great hike in some of the most stunning areas I’ve seen. On the Mt. Laconte side, I couldn’t get over how lush things were. Everywhere the trail was wet with water from various mountain springs coming out from the ground.
So, as I said, I’m back in Israel right in the middle of the war. My SAR team is being sent up North again tomorrow to spot rocket landing sites. They wanted me to go with them, but since I’m leaving again for vacation with Ana in Spain on Friday I couldn’t go. Chances are, if the conflict isn’t over in a week, I’ll find myself up North.
[tags]usa, atlanta, appalachian, newfoundgap, smokey, smokeymountains, hiking, backpacking, AT[/tags]
