Day 33, Moreland Gap Shelter to Shook Branch Road

When I awoke the second time, the rain had stopped. Unfortuately, I discovered water in my tent. The foot of my sleeping bag was damp and a puddle had formed in one corner of the tent floor.

When I pitched my tent last night I didn't have time to seek out an ideal flat spot. I had to take the best I could find in short order, which was on a slight slope.

During the night, my sleeping pad and sleeping bag slid to the lower end of the tent. This caused the mesh panel between the floor and the tent sides to push outward, exposing a gap and allowing rain to come in.

I made a mental note of this. It was the only weakness I had found of my tent, a Zpacks Duplex, and now that I knew about it I should be able to avoid the problem again.

After mopping up the water and getting packed, I left the tenting area near the shelter at 9:30 a.m.

A short distance from the shelter I discovered evidence of last Fall's wildfires. Though this area was not as badly burned as the parts of Georgia and North Carolina I had passed through earlier, there were a few affected areas.

Already this was evidence of nature healing and renewing itself, as it always seems to do.

Though it was no longer raining, the air was still damp. A thick fog clung to the ground and remained this way for a couple hours.

The fog was so thick that when the trail passed by a meadow, it was impossible to see how big the meadow was.

It was almost noon before I saw an opening in the trees that offered anything close to a view. On a clear day there would have been a couple viewpoints that included distant mountain ridges.

As it was, it was only now that I could only see fog rolling over a nearby ridge. The fog was slowly beginning to lift.

The trail began to make a steep descent toward Laurel Fork Gorge. Through much of this drop in elevation the trail had become a free-flowing river.

I had been told about two inches of rain fell yesterday. It had to go somewhere, and unfortunately the trail was the quickest path for the water to take down the mountain.

In several places the trail was no longer a footpath, but was now a flowing creek, with three to four inches of water rapidly gushing down the mountain.

The trail's descent bottomed out near Dennis Cove Road. There was a large meadow here, which the trail crossed.

At the edge of the meadow was a rotting log structure. The Guthook's app described it as a cabin, but it looked to me to be more like a barn for livestock.

I discovered at the road an unexpected surprise: trail magic!

I should have realized this would be a possibility, as it was a Saturday and trail magic is more common on weekends. I didn't expect it, though, because of the wet weather.

The trail magic was provided by a couple from Johnson City, Jennifer and Jack. It was much appreciated.

While I was there, another happy surprise appeared. It was Radio (pictured left) and Two Chairz.

I had walked with these guys for a few days in North Carolina. The last time I had seen them was when we reached Franklin a month ago.

Beyond the road the trail began to follow Laurel Fork Creek, which is a tributary of the lower Doe River.

It was along the creek that the trail entered a protected area, Pond Mountain Wilderness. The trail was flat and easy to hike because it made use of an old railroad grade.

A couple sections of the former railroad grade went through a narrow cut in rocks, with steep and high sides.

It's been 90 years since a train whistle was heard in this forest. The railroad was operated by the Laurel Fork Railway from 1912 to 1927, and was used to haul lumber for the Pittsburgh Lumber Company to a sawmill near present-day Hampton.

The rail line was all but shut down in 1924 when a flood on the Doe River washed away much of the track.

Thanks to the flat railroad grade, I could look around while I walked without much concern about where to put my feet. It was enjoyable hiking.

A footbridge then took the trail to the other side of the creek.

After the two inches of rain that fell yesterday and overnight, the creek was rushing underneath the bridge with great volume and velocity. As I saw the water I thought it looked good enough for a great kayak run, and I was surprised to not see anyone with a boat on the water.

Then a couple minutes later several kayakers came up the trail, each carrying a boat. They had just completed a run.

The kayakers had come up a long series of stone steps. I followed the steps down to the lower level of the creek. As I did I felt glad I was only carrying a backpack and not trying to balance a large plastic boat on my shoulders. I haven't done any whitewater kayaking in several years, but I well remember how awkward it was to walk that way over uneven terrain.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, I turned to my left and finally saw what I had been hearing for the last several minutes, a powerful, 55-foot waterfall. It was spectacular.

I stayed there for several minutes, just admiring it.

The trail next went a short distance along the creek before it reached a large rock wall. There was nowhere to go but around the wall, so the trail continued on a narrow ledge just a few inches above the water.

The only way to be sure I didn't trip or slip into the water was to walk with my right shoulder scraping the side of the rock wall.

The trail continued this way for several yards before reaching a spot wide enough for a more comfortable path.

An alternate trail was available if the water flowed too high to make it around the rock wall. I was glad it wasn't necessary today.

Near the junction with the alternate trail I met a section hiker, who uses the trail name Forest Cubby. He showed me a video he shot a few minutes earlier on his smartphone of a kayaker making a successful plunge down the waterfall I had just passed.

Seeing the video, I remained convinced I should stick to backpacking instead of taking up that kind of thrill-seeking.

The trail continued to follow Laurel Fork Creek for another mile, and crossed it or a feeder stream three more times.

At 2:40 p.m. I reached the point where the trail departed from the creek. There was another trail here that continued on beside the creek. This trail went to Hampton, Tennessee, where it would be possible to resupply and spend the night at a hostel.

I decided to keep going because there was plenty of daylight left in the day to get in several more miles.

I didn't realize when the trail began to climb how long it would take to reach the top. There were about a dozen switchbacks along the way. While I appreciated them for making the trail less steep, they also made it tedious.

The climb offered one reward, a view of Wautauga Reservoir.

I spotted some yellow azalea blossoms during the climb. Around here in the forest they usually appear as a deeper orange color, so these were especially showy.

By the time I reached the other side of the mountain, nearly six miles later, I was feeling worn out and ready to be done hiking.

When I reached Shook Road I followed a sign to Boots Off Hostel. Until now I have tried to avoid most hostels. I am not a fan of them any more than I am of shelters, but today I was going to make an exception. I just wanted a shower and a real bed.

Unfortunately, Boots Off could not offer me either. The owner, Jim Gregory, had just opened the hostel a year ago, and it seemed there were still a few kinks to be worked out.

Just recently he was ordered by a county code enforcement officer to add shower and toilet facilities because he did not have enough for the number of bunks he provided. Until he could construct the additions, he was not permitted to allow people to sleep in the bunkroom or cabins.

Jim said he could only offer me a place to pitch my tent in his camping area. The cost was just $10 and included a continental breakfast. As tired as I was, that would have to do.

There was a bonus, however. Jim and his family live on the property and they were planning a cookout. He told me and the other hiker staying here that we could have all the hamburgers and hot dogs we could eat.

No shower, but free food. No problem!