Appalachian Trail 2019, Days 9-12: Dick's Creek Gap to Siler Bald Shelter

After finishing the first eighty miles back in May, it was October before I could get back on trail - this time picking up right where I left off at Dick's Creek Gap and pushing north toward Siler Bald. Four days, a water filter that nearly ended the trip on day one, two straight days of rain, and a scramble up a fire tower that made all of it worth it. Watch the video below, then read on for the full story.

Back on Trail, Six Days of Food Deep

This time around meant driving all the way from Florida to the NOC - the planned stopping point for this section - and hiring a shuttle back to the start. Brett, the shuttle driver from a local outfitter, turned out to be a through-hiker himself, which made for a good trailhead conversation. Staying the night at the NOC beforehand, with a nice dinner at their restaurant, meant this section would end at my own car - clean clothes, a shower, and a soda stashed and waiting instead of another hitchhike out. The tradeoff: sections keep getting farther north, so future trips will likely mean flying and renting a car instead of just driving down.

The plan called for six days of food with no resupply, skipping the option to stop in Franklin, which put the pack at about 31 pounds with water included - heavy, but manageable. Lows in the 50s were expected, a bit chillier than May, along with actual rain for the first time this trip (May had only produced a five-minute sprinkle that didn't count). Waiting ahead: the Georgia/North Carolina state line, the 100 mile mark, and the stone fire tower on Siler Bald. Also on the menu: a new lunch experiment of dehydrated vegetables rehydrated alongside cold-soaked couscous and a chicken seasoning packet, meant to fix the blandness of the couscous-only meals from the last section.

The Water Filter Meltdown at Plum Orchard Gap

About four and a half miles in, at Plum Orchard Gap, things went sideways. Low on water with a good source right there, the filter suddenly refused to pass more than a few drops a second no matter how much back-flushing and squeezing got thrown at it - slow enough that filtering a liter would've eaten an hour. With water reserves too thin to risk pushing on, the only real option was to backtrack all the way to Dick's Creek Gap.

Trail magic saved the day. A flip-flopping through-hiker and his friend Steve recognized the problem immediately - almost certainly mineral sediment from hard water back home, and vinegar would flush it right out. They gave a ride into Hiawassee, where a Dollar General supplied the vinegar, and then offered a ride back to the trailhead besides. The fix worked almost instantly once applied, and what could have been a trip-ending gear failure turned into just a lost afternoon and a new hiking acquaintance.

Hiking Back Into the Rain

Getting the filter sorted meant hiking back to Plum Orchard Gap that evening to pick up where the detour started - putting the schedule about seven miles behind, ground that would need to be made up later with a lighter pack. Rain arrived right on cue at 4pm, the first real rain of either section hike, and it wasn't delightful, but it wasn't miserable either. Day two started in the same soggy clothes, with more rain in the forecast and the state line getting closer by midday.

The overcast held until around 11am before the rain picked back up, on and off through the early afternoon - already-wet clothes making the whole thing feel less dramatic than it might have otherwise. Then, right on schedule, the Georgia/North Carolina border sign appeared - a milestone worth stopping for, even soaked. Courthouse Bald followed shortly after: a genuinely tough climb with zero payoff at the top, no view to speak of, just more climbing to look forward to. Somewhere in there, a hiker named Gary joined the mix, matched pace, and the two ended up leapfrogging toward Standing Indian Shelter together.

A Small World at Standing Indian Shelter

Rain fell all night at Standing Indian Shelter, leaving another morning of pulling damp clothes back on - though a pair of dry socks, saved deliberately, made a real difference. A couple hiking southbound at the shelter turned into one of the best moments of the trip: it turned out we'd gone to the same small college, and despite not overlapping years, knew a surprising number of the same people. A reminder that the trail community is smaller than it looks.

The timing lined up almost too well with the weather - blue sky finally breaking through right as the mood lifted, a pretty clean symbol for how a run of genuine struggle can turn a corner right when hope shows up. Practically speaking, the rain taught a real lesson too: keep a dry set of sleep clothes and a dry sleeping bag no matter what, and the moment any real sun appears, take ten minutes to lay wet gear out on a bush and dry it - it works faster than you'd expect.

Climbing Albert Mountain

With the terrain easing up - five gradual miles off Standing Indian Mountain followed by more rolling ground - the day's mileage stayed flexible: either an eleven-mile day to Betty Creek campsite, or push five more to Long Branch Shelter and start clawing back the miles lost to the water filter fiasco. Along the way came the final climb up Albert Mountain to its fire tower - a genuine scramble over rock, following white blazes straight up. After more than two days stuck in the clouds, the view from the top landed hard: full, open mountains in every direction, easily the payoff of the entire section.

Catching Back Up

Long Branch Shelter - a newer build, nicely set up, with a proper sunset to enjoy - was the reward for the day's climb. The next morning finally brought no rain at all. It was also time to say goodbye to Gary, another Florida hiker met right at the state line sign and shared two shelters with since, as he was getting off trail at Winding Stair Gap. The day before had been the biggest yet at 16.4 miles - the deliberate catch-up push for the time lost to that first-day water filter meltdown - and it worked: fully caught up, with eleven and twelve mile days planned for the stretch ahead into Winding Stair Gap and beyond toward Siler Bald.