Standing Indian Shelter
June 12, 2005 - Hunkered Down at Standing Indian Shelter
Tropical storm Arlene is dumping a lot of rain here today. It is very windy and at 11:00 a.m. I am staying put for now.
I will give it another hour and decide whether to go on to the next shelter today. The wind is the scary part. The trail
must be a mess. At 3:30 p.m. I am still here and am glad. The rain has not stopped. Four other men from Ft.
Lauderdale came in and left. I told them if they camp out that they will take a beating tonight. These people are
idiots. There are now 40 mph. winds and 3 inches of rain in the last 2 hours. I think I did the smart thing in staying
put. I will leave early tomorrow no matter what. It will be 12 miles to get to Plum Orchard tomorrow and I will be where
I am supposed to be anyway. In the night something got in my mouse trap and I never did find it.
June 13, 2005 - Standing Indian Shelter to Plum Orchard Shelter
I was up at 6:30 a.m. and the rain seems to have stopped. I had breakfast and was off by 7:10. I hiked hard in
clearing conditions. I got to Muskrat Creek Shelter by 9:20 a.m. I had a quick lunch and beep, beep down the trail I
went. I met Wounded Knee, a thru- hiker here at the shelter. I got to Bly Gap and took another break and got water
at a nice piped in spring and entered Georgia .2 later. The trail was very soggy but the clearing continued. I got to
Plum Orchard Shelter at 2 p.m. and hung out all of my wet stuff. I washed out a t-shirt too. I felt good hiking today
after a full day off yesterday. Many people are here tonight. One has a hammock hanging in the shelter and will
sleep in it tonight. This is a very nice two level shelter which from information on walls here says it was dropped in
here in one piece by the military. It is nice post and beam construction.
June 14, 2005 – Plum Orchard Shelter to Hiawassee Inn
I hiked out of the shelter after a breakfast of oatmeal and coffee. I got to Dick’s Creek Gap at 8:10 a.m. I tried to
hitch hike into town but ½ hour later I had no luck. The Hiawassee Inn was bringing someone back to the trail so I
got a ride with the van back to town. The first thing I ask the driver is if Crutch, Bug Bites boy friend, was still healing
up at the inn. He said that he was Crutch! I finally met Crutch. We both laughed and I ended up staying with Crutch
in his room for a few bucks cheaper than by myself, $25.00 for a shared room, breakfast, supper, and a trip in and
out of town. This is a very good deal from some very nice people. I soon did laundry at the Inn and refilled my
Coleman fuel for a dollar. I went to the nearby grocery store and walked to the library to catch up on my emails. I
then went to the post office where I sent back some unwanted stuff. I also found an Esbit stove at Brown Fork
Shelter which I sent back. Funny too, the Esbit stove had been Crutch’s on his hike through Georgia. He had had it
for years. I ate lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant. I had beef with noodles with vegetables and it was very good. I
was invited to the owners table for dinner and we had Lasagna and a big salad. It was very good. I watched some T.
V. and talked to Crutch and went to bed at 10:30 p.m. Hiawassee is a very nice town and very friendly to hikers. It is
giving Damascus a run for the friendliest town on the trail.
June 15, 2005 -Hiawassee Inn to Deep Gap Shelter
I was up at 6 after a very good night sleep. I hiked up the hill after getting a ride back up to the trail and hiked an
hour or two and took a break off the trail about 20 feet. Two people just passed me and didn’t even see me. There
heads were down and hiking sticks clanging and zoom, they went on by. Before I left I had deviled eggs and coffee
with bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. At 9:30 a.m. I am almost to the top of my major climb for the day, with
the rest fairly easy hiking. I will probably go to Deep Gap today since my food weight is high. It is a pretty day with no
clouds and plenty of sunshine. I am taking a break at a very nice dry camp site on top of Powell Mountain. I got to
Deep Gap Shelter at 11 a.m. built in 1991. It is a very neat chalet type shelter with a picnic table and nice 8X15 deck
with an information board outside on the left. There is lots of green grass on a most beautiful site. On the way to the
shelter on a side trail was a nice clean spring. I ate sausage and eggs for lunch and cooked on a denatured alcohol
stove I made in town yesterday. I still like my little Svea stove more so I will get rid of the alcohol stove after I use up
the 5 ounces of fuel I carried out of town. The bugs are bad here at this shelter. I would like to hike on and cowboy
camp up on a ridge but I can not trust this weather. I ate supper just now and had Ramin noodles with dehydrated
corn and some sausage in it. It is a little too hot outdoors to keep the meat so I went ahead and cooked it up. I had
to start a smoky fire to run the bugs out of here. I also had to put on long pants and shirt. I decided this shelter is too
nice to hike on so I will stay. I am alone here late in the evening. I put the last roll of film in my camera tonight. I hear
there are bears which visit this shelter a lot. I never saw any bear but there were lots of mice.
Tropical storm Arlene is dumping a lot of rain here today. It is very windy and at 11:00 a.m. I am staying put for now.
I will give it another hour and decide whether to go on to the next shelter today. The wind is the scary part. The trail
must be a mess. At 3:30 p.m. I am still here and am glad. The rain has not stopped. Four other men from Ft.
Lauderdale came in and left. I told them if they camp out that they will take a beating tonight. These people are
idiots. There are now 40 mph. winds and 3 inches of rain in the last 2 hours. I think I did the smart thing in staying
put. I will leave early tomorrow no matter what. It will be 12 miles to get to Plum Orchard tomorrow and I will be where
I am supposed to be anyway. In the night something got in my mouse trap and I never did find it.
June 13, 2005 - Standing Indian Shelter to Plum Orchard Shelter
I was up at 6:30 a.m. and the rain seems to have stopped. I had breakfast and was off by 7:10. I hiked hard in
clearing conditions. I got to Muskrat Creek Shelter by 9:20 a.m. I had a quick lunch and beep, beep down the trail I
went. I met Wounded Knee, a thru- hiker here at the shelter. I got to Bly Gap and took another break and got water
at a nice piped in spring and entered Georgia .2 later. The trail was very soggy but the clearing continued. I got to
Plum Orchard Shelter at 2 p.m. and hung out all of my wet stuff. I washed out a t-shirt too. I felt good hiking today
after a full day off yesterday. Many people are here tonight. One has a hammock hanging in the shelter and will
sleep in it tonight. This is a very nice two level shelter which from information on walls here says it was dropped in
here in one piece by the military. It is nice post and beam construction.
June 14, 2005 – Plum Orchard Shelter to Hiawassee Inn
I hiked out of the shelter after a breakfast of oatmeal and coffee. I got to Dick’s Creek Gap at 8:10 a.m. I tried to
hitch hike into town but ½ hour later I had no luck. The Hiawassee Inn was bringing someone back to the trail so I
got a ride with the van back to town. The first thing I ask the driver is if Crutch, Bug Bites boy friend, was still healing
up at the inn. He said that he was Crutch! I finally met Crutch. We both laughed and I ended up staying with Crutch
in his room for a few bucks cheaper than by myself, $25.00 for a shared room, breakfast, supper, and a trip in and
out of town. This is a very good deal from some very nice people. I soon did laundry at the Inn and refilled my
Coleman fuel for a dollar. I went to the nearby grocery store and walked to the library to catch up on my emails. I
then went to the post office where I sent back some unwanted stuff. I also found an Esbit stove at Brown Fork
Shelter which I sent back. Funny too, the Esbit stove had been Crutch’s on his hike through Georgia. He had had it
for years. I ate lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant. I had beef with noodles with vegetables and it was very good. I
was invited to the owners table for dinner and we had Lasagna and a big salad. It was very good. I watched some T.
V. and talked to Crutch and went to bed at 10:30 p.m. Hiawassee is a very nice town and very friendly to hikers. It is
giving Damascus a run for the friendliest town on the trail.
June 15, 2005 -Hiawassee Inn to Deep Gap Shelter
I was up at 6 after a very good night sleep. I hiked up the hill after getting a ride back up to the trail and hiked an
hour or two and took a break off the trail about 20 feet. Two people just passed me and didn’t even see me. There
heads were down and hiking sticks clanging and zoom, they went on by. Before I left I had deviled eggs and coffee
with bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. At 9:30 a.m. I am almost to the top of my major climb for the day, with
the rest fairly easy hiking. I will probably go to Deep Gap today since my food weight is high. It is a pretty day with no
clouds and plenty of sunshine. I am taking a break at a very nice dry camp site on top of Powell Mountain. I got to
Deep Gap Shelter at 11 a.m. built in 1991. It is a very neat chalet type shelter with a picnic table and nice 8X15 deck
with an information board outside on the left. There is lots of green grass on a most beautiful site. On the way to the
shelter on a side trail was a nice clean spring. I ate sausage and eggs for lunch and cooked on a denatured alcohol
stove I made in town yesterday. I still like my little Svea stove more so I will get rid of the alcohol stove after I use up
the 5 ounces of fuel I carried out of town. The bugs are bad here at this shelter. I would like to hike on and cowboy
camp up on a ridge but I can not trust this weather. I ate supper just now and had Ramin noodles with dehydrated
corn and some sausage in it. It is a little too hot outdoors to keep the meat so I went ahead and cooked it up. I had
to start a smoky fire to run the bugs out of here. I also had to put on long pants and shirt. I decided this shelter is too
nice to hike on so I will stay. I am alone here late in the evening. I put the last roll of film in my camera tonight. I hear
there are bears which visit this shelter a lot. I never saw any bear but there were lots of mice.
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