Day 26-27: Zeros in Bryson City and Photos and Videos

It’s taken forever to put this post together. I think I need to take less pictures and video. I won’t even bother trying to summarize the town days. In short, Woodstock, Giggles and I  have all had a great couple days here in Bryson City, NC walking around town and eating lots of food. Tomorrow, we head back to the trail.

So, without delay, here are photos and videos from Days 20 through 25.

Day 20: April 1st, 2015

The day I returned to the trail after the lengthy stay in Franklin. Beverly had driven me to the parking area at Deep Gap where I had to back-hike to the Chunky Gal Trail to resume my hike. I don’t skip any of the A.T.!!!

 

A video during the back-hike.

And photos at the Chunky Gal Trail intersection.

 

 

 

Some photos from Water Oak Gap – a short hydration stop.

A video from later.

And photos.

 

 

A video

And another video as I neared the Standing Indian Shelter

More pictures…

 

And some pictures of my tent setup.

That’s all for Day 20!

Day 21: April 2nd, 2015

From Standing Indian Shelter to Betty Creek Gap…

In the morning, there was a near 1000 foot climb up to Standing Indian Mountain – the first peak over 5000 feet on the A.T. The weather was thick grey soup, so no picturesque views. Nevertheless, I hiked up there anyway and took photos and videos.

Various views around the summit.

 

 

Here’s a video of the summit area.

An attempt at a bunch of different selfies. Am I getting any better at this vain practice?

Also around the summit area.

After the summit, a little further down the trail. Still socked in from the fog!

And further down the trail. Do I go over or under???

I stopped at a stream to top off on water.

A video further down the trail.

And a photo

A video…

And after arriving at camp and having dinner, it started to pour rain. While trapped in my tent, I shot a video so you could hear the rain. I also gave a gear tour from within the tent.

And then some goofy selfies using the headlamp as a flashlight.

And that’s all for this day!

Day 22: April 3rd, 2015

From Betty Creek Gap to Wallace Gap to Franklin.

The main feature of the day was hiking up Albert Mountain to the fire tower for a splendid view of the surrounding mountains.

But first, early views on the hike.

 

And a video from the same location

Finally, I got some views of the fire tower on Albert Mountain.

And a video of the fire tower and rock scramble trail ahead.

And some pictures of the rock scramble ahead.

 

A video of the rock scramble area.

A picture of the final climb over a rock slab.

 

A view off the side.

 

And a video from there.

A survey marker on Albert Mountain

 

 

 

A video from the base of the fire tower.

And lots of photos from the top of the fire tower.

 

Further down the trail, here is a video of a section of trail that ran along a creek bed.

And some photos of the same area.

A bit further along, a trail walk video in a nice area.

And further still, a photo of me and a view at some gap where I took a break.

And a video from that same spot

After arriving at Wallace Gap and getting a ride to Franklin, I met up with other hikers at the Saphire Inn and we all went to Mulligans Sports Bar. Here’s a few photos.

And that’s all folks!

Day 23: April 4th, 2015

From Franklin to Wallace Gap to Wine Spring Camp.

While still in Franklin, we all went to breakfast at First Baptist Church where they prepare an all you can eat breakfast. We had Pancakes, Bacon and assorted fruits. There was also coffee and hot chocolate. Here are some photos.

Here’s the trio from Australia:

After the breakfast, the shuttle returned us to the trail. Most went to Winding Stair Gap, but I went to Wallace Gap.

A video of a stream shortly after starting the day’s hike.

And a photo of me at the same place.

Approaching Winding Stair Gap

 

The road crossing at Winding Stair Gap

 

The trail leaving Winding Stair Gap heading northbound.

Minutes later, a bridge crossed a large stream. Here’s a video.

And some photos.

A funny gap name some time later.

The highlight of the day: Siler Bald. A view looking up towards the bald. It doesn’t show, but the bald itself was about 200 feet above where this photo was taken.

A video before climbing to the top.

Halfway up, a view looking back down.

And a few views from halfway up.

And here at the top, there’s a marker.

A panoramic video from the top:

And here’s the reverse panoramic video with me in the center, taken from my trekking pole used as a camera boom.

And then lots of photos taken from the top. At some point these could be assembled into a proper panorama.

And that’s it for the day!

Day 24: April 5th, 2015

Wine Spring Camp to Cold Spring Shelter

Shortly after starting the day, here are some photos of a strange looking part of the trail.

The highlight of the day was Wayah Bald. Here are some photos from an overlook before the actual bald.

Siler Bald way in the distance! (Where I was yesterday)

 

A little further on the trail got me to Wayah Bald proper, where there’s a stone tower that can be climbed.

Another shot of Siler Bald

And here’s a video from the top of the stone tower.

And finally some photos of the best tenting site at Cold Spring Shelter.

I tried some night photos of town lights in the valley, but they didn’t turn out. So, that’s it!

Day 25: April 6th, 2015

Cold Spring Shelter to Nantahala Outdoor Center to Bryson City, NC.

Shortly after my early 9am start, I was greeted with this view on the side of the trail.

Another hiker, Goldilocks was also there so we took pictures of each other.

Some photos from Tellico Gap after taking a break.

And a video also near Tellico Gap.

Here I’m at the top of Wesser Bald

A couple pictures of Woodstock and Giggles.

A video from the top of Wesser Bald’s tower.

And more photos from the top.

Me pointing in the direction of travel – towards the Smokies.

Coming down off the tower, here’s photos of the tower itself.

An hour later, I arrived at the feature called “The Jumpoff.” At the end of the video, you can get a little perspective on how far down it is!

A few minutes after the jumpoff, a couple more views.

And here’s the first flower I’ve seen on the trail.

 

Finally arriving at the NOC, here is an overview video from the trail. If you look closely, you can see Woodstock and Giggles coming to look for me.

And a little later, a video of people in the river doing their safety class.

Later the next day in town, Giggles found a Clif Bar called a “Mojo” at the local outfitter. Ha! My namesake!

That’s all there is!