5/25/99 Wise Shelter   Miles Today : 17.3 Miles from Springer : 485.5

YES! What an absolutly FANTASTIC day. This is why I can out here to hike the trail, for days like today. It didn't start off perfect, but man what a great day it turned out to be. Early this morning, I woke up to the sound of rain on the roof and chilly 45 degree temps. True to my promise, I woke up, ate breakfast and crawled back in my sleeping bag to read my book. I was in no rush at all to hike in the cold rain, and didn't get moving until almost 10.

The day started cold and wet but gradually began to clear out. By lunch I had made it to Whiteface Mountain and the skies had cleared some. It was still very cold though, and I threw down lunch quickly. The first views of the day came here as Whiteface is a partial bald, but this was to be just the beginning.

After the descent, I got passed by Jedi, a 19 year old kid on a thru-hike. He is what is called an ultra-lite hiker, that is fully loaded his pack weighs only 30-35 pounds. He hikes in running shoes ( light weight ) and has only the barest of essentials. After meeting him, the climb up to Mt Rogers began. It turns out that the climb isn't that bad at all, and Mt Rogers is a partial bald as well. More great views all the way around the summit and all the way over to Thomas Know Shelter, which is only a ½ mile away from the top.

This is one of the best shelter locations on the trail that I have seen, set on the south ridge of the mountain with spectacular views in three directions. The shelter itself was reciently rebuilt with a loft so it can hold up to 12 hikers. I got here around 3:00 and met up with Jedi and was joined shortly by Cobra. I ALMOST stayed here because the views were so nice, but is was extremly windy ( as it often is at 5400 feet ) and already too cold to sit comfortably outside, so I moved on five miles.

And what a great five mile hike it was! All except the last mile of the day was walking over a series of Balds known as the Grayson Highlands. Views were in the range of 50-70 miles I would guess, and I walked at about ¼ speed the whole way trying to take everything in. This was one of the top five days, views wise, so far.

Here at the Wise Shelter are a ton of people. There is a group of 15 15 year olds, a few section hikers, Cobra, Dannon, Yoplait, No Worries and Jedi. In case you haven't picked up on it yet, today was FANTASTIC, and I took it easy and I got to camp by 5:30 and my body feels good. Looking forward to more great views tomorrow.

-Chomp

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