Blue Ridge Country

Salt Pond (Forest) Road to the Appalachian Trail; north on AT to Fullhart Knob Shelter and back. 8 miles.

Heading to a shelter as the lunch stop in warmer weather can only mean one thing: rain or the strong threat of it.

But along gentle, pleasant, wildflower-lined Salt Pond Road (off the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 101.5) for the 1.1 miles to the AT, there were no more than a few drizzles as The Day Hiker got over her early lament that she'd worn shorts.

The 2.8-mile AT portion of this walk (as well as the .1 to the shelter) is also relatively easy, climbing a little at first and then making its way mostly along or just below the ridge line before a finishing climb to the knob.

On the way we crossed eight or nine thru-hikers, and decided it was all but certain we'd be sharing the shelter, at 2 in the afternoon, with a few early terminators for the day, given the off-and-on drizzle. But, with the fog coming and going and only the slightest rainfall, we had the structure to ourselves for a leisurely hour or so, with even hyper-dog Cookie getting as close as she can to relaxing: doing a full sniff/explore of the immediate shelter area to learn all she could of those who had been there just an hour or so earlier.

On the way back, the rain stayed away pretty well again, though we had no need of sunscreen at any point in the walk.

May 3, 2009