“Hiking is a bit like life: The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other…again and again and again. And if you allow yourself the opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek, you will witness beauty every step of the way, not just at the summit”
~Annonymous
June 17, 2021
Hike from Cornelius Creek Shelter to Matt’s Creek Shelter
AT miles: 17.9
Ascent: 3983’
Descent: 3093’
Weather: sunny and warm
Sightings: 1 deer, 1 suspected bear
High points: The views and socializing at the shelter
I woke this morning to a symphony of bird songs.
Someone has been leaving cute painted rocks at various places along the AT. This is the one I found on our picnic table over breakfast.
The trail at the beginning was fairly level and open with beautiful mossy rocks.
The climb up Apple Orchard Mountain (4225’) was challenging, but the views at the top was were gorgeous. By chance we joined three other woman hikers for a late morning snack at the summit.
Surprisingly, despite the summit being over 4000 feet, there really was an apple orchard at the top! The fun thing about Apple Orchard Mountain is that it is the tallest mountain that a northbound thruhiker will encounter until New England, over a thousand miles away!
While descending Apple Orchard Mountain we encountered an unusual rock formation called the guillotine. The name is best explained with a picture!
We passed several other great scenic vistas. This one is from Thunder Ridge Overlook.
We then climbed up Highcock Knob. The trail up to it was covered with columbine.
The trail meandered through open woodlands which were a joy to walk through.
We saw lots and lots of butterflies. One even made me jump because it flew out at me so suddenly!
Then we began a wonderful part of the day. For several miles the trail went around the side of a mountain, about halfway up. The trail had intermittent views and just an incredible feeling of space.
I have assumed a “See no evil, hear no evil” approach to bears. At one point today we saw heavy jostling of high tree limbs and we saw a pair of brown paws running by, but we did not see a bear. I wish to repeat that I have seen no bears on the AT so far!
Today was a long day of hiking, and we were super-glad to finally arrive at the shelter. We were the first ones to arrive at the shelter, but more and more people appeared over the course of the evening, and we had a very social dinner. Some of the people were new and some of the people were the same ones from the last shelter.
Tonight we decided to stay in tents instead of the shelter. We set them up right next to the loudly burbling creek, so we went to sleep with lots of natural white noise!
Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods!
Erin has run into a bear once when day hiking on the AT. She and several others were near it. They made a lot of noise and waved their poles around to show they were big and scary. The bear left.
That sounds scary!