As I drove over Sams Gap on I-26 and dropped off of the mountains into the valley of the Nolichucky River, the mountains around me were covered in fog and low-hanging clouds. It looks like a great day for a long walk on the AT - I'm sick of hot weather and the idea of spending two days strolling through the mist really appeals to me. I'll be walking from Devils Fork Gap to Erwin, TN. I picked Devils Fork Gap as the starting point because it's about halfway between Hot Springs, NC and Erwin. These two sections are all that I lack finishing up the AT between Winding Stairs Gap near Franklin, NC and Damascus, Virginia. After this weekend's hike, I'll look forward to hiking from Devils Fork Gap to Hot Springs. After that? Not sure - I may go ahead and hike from Amicalola Falls in Georgia at the southern terminus of the At to Winding Stairs Gap. I'll probably set aside enough time to do that stretch in one walk, sometime after the weather cools off a bit. I've enjoyed some of the stretches that I've already done so much that I'm already looking forward to hiking them again, perhaps in a different season next time around.

Devils Fork Gap, the start of todays hike. The last time I stopped by here, I was on my motorcycle and there was snow on the ground. I had ridden over the mountains from home to scout out the road crossings on this stretch. Today - no snow! I used the shuttle service provided by Uncle Johnnies Hostel in Erwin, TN. (Call 423-735-0548) I like being able to leave my car at a safe location while I'm hiking, so I plan each section to end up back at a shuttle location if possible. I used their service a couple of weeks ago when I hiked the stretch between Carvers Gap near Roan Mountain and Erwin. They're dependable and very inexpensive. The ride to Devils Fork Gap from the hostel by the Nolichucky River cost me $25 - not bad. The ride up to Carvers Gap involved a lot longer drive - I think that it cost about $50. However, that cost is for the car and if more than one hiker is being shuttled, it lowers the cost per hiker accordingly.

The trail crosses the fence on the old-style stile and meanders through the meadow and into the woods higher up the slope. I couldn't ask for better hiking conditions. It's about 60 degrees, foggy and misty, but no rain is falling at the moment. There is a nice breeze blowing too - it feels good to be heading uphill with a long trail day stretching out ahead of me.

I see a lot of these old type cattle gates along the AT. It's a handy means of letting hikers pass through, while blocking livestock that are unable to twist through the tight angle of the gate.

Ordinarily, morning glories close up on a sunny day, but because of the heavy cloud cover today, the slopes were covered with thousands of the delicate, colorful flower in full bloom. (I've heard that the seeds of certain varieties of Morning Glory can be processed to yield a form of LSD - that's just one of those perfectly useless titbits of information that a person comes by as they wander through life...)

The damp weather made for color saturated photo ops. It was one of the most colorful hikes that I've done in a long time.

I like the way the Turks Cap Lilly in this shot seems to be saying, "Hey, look at this!"

The recent rainy weather meant that thousands of mushrooms and fungi were sprouting up along the trail.

The mushrooms in this shot were growing on the side of a big oak tree and were all of maybe 1/8" in size. They look sort of like a type of Christmas candy that I used to like.