Trail Journal

We arrived around 11pm, the four of us.  I managed to drag three of my dear friends back to the AT for one final trip for the hiking season.  This would be my second time hiking with Brian, who decided to come back even after the pain of the first trip in lower Georgia.  Having put Georgia behind me in my previous trip, I was excited to press on through North Carolina.

The night had set in long before we arrived at the parking area I remembered so vividly in my mind.  It was here that my last trip ended.  As soon as the car stopped everyone immediately suited up.  Within minutes we were headed up Standing Indian Mountain headlamps lighting the way.  I was leading the pack, having scared the wits out of Sean and Peter with wildlife talk on the drive up.  Lions, tigers, bears, OH MY!  Being in the backcountry at night and not being able to see very far ahead had its own psychological challenges for first-timers.

The climb up Standing Indian was notably easy.  The path followed an old rocky road a few feet wide which had served as some sort of access road many years before.  We switch-backed through thick caves of Rhododendron past Standing Indian Shelter.  In a short time we arrived at the summit of Standing Indian Mountain.  Our first task was to locate the campsites.  I followed a blue-blazed trail to the right about 50 yards to a few nice areas protected by thick woods.  I wish I had known the cleared summit of the mountain was only less than 50 yards from that point.  It would have made a much better campsite.