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Swiftrun Gap to Stealth Camp

Swiftrun Gap to Stealth Camp
Day 13 - Saturday, April 11, 2015
15.3 miles

We had breakfast at McDonald’s and took biscuits with us for lunch.  We were on the trail by 8:00.  The sun was shining it was a little windy and cool. We still had no views in spite of that though because we walked through forest most of the day.  The trail did not cross Skyline Drive all day until we reached Milam Gap.

Unlike most sections of the trail, there is no water in this area other than what is indicated in the book.  We missed Bearfence Hut and spring for some reason so we had to go over Bearfence Mountain, then Hazeltop Mountain, then on past Milam Gap to get water.  We reached the spring at 5:00 after 9 hours of hiking.  That means we hiked 15.3 miles today instead of the intended 12.5. 

We met lots of weekend hikers going south into the section we just finished.  I can understand why since it had lots of really easy ups and downs. 

hung our hammocks on a hill above the spring.  We saw 2 deer pass by our camp around 6:00. An owl roosted and hooted in a tree right over our heads in the middle of the night.  Also in the middle of the night, we heard a bear or two around our food bag hung in a tree.  Wait-up shined his light a couple of times during the night and they left then came back. 

The temperature was in the mid-30’s.  My hammock was pretty comfortable, but Wait-up had trouble with his sleeping pad slipping down inside his hammock so he didn’t sleep well. 


We finally made it through the night, got up around 6:00 and were on the trail by 7:30. 


 













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