The next day
A late lax morning is met with an unmotivated sense of continuing the journey. Johnny decides that we should leave early the next day and I agree. Mid-afternoon hits and a phone call comes in. Danny calls to say he’s bored and wants to show us the trail to Lost Cove. The spark flies again as I throw on my hiking gear and clothes. This time I grab a pocketful of fireworks.
Danny arrives shortly after with his poles and a day pack. He’s a energetic and talkative older gentleman and immediately communicates his excitement about the day. In the car we go back and forth about where we were and how to get to where we need to be.
“Well I brought some firecrackers this time. I couldn’t believe the amount of bear shit I saw yesterday.”
“Firecrackers?!” he laughs. “I’ve got more than that! I would want more than a firecracker if I ran into a bear.” I laugh but don’t mention the mace I thought about bringing. Who knows where that would lead. Feeling at ease that Danny is packing heat, we roll into a conversation about Jesus, Allah, religion, life philosophies and crusades. Again, the jeep climbs high into the mountains.
Danny remembers the reason he had wanted to find Lost Cove.
"I remember I was just feeling really down one weekend. Having heard about Lost Cove from some people around town, I decided to go find it to get away for a couple of days. I called the local Fire and Rescue to tell them my approximate location and that if i wasn't back in a few days to send out a search party."
So he loaded up his backpack and went off into the woods. He said he found it within a couple hours and, as he was there three years ago, there were many more standing buildings than there are now. He even hiked out on the railroad tracks that day. From Flattop to Johnny's, he guessed that the trip would be around 11 miles.
Turning up again into the parking area we are optimistic even though it's already late in the day. Danny has had surgery on his back and I feel for him on that first big climb. We keep a slight distance away and I scramble up the grassy knoll to catch my first glimpse of the view on Flattop. Seeing the Nolichucky Gorge from a different angle is like seeing a forest during a different season; almost unrecognizable in its separateness but equally fantastic to behold.
Grabbing a few pictures of the Gorge and the great campsite on Flattop, I notice the path to the left. I wish I had come up the day before because I would have noticed it immediately. I probably would have discounted it because it wasn't the direction I thought I needed to go. Danny meets me at the top and we follow the trail down about a mile.
"Is the trail well worn like this the whole way?" I ask.
"Yeah, should take you straight there. This is the one I took to find it. As soon as you see a stone fence you'll know you're there. It goes throughout the town area."
I propose we go back for the day. It is already getting dusky and we don't have the provisions to withstand a winter night in the mountains. Danny agrees and we make our way back.
"I'd like to get my backpack and a couple people together to head out there with me. I'm not sure it would be wise to go alone."
Danny admits that the area has been a haven for partiers and hunters, so he agrees that this is a good idea. I just want more people to keep the bears away.
As we wend our way back to the Jeep, Danny takes the direct route around the bottom of the bald and I climb back up the top to get more pictures.
On the way back I tell Johnny I want to go back out with my backpack on an overnight with partners. He thinks this is a great idea and as soon as I get back, I rally up a crew. Tony is reluctant but I'm persuasive as I can be, while John, or FireFly, volunteers with the same amount of excitement as I have. I gather up my gear and study the maps, Richard had found more throughout the day, a very valuable one considering the close up detail and topography of the immediate area. We all agree on breakfast before the hike and a later start at noon.