NC Appalachian Trail - Section 9 - Mooney Gap to Deep Gap

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
11/11/2019	13.1 miles	7 hours 45 minutes	2,133'		495.5

Map: Appalachian Trail Conservancy North Carolina
Parking: Deep Gap & Mooney Gap
Directions: Hike from Deep Gap to Mooney Gap

There was lots of driving this morning. We had a long shuttle with lots of time on logging roads. The road to Mooney Gap wasn't in as good a condition as the road to Deep Gap.

We had a nice hike today. The climb was gradual over 2.5 miles. The descent was also very gradual. Yesterday my knees were a little sore by the end of the day, but today they were fine. There were lots of switchbacks for the hills, making them pretty easy. One thing I really liked about this trip was that everyone was able to walk at their own pace. We didn't have to stay in a tight group all of the time, like you often see in guided trips. Sometimes I walked in a group, sometimes alone. I loved this flexibility - it makes it so enjoyable. Sometimes I went faster, sometimes slower, whatever felt best for my body at the time.

We stopped at a shelter for a lunch break. We had been doing 2 mph until then. We had 1 nice view on the trail. It was just a pleasant sunny day. On the drive at the end of the day, we saw a large black wild boar run across the road in front of our car. It was certainly exciting - I've never seen a wild boar before. When I first saw it, I thought it was a black bear.

Everyone was feeling tired by the end of the day. We headed to our hotel for a quick shower, and then met our group for dinner at the hotel. Tara organized dinners most nights, cooking them in crock pots. The hotel even let us use their kitchen for cleaning up our dishes after we ate!

This reminds me of a scary children's book, where the naked branches reach out to grab young children.

Dinner clean up crew