From Big Butt to Mt. Mitchell
Sony a7riv Sigma 24-70 @ 37mm f/11 1/100s iso 100
The plan was to take it easy. Hike +40km over 3 days stopping to take photos and enjoy the views. However after stopping to set up tent on the first night I realized I forgotten my sleeping bag… I’ve been on countless thru-hikes over the last 20 years and I have never forgotten my sleeping bag before. It wasn’t the end of the world, I had my sleeping pad and an emergency blanket. We also were hiking in October so it wasn’t as cold as it could have been. We had 2 choices, hike the rest of the 30km in one day or break it up and use the emergency blanket again. We woke up early, watching the sunrise between the trees on top of Big Butt Peak and decided we could do the 30km in one day. I should mention the ‘we’ is my buddy Bill and I. I lived in Atlanta at the time and he was on the coast in North Carolina, every few months we would meet half way and do a part of the Appalachian Trail (This was part of the Mountain to Sea trail).
Despite rushing through the second day we did stop at a few spots to eat and take photos. The photo above is on top of Gibbs mountain looking back to Little Butt. I do not know this guy in the photo, I thought he added to the composition so I rushed to take it. I would have liked to stacked the photos and get the rocks in the foreground sharp but I opted to shoot at f/11 to try and get a similar affect. The funny part of this photo is that he quickly disappeared. He walked forward which seemed to be off the cliff but we could soon hear that his significant other was there waiting for him. There was only the 4 of us on the top and we left right after.
We made it back to our cars at 1am and off to a waffle house after a much needed nap. It was a long dark brutal hike. Glad to say that I did it but I’m getting too old for hikes like that again. It took months to get the feeling back in my big toe and the photos I got from this weren’t the greatest. For my natures photos available for purchase, starting at $10, click here: Nature Studio
