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Time: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 17:00:45 -0400
Location: Mountaineer Shelter SoBo Mile -403.9 of Appalachian Trail
I spent last night at Kincora Hiker Hostel in Hampton TN. I was there alone and enjoyed talking to the legendary owner Bob Peoples for over an hour while we relaxed on the porch.
The place has so much history but Bob doesn't seem up to caring for the place any longer. The walls and ceilings of the bunkhouse are covered in postcards and notes. Many are faded or curled. There was a hodgepodge of food and food stuff around from who knows when. I had a peanut butter and honey tortilla and coffee. My stomach was a little unsettled during the night.
The orange cat gave me lots of love, kneading me with his sharp claws. He slept against me in the bed and didn't like me flopping around.
I woke up to falling rain. I had another tortilla and finished the pot of coffee. Orange kitty purred and kneaded me a lot.
Bob leaves cat food on the porch for outside cats, racoons, and a big bowl for a bear that's been coming around. I heard the bear on the porch and as he was leaving he stood up on his hind legs and looked at me looking at him.
I left a little after 9:00 in a light drizzle. The rain fell steady all morning. I attached my umbrella to my pack.
There was a big up out of Hampton but the trail was great. Lots of switchbacks, stairs, and well groomed. I stopped at the Moreland Gap Shelter for a break. Wrong Way, Cheerleader, and I were supposed to stay there last night. I never made it and they didn't sign the shelter log.
Thru Hikers complained a lot about not being able to "just walk" because of all the rocks, roots, and terrain, but this section of trail south from Damascus has been really nice. Bob Peoples said the overgrown section is in National Forest and that they don't maintain it as well even though they're paid. Priorities, I guess. He also said no power tools are allowed in National Forest, so maintenance is more difficult.
I went 16 miles today to the Mountaineer Shelter, a shelter Bob Peoples and his hard core team built. It's really nice with three sleeping levels.
I didn't see anyone today but the trail was beautiful as it wound through rhodendrons and over and along streams.
Love you ❤️ Miss you 😘
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Time: Thu, 29 Aug 2019 19:16:32 -0400
Location: Mountain Harbour Hostel SoBo Mile -395.5 of Appalachian Trail
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I spent last night at the Mountaineer Shelter. Skinny Kid showed up late. He's flipping out of Harper's Ferry. He's from Lake Hartwell GA, so another hiker "walking home". We talked about the trail and hikers we both know like Puff and Shine, Blackbeard, Apple, Welcome Committee, Peewee, and Rosebud. Some section hikers he hiked with live in the area and posted a note to Skinny Kid with their number. He's getting picked up in Roan by them today.
He went to North Georgia Tech and works with power generators. He graduated a couple years ago and got a leave of absence to hike the trail. Nice kid.
In the morning I met Flipswitch who is flipping out of Front Royal. The three of us met up near a creek and I took a picture of them.
The first part of the trail was more nice rhodendrons, streams, and waterfalls. The last couple miles was overgrown and we were wading through torso high wet weeds.
I got to Mountain Harbour B&B around noon. It's almost 8:00 now and I'm the only one here. Mary, the owner, was so nice and spoiled me. She and her husband built the place but now her son and daughter in law run it. They were out and Mary was looking after things. She gave me beer, coffee, cookies and we talked for over an hour. Off-season has its advantages. Like a grandma spoiling her grandkids, she kept giving me things and told me not to tell. So sweet.
I shaved, showered, did laundry, soaked my feet a couple times in epsom salt and Dr Teals menthol foot soak. I watched hiker YouTube videos. I called home and talked to Helen for the first time in a few days. Cell service has been spotty. It's been nice having the hostel to myself. Helen will have to come back sometime and stay in the B&B. Roan Highlands is a beautiful area.
This place is known for its incredible breakfasts, so I'm looking forward to that tomorrow.
Love you ❤️ Miss you 😘
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Time: Fri, 30 Aug 2019 16:03:06 -0400
Location: Overmountain Shelter SoBo Mile -385.7 of Appalachian Trail
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I spent last night at Mountain Harbour B&B Hiker Hostel. I found a couple of Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls and a bag of frozen veggies in the freezer. I mixed them all together with some Siracha sauce and it was pretty good. There were a couple of electrolyte and creatine energy drinks and I drank them too.
A group of 4 came into the bunkhouse late. Two older guys and their mid twenties sons. The guys are friends from Memphis. One still lives there and the other lives in Destin. We talked about hiking, kids, grandkids, and life.
We all walked up to the B&B house for a fabulous breakfast with eggs, ham, sausage, biscuits, gravy, french toast, tomato pie, raspberry tort, and fresh cookies.
They all took a shuttle to Carver's Gap about 15 miles south and were hiking back north to Mountain Harbour over the next few days.
I got some cookies, sausage, cheese, and candy bars and then headed out. The weather is chamber of commerce beautiful and supposed to stay that way for the next several days.
There was a 2000 foot climb up Hump Mountain to over 5000 feet. It started along nice switchbacks and rhododendrons and eventually reached exposed balds filled with wildflowers and beautiful views. The Roan Highlands are always mentioned as one of the prettiest places on the AT. If only the rhodendrons were in bloom.
I took some breaks to take in the views. I saw Flipswitch slackpacking north and met a couple from Mountain Harbour who did a SoBo thru hike last year and were out for a day hike. They have a pretty Doberman.
I hiked 9.5 miles to the Overmountain Shelter, which is a neat old barn. Two older trail maintainer volunteers from the Tennessee Eastman Hiking Club were there finishing up mowing and doing other stuff. They gave me a Dr Pepper and some cookies and we chatted.
With such nice weather and all the beauty and elevation, I'm going to take it easy and enjoy.
I'm set up in the upper level of the barn next to an opening where I can look out and enjoy the view.
A few others have shown up. I expect there will be a lot of people in the Roan Highlands with such a beautiful Labor Day weekend.
Love you ❤️ Miss you 😘
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Time: Sat, 31 Aug 2019 19:28:00 -0400
Location: Greasy Creek Friendly SoBo Mile -368.7 of Appalachian Trail
I spent last night at the Overmountain Shelter (aka the Red Barn). About 10 other people showed up. Most tented but a few slept on the platforms attached to the front of the barn. I was the only one in the loft of the barn.
Everyone was up early to watch the sunrise over the mountains. The trail wound up through the trees until it reached exposed balds with a view of clouds settled in the valley below.
There were quite a few people camping on and hiking the balds. Carver's Gap to the South was packed with cars. There was a group from East Tennessee State and several other groups hiking up.
Across Carver's Gap the trail wound up into dense fir trees and the air got cooler. There weren't many people there.
I took a break at the Roan High Knob Shelter, at 6270 ft it is the highest shelter on the trail.
I hiked 17 miles to the Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel. I met Too Many, Little Feet, and Tapper.
Tapper is a section hiker from Minnesota. He was slackpacking back to Greasy Creek Friendly and I hiked in with him. Tapper had hiked with Better Together last year and heard from them that they summited yesterday. I had met them at Woods Hole Hostel in April.
The owners, Cici and Gadget, are super nice and quirky. They have a couple dogs and a cat.
I called home and talked with Helen and Adam about their Labor Day weekend.
Love you ❤️ Miss you 😘
Google Maps link to my location: http://maps.google.com/maps?z=
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Google Maps link to my location: http://maps.google.com/maps?z=
Sent from the Guthook's AT Guide app
Time: Sun, 1 Sep 2019 20:19:58 -0400
Location: Curley Maple Gap Shelter mile -348.5 (Southbound) of the Appalachian Trail
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I spent last night at the Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel with Tapper and a couple.
Tapper is a 65 year old retired teacher from Minnesota. He's been thinking about doing the AT since he heard about it when he was 15. He's doing his 3rd section. This one from Erwin TN to Harper's Ferry WV. He liked the wood stove in the hostel and talked about his love of all things wood and wood stoves. He showed us a picture of the 12 cords he has aging and drying in his greenhouse back home. His house stays at 75 degrees all winter.
The couple is from Charlotte. She's originally from a family of lobster fisherman on an island in Maine. He seemed foreign and had hiked the trail several times. She said he gets overwhelmed by people.
Cici and Gadget the hostel owners were a hoot. She's the crazy doting aunt you love. She kept making me food. She didn't have a license to sell beer but she gave me a couple. Good people.
It was a beautiful quiet Sunday morning with a gentle breeze. The trail was nice again. There were a couple climbs. It wound through rhodendrons and evergreen firs at higher elevations and over a Bald called Beauty Spot.
I've been melancholy since Damascus. It became obvious that the homecoming I envisioned and talked about wasn't really going to happen. Instead of skipping home, I've been walking slowly and pondering the onion layers of mismatched expectations. The trail has been nice for that. I feel isolated yet content and peaceful. I'm worried about falling back into familiar patterns back home and generally reassimilating. My apathy for real world concerns has only been sharpened and honed over six months on the trail and I'm reluctant to give up the peace of mind and insulation it gives me.
Love you ❤️ Miss you 😘
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Time: Mon, 2 Sep 2019 20:39:41 -0400
Location: Erwin TN Mile -344.1 of Appalachian Trail
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I spent last night at the Curly Maple Gap Shelter 4.5 miles north of Erwin TN. I had a nice easy hike into Erwin in the morning, although I didn't sleep much.
I stopped at Uncle Johnny's Hostel to check it out and use their WiFi to email Helen.
I walked a mile on the highway access road and then got picked up by a nice guy. I'm staying at Mountain Inn and Suites. I got some food and beer from the convenience store nextdoor. And then had some coffee and cakes.
I took a nap and talked to Helen and Derek. I took a nice soaking bath and then ordered a large supreme pizza to go with my beer.
I talked to Helen again and made plans to meet in Hot Springs NC this weekend. I'm really looking forward to it. Maybe Adam will come and go to Max Patch.
I'll have to get my thru hiker permit for the Smokies in Hot Springs or maybe wait until Standing Bear Hostel.
Love you ❤️ Miss you 😘
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Time: Tue, 3 Sep 2019 19:34:30 -0400
Location: Bald Mountain Shelter SoBo Mile -327.4 of Appalachian Trail
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I spent last night at the Mountain Inn and Suites in Erwin TN. It's nice to sleep in a bed with air conditioning.
In the morning there was a stern Indian woman behind the desk overseeing the breakfast area. There was the typical hotel offerings but only a few of each item. Made me wonder if she prepared based on guests and I was the only guest. I ate quite a bit and kept thinking she was going to come out and tell me to stop.
I resupplied at the convenience store nextdoor. I got enough to get me to Hot Springs on Friday.
I had a mile plus road walk back to the trail. It was a pretty morning. I stopped by Uncle Johnny's Hostel but they didn't have any instant coffee.
Today was the hardest since getting back on in Damascus. There was a big climb out of town and then up Little Bald and Big Bald. It was a climb all day long.
The North Carolina Hiking Club takes over from the Tennessee Eastman Hiking Club before Little Bald and you can tell the difference . TEHC does a really nice job with switchbacks. Their trail is graded nicely and the switchbacks help keep the trail from eroding. The climbs of the Balds were tough and condition of the trail was a big factor.
I took a break at the No Business Shelter. I recognized a lot of names on the grafitti board. Detour stopped by. She stayed at Uncle Johnny's. She summited last week but has a small section she skipped when her dad got sick.
It was a warm day and humid which wasn't great for all the climbing. There's not a lot of water but there was a really nice stream at just the right time. I took a nice break there and soaked my feet and splashed cold water all over myself.
Detour was going to camp on Big Bald but decided to stay at the shelter area also. She's from Athens GA and we talked about the trail and people we knew in common. She hiked a lot with the Wander Women before her dad got sick. She has a high school senior also and she and her husband are looking to retrofit a van and hit the road as empty nesters. Her YouTube channel is Radiate Joy.
Love you ❤️ Miss you 😘
Google Maps link to my location: http://maps.google.com/maps?z=
Sent from the Guthook's AT Guide app
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