After a few zeros in Asheville and Hot Springs, I finally get back on the trail. But first, we had lunch at a little convenient store/restaurant in town. This place is known for their grilled cheese hamburgers. I had a veggie kale burger with fries. We hiked 11 miles to Spring Mountain Shelter. One section we passed through had a black forest floor due to a recent proscribed burn.
Sun 4/20
Sloth, Southbound, Big Sexy, and I slept in and then hiked to Little Laurel Shelter. We all took naps after lunch. In the evening, there was a rock scramble leading up to Firescald Knob. This was an exposed ridgeline with awesome views. We cooked dinner at the top and watched the sunset then hiked down to Jerry Cabin Shelter. 15 miles for the day and over 300 on the AT.
Mon 4/21
Today I hiked 18 miles to Sams Gap. I hiked alongside waterfalls cascading down a mountain with wild flowers and lush green colors. I stopped to hang out and prepare a meal at Hogback Ridge Shelter. In the evening, Beth met me at Sams Gap and took me back to Asheville with her. This is now my third time in Asheville since I started the trail. I can't seem to escape from this city. Tonight I learned that Honey Badger left the trail. I saw Honey Badger last time in Hot Springs. He came up to me and gave me a hug. He told me he was behind schedule and needed to push ahead. I was looking forward to catching up with him on the trail and I'm bummed that he left. He just missed his girlfriend and others back home and was just as happy to be leaving the trail as he was when he started. At least now I have a friend to visit in Santa Fe.
Tue 4/22
Beth and I had lunch together at a sandwich shot in Asheville. I wandered around town for a while. Time seems to move slowly when I'm in town but I enjoy my time off trail as well. We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Krista joined us for margaritas.
Wed 4/23
We got back to Sams Gap around noon and a man was setting up for trail magic. The man had previously thru hiked and wanted to give back to the trail community via of cookies and soda. Beth hiked with me a for a while until she had to go to work. I hiked 18 miles and stayed at No Business Shelter with for older section hikers. Here, I am on Big Bald with Murman, Big Spoon, and Snickers.
Thurs 4/24
I was the last to arrive at the shelter last night and the first the leave this morning. I woke up early and hiked into Erwin.
I met Sloth, Big Sexy, and Southbound at Uncle Johnny's Hostel.
We got a shuttle to a pizza buffet and grocery store. Soon we were back on the trail where there was a steep four mile hike up to Curley Maple Shelter. Sloth carried up a piñata that we got for her.
For dinner, I made dehydrated hummus mixed with an Asian rice side. It was terrible. Worst thing I've ever eaten! I hiked 10 miles today.
Fri 4/25
It rained on and off all day today. We had lunch under a tarp in the rain.
Sat 4/26
We hiked three miles in the morning to Iron Mountain Gap where 12 of us got a ride to Unicoi for a bluegrass festival. We were there to volunteer but there wasn't much left for us to do. The festival was held on the mayor's property. In addition to the music, they had a car show, food, and peacocks roaming the property. In the evening, they had a 10-year-old fiddler prodigy perform. This kid was really good and had performed previously on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Unfortunately, we missed his whole performance because we were at a Chinese buffet.
Sun 4/27
Our group had breakfast at a diner in town and then got dropped back off at the gap. We hiked 12 miles up to a camping spot at Ash Gap. I fell for the first time today. I made it almost 400 miles without falling- not bad. It's estimated that a thru hiker takes 5 million steps from Georgia to Maine. I realize that with just one misstep, my journey could be over. But I think I'm becoming pretty good at walking. I'm developing some mad parkour skills.
Mon 4/28
We woke up early and hiked a couple miles to Roan High Knob Shelter, the highest shelter on the AT.
I hiked over a couple more balds and continued to Overmountain Shelterfor a total of about nine miles for the day. Overmountain is a big red barn, perhaps the most unique shelter on the AT.
Tues 4/29
We were expecting a storm today so we hiked 9 miles to Mountain Harbor Hostel in Roan Mtn, TN. We had to cross over several more miles of bald mountains, Hump Mountain and Little Hump Mountain. We had heavy fog and some strong winds. The guidebook says that northbounders will have several false summits but that didn't matter to me. I couldn't see where I was going anyway since the fog was so thick. We tried crossing over the mountain as fast as we could because we didn't want to be on the bald in case it were to start thundering. In 2010, a girl died on top of Max Patch from a lightning strike just moments before her boyfriend was to propose to her. The boyfriend put the ring on her finger as the EMTs were working on her. We made it before the weather got bad and got ourselves a sweet room at the Mountain Harbor B&B. Today is also my birthday today!
Happy Belated Birthday
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