Week of 4/9/05

 
I had a lot of trouble going to sleep (like 2:30 a.m.) but at least it gave me time to plot.  Mountain Momma's hostel is only eight miles away at Davenport Gap, and I think it only sleeps 15.  I got up at 6:00 a.m., packed my gear, and hiked eight miles in about 3 1/2 hours, getting to Mountain Momma's by 9:45 a.m.  After I got my pack and cold wet body out of the car that gave me a ride I saw Digger Dave Dave for the first time in many miles.  He was heading out, but promised me that he wasn't going far and that he would be hiking slow untill I caught up to him.

Since I didn't eat breakfast when I packed up, I ate at Mountain Momma's - they have a grill there, open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Such a good, nice, hot breakfast - cheeseburger, french fries, chocolate milk, and good old Mountain Dew! My buddies - Beekeeper, Hatteras, and Rest Step are here so I will have a great time enjoying their company.    I thought Fubar was hanging back to wait up for me but he is supposedly hiking as fast as he can, doing 20 mile days back to back because he has decided to try to do a "yo-yo".  A yo-yo is when you  finish the trail at Mt. Katadin in Maine and immediately turning around and heading back down the trail South and back to Springer Mountain, Georgia.

Oh, by the way, I met up with my friend, Chocolate Foot, at Mountain Momma's.  I met her coming out of Hiawasi Center way back around Week One and loaned her my knee brace.   Can you guess how she got her trail name?  I'll give you a hint - she stepped in something an animal left behind.

Before leaving Mountain Momma's, I had a really good breakfast.  Pancakes - all you can eat for $2.50.   Add bacon or sausage - $3.80.  Is this a hiker's friend or what?  I really enjoyed my stay here.  Mountain Momma (Carolyn Thigpen) and Mr. Mountain Momma (John) are great folks and make everyone feel right at home.  If you plan on coming out on the trail, this place is a must.

Well, I'm off or, rather, we're off, about 8 or 9 of us - we're about 35 miles from Hot Springs, N.C..  We got as far as Pigeon River - about two miles - and found that the river was way up, about mid-thigh high, and running pretty fast.  I've been packing a hoist cable in case I had to tent somewhere where there wasn't one so one of the big guys took one end of the cable and made it across, and I held the other end on this side of the river - and everyone got across by holding on to the cable.  And no, I didn't fall and get carried away by the water although there was one moment when I thought I might.   However, we were all wet and cold.  It was about 35 degrees and we were about 10 miles away from the next shelter when one of the guys remembered the Standing Bear Hostel which was only about 200 yards off the trail and which is relatively new and not on any of the maps.  We were glad to get there, strip down to our rainsuits, and wash and dry our wet, muddy clothes.  Even though there was no heat in the hostel,   we were pretty warm in three layers of clothes and even warmer in our sleeping bags.  It had also started to snow when we looked out the window and saw a girl hiker walking around, freezing. She had fallen into the water at the last creek and was now soaked. We got her into the hostel and put her in my nice warm sleeping bag with borrowed shirt from me and pants from someone else and washed and dried her clothes.  It snowed about 10 inches and the wind was blowing something fierce. 

Beekeeper, Hatteras, Rest Step, Mylo, Nuke, Lady Bug, Bam Bam, Snoring Bear, F-stop are some of the ones I have been hiking with that are here with me at the hostel.  Curtis, the guy that owns the hostel  along with his wife Marie, whose family owns a Mexican food restaurant in Newport Gap.  It is not too far away, and he was going to town  so many of us went with him to eat.  I very seldom pass up Mexican food.  The weather was still really bad  the next day and I decided to go into Newport Gap and stay the night at a hotel with all the comforts of home.  John took me, Bam Bam, Lady Bug, and Snoring Bear into town and picked me back up the next morning.       

We all started out the next morning.  It had quit snowing, and we (some of us) stopped at Groundhog Creek Shelter which was full so we tented at Brown Gap.  The others went ahead to Max Patch Summitt.  The next day I wished I had gone on also.  It is just beautiful there.  You can see forever and we could see Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi.   I also found out from one of the other hikers that a few days back when my knee was hurting so bad I did not think I could make it to the next shelter my friend, Hatteras, dropped back behind me without me knowing it, to make sure I did make it safely to the shelter with the others.  Hatteras was a class act.

I cannot say enough good things about these thru-hikers, or even the section hikers.  Everyone looks out for everyone else, and even if you start out on the trail alone you make friends all along the trail and always have someone to hike with.  There are about 15 of us, some go on ahead, some stay in town an extra day, but we always catch up with one another.  And we are always glad to see our friends.  I really wish Fubar and the rest of my original group was here, but they must be miles and miles away by now.   My only hope is to see them further down the trail at Trail Days.