April 30, 2016   Erwin, Tn.
  We are now 70 miles closer to the Virginia border than the last post. I have about 120 miles till I reach Damascus, and the 550 miles ( a quarter of the trail), in Virginia. I arrived here yesterday with the intention of staying only one night before leaving on the trail north again. Just before my arrival, I learned of the hikerpalooza/outdoor sports days this weekend here in Erwin. Most hikers stay at Uncle John's, who runs a hostel 200' from where the AT lets you out on the bridge over the Nolichuckey River. This was to be the epicenter for the hiker bash. At the time, I was just feeling anti-social, and just wanted a place to share with no one, so I booked a cabin to myself down the road at the Cantarosa Farm and Apiary. Being a close relative to a simian, I thought I would fit in nicely, then I found out it meant bees. The owners Mike and Peggy are nice people and have been very accommodating. It was Mike who suggested I slack pack north to Beauty Spot, and spend one more night off the trail, on a mattress, with a shower all to myself. The lure was irresistible.
  We left Hot Springs as planned via a shuttle to Allen Gap, by-passing 15 miles of the trail which was affected by the fire. I rode with Dan, the owner of the outfitter store, who drove us, and one other thru-hiker, Robo-cop, a retired LA policeman who had done the PCT twice. At the top we met two other younger hikers dropped off by their Dad, and had the misfortune of reaching that gap the day prior, and mistakenly hiked south into the fire. They were stopped at the next gap by fire personnel, but had to walk down the gap 10 miles before they could again be picked up by the parent who had misdirected them in the first place. Never trust a Dad for directions!
  It was impressive how blackened the mountainsides were from this fire, and how thick the smoke. From there it was a 2500' climb to the open rock ridge where we met Trixie and her boyfriend who had done trail magic the previous day at Devil's Fork Gap. We stopped short at only 12 miles of hiking and stopped at Jerry's cabin.
  We think we were ahead of a bubble of hikers in Hot Springs who had been unexpectedly delayed. It seems that one of the local quick-marts was closing and threw out more than 35 cases of beer in the dumpster. Word of this good fortune spread fast among the hikers and the next thing you know it's a beer-a-palooza on the grounds of the resort. It seems likely that more than one of them took an extra zero day the following day. So the shelter this time was not crowded at all. We did meet a new friend Olive, a 7 year old black lab, and Olive's human, her traveling companion. That night it rained very hard for no more than 15' at a time, but the moon was out for the 3 AM pee break. One of my new trail mates, 'Pirate', a young Venezuelan, got up at 4AM, ate, packed and left and has not been heard from since. The circumstances of his departure remain a mystery.
  That next day was fair and a good day for the 9.5 mile hike to Hikers Paradise, the hostel at Devil's Fork Gap. The proprietor, Jerry, was very nice. He was trying to cobble together a hostel out of a very limited building space. The bunks were three high and I wondered if the top bunks came with a box of tissues for those susceptible to nosebleeds. He did have a nice selection of junk food, and went out and bought beer for which we chipped in. We wanted him to buy us a box of burgers, but instead, he bought the burgers himself and charged us $5 a piece. Still, it tasted very good! That night there were intermittent severe thunderstorms making me glad I was inside. Unfortunately in the cramped space, sleep was poor as the dog kept groaning, snorting, licking and other odd noises all night long.
  The next day the rain had passed, and it got nicer as the day went on despite the prediction for more T-storms. It was a beautiful hike gaining the high ground once again. As the trail gently sloped up the steep contours it looked as though it was a dirt suspension bridge precariously suspended from the uphill side of one large tree to another. I covered another 16 miles that day to Big Bald, and shelter, one of the highest shelters on the AT at 5800'. The view was once again spectacular and the air had largely cleared of most of the humidity. The Smokies were clearly visible, and seemed a million miles away. I walked for much of the day with Fargo, a native Floridian, with much hiking experience. We had lunch together, but I left him alone with his cell call home to his girlfriend and continued up the arduous trail to the summit of Bald Mtn. at 6275, 13 feet lower than Mt. Washington. I stayed at the shelter which could hold 10, and in the late evening, another 5 joined me, as well as a Dutch girl who set up her hammock. One person in the shelter with me was Hazelnut, a solo woman hiker from Bridgton, Me.
  The next day I got up extra early to cover the 17 miles to Erwin. I wanted to get in early enough to shop, and check in. The day was once again spectacular and the air went from quite cold  in the higher elevations to what felt hot at 80' by the time we got to town. As I started out at 6:45 AM, the last half moon was setting. I passed several tents farther down the trail still occupied at 8:30. Many of the 'party' hikers seem to sleep late, smoke and get high, with the intent of just making trail days the second weekend in May in Damascus, Va. But enough about me...
  Today the hike felt like cheating as the car brought me to elevation and I hiked back to town and down the 4000' loss. I met Brother Tom at Indian Grave Gap who is out there 6 days a week distributing trail magic. (Sundays excluded). I sat and talked with a few hikers for a long time before resuming the hike. At the next shelter I once again ran into Ranger, an eagle scout who had worked one or two summers at Philmont Scout Reservation in New Mexico, and actually wore most of his uniform as hiking clothes.There I also met a new girl from Sidney, Me. On the way down I had the misfortune of having one of my brand new poles suddenly break in two. The traveling fix-it guy at John's indicated it would only be fixed by Black Diamond, but indicated the Z poles have had a lot of problems over the years and should probably not be used by thru-hikers. I ordered a new pair of Helinox poles the the Walysi Center in Georgia, which will mail them to Damascus. In the meantime, I may be walking a little lop-sided. I'll deal with Black Diamond later.
  That's it for now, and I hope to zero and update again in Damascus in the next 7 days, before the hoard of 10,000 people arrive for Trail Daze.











fork Gap.