June 1, 2016.         Daleville ,Virginia
  Well, more of the same has been going on since I resumed the trail 6 days ago in Pearisburg. I took a wonderful week off and returned to Maine for Sean's graduation from UNE COM. It was wonderful to see family and be home again. We also accomplished a few other things as well. I was able to get over to see my mom who was recently discharged from the hospital after another bout with infection. I got out to camp and got the furniture out, the screens up, the water up and running after finding a huge hole in the copper piping where water had pooled and frozen over the winter. I also got the dock in. At home, I got two cords of wood stacked in the woodshed. Despite the pleasure of being home with my wife, each day there was a sense of unease, like I needed to be doing something else..... like hiking.
  Traveling on a plane, I had to be sure may white gas fuel bottle was empty. As it happened, TSA inspected my backpack both coming and going to be sure I was compliant with this. Before going back, I wanted to be sure I could refill the bottle before resuming the trail. I must have called 10 businesses in Pearisburg, even  Walmart, and all were out of white gas and expecting a delivery. When I landed in Roanoake, with a rental car at my disposal, I quickly shopped at nearby malls for food and found a Dick's Sporting Goods. So 700 cc's of fuel cost me around $14, and thus I had to bite the bullet and bought the entire gallon of Coleman fuel, leaving the rest to the hiker box at the B+B I stayed at in Narrows. Now at least one place in the greater Pearisburg region has white gas. I have since found out that I could have used super unleaded gasoline as a substitute, though MSR does not officially condone or approve of the practice. Who knew?
  In Narrows, Va, I stayed at a wonderful B+B, The MacArthur Inn, named in honor of General Douglas MacArthur. This place was beautiful. Built at the turn of the century, it started out as a hotel, but ended up as a nursing home residence. It was condemned as a a structure unsuitable for this purpose in the 1970's, and was slated to be torn down. The proprietor, Alan, bought the place and with tender-loving care has restored the building back to it's original intent as a hotel. Alan was a  crusty southerner, with a handle bar mustache,  a good heart and a love for hikers and the AT. We shared a bond over restoring old structures. The next morning, he made each of us an omelette, one at a time. It was delicious, and because of the slow, individual production of each breakfast plate, this did take time, and lead to a late start.  I was able to return the rental car to the Enterprise in Pearisburg, then get on the trail by 9:30. Interestingly, in addition to not having any availability to rent cars out of the town, there is also apparently no one working there as the employee had not shown up a half hour after opening time. So I left the key on the desk with the rental agreement and bolted. Message to self; never trust Enterprise Pearisburg again!

  The first day out was quite warm and now humid, a dramatic change from a week before. I decided on an ambitious itinerary of hiking 20 miles to Pine Swamp shelter. What I hadn't counted on was  a degree of  interval deconditioning from not hiking in over a week. The hike out of Pearisburg was long and posed a significant gain in altitude. On reaching the ridge, I went through an area that had no green leaves or anything else green for that matter including the forest floor, likely as a result of very hungry gypsy moth catapillars. There was one improvement though: the mud was significantly reduced. It was a long day, and I pulled into the shelter at 6:30. There I met a  family from Georgia; Mom, Dad, about my age , and their three grown children with their significant others. Most occupied the shelter, but there was a spot for me. They were section hiking together to McAfee's Knob. The father did all the planning, and did most of the food planning, dehydrating, and vacuum packaging. The re-hydrating and cooking turned out to be a little variable with regards to it's intended outcome, but they all ate the food none-the-less. They also were hiking with a black lab, who snorted, licked, and made noise all night long, leading to a restful sleep for myself.

  The following day was also challenging with two separate climbs to 4000', each climb over 2000'. The profile made it look like the walk on top of the ridges would be flat and easy. It did not turn out that way as there were rocks, big and small to contend with and challenge my balance. You have to be carefully watching each and every step, playing hop-scotch with the rocks to ensure your footing is firm and you don't twist the wrong way and fall. I missed my footing on one occasion and fell at an innocuous looking spot, bending the tip of my new pole on impact. I was able to restore functionality, and bend the pole back mostly to straight. Once again, the fall looms as the hikers worst nightmare and adversary. The day was also very warm and humid with dew points around 60'. I went through 5-6 liters of water that day. Rule of thumb: keep the pee as pale as possible! The second climb of the day at 3 PM was miserable, hot and slow. This time though, the ridge was very easy terrain, as was the descent to Laurel Creek shelter. At the road crossing prior to this last climb, I found trail magic with fruit, candy and drinks. I stuffed in my pack what I though was a large red and white can of coke, only to find upon arrival at camp, that it was a Bud, with a July 4th holiday label. I would have preferred coke.
  The next day was overcast on awakening, but it stayed dry. Because of the unusual spacing of shelters, I had to do a 22.5 mile day to stay on schedule. Pickle Branch shelter was the only shelter in a 25 mile stretch. The big climb of the day once again was difficult with the muggy conditions. Once on top, the walking was easy. For many miles, I saw areas where stones had been meticulously piled, likely meaning this had once been a field that a farmer had cleared by hand. The farm land had long ago been reclaimed by the forest. We also climbed Bushey Mountain later in the day, and the walk across the top was a fire road, a welcome relief to the feet. Any rain activity seemed light and it confined itself to the night-time hours.

  The next day looked on paper to be easier, and shorter, only 17 miles. However, the first part of the day was a stiff climb to Dragon's Tooth. As I got higher, the sun came out and I noticed undercast clouds, from condensation of muggy air. The walk across the ridge to Dragon's Tooth was very difficult footing and slower than usual. The view there was spectacular however and worth the effort. Many thru-hikers had camped on top and were making a leisurely morning of it. The first mile of descent was also a rock scramble. By 12:30, after 5 hours of hiking, I noticed that I had only gone 5-6 miles, well off my usual 2-2.5 mph pace. The terrain had been surprisingly difficult. The rest of the day brought me to McAfee's Knob. Reaching the gap and parking lot (on Memorial Day), there must have been 200 cars, (and no trail magic). I found myself on a well traveled fire road with all the tourists and could not believe this was the AT. About a half mile further and upon further questioning of a returning day hiker, I found out that I had missed the turn off for the AT which paralleled the fire road to the same destination. So at that point I could have a) retraced my steps and taken the AT; b) bush-wack down a 45' slope and try to find the AT; or c) keep going. Which to do?... c) of course. A little blue blazing never hurt anyone, and after being beaten up by Dragon's Tooth, it was nice to take the 'easy' way. McAfee's Knob was spectacular, despite being overwhelmed by the tourist traffic. I managed to get a few impressive pictures of myself on the knob with Wilson.

  The shelter was less than a mile away north off the mountain. As the shelter beyond  was closed due to a pesky Yogi Bear, this lead to a bottle-neck of a large group of hikers staying the night. I met a girl who was thru-hiking and had been working for the Green Mountain Club. We had a nice chat about the Long Trail, and adventures there with bears last year.  Two hikers were in camp for the night who were somewhat famous in the thru-hiker bubble. One hiker was detained on several occasions by the Hot Springs Police Department, and he claimed abuse of power and authority. The other hiker seemed to have a similar story and actually eventually became friends with the mayor of the town. One of them also seemed to confirm the rumors we had heard that an angry hiker, harassed unnecessarily by police in Hot Springs, had set off the forest fire there.
  The final day of hiking  15 miles into Daleville brought me to Tinker Cliffs early in the morning. Again the view was spectacular. The rest of the day was uneventful, reaching town by 3:30 for a shower, laundry and dinner out. There I once again ran into 007, a Brit hiking sections of the trail, confounded by orthopedic medical issues, and I had seen in several towns along the way, We had shared our first hitch ride into Hiawassee, Ga. two months ago.

  I have now planned out the next 140 miles which will bring me to Rock Fish Gap and Waynesville, Va., the gateway to the Shenandoah Mountains. My adventurous daughter Meghan will join me there on June 14th for the next hundred miles. She will be the last of my children to be tortured by Dad with a long distance hike, but a time which I greatly look forward to.

May 18, 2016,   Pearisburg, Virginia
    As it happens, I made it through the last 10 days on the trail; 10 days without staying in a town. How would I describe it: mud. This seems quite appropriate and fitting. The last 3 weeks have been very wet. Fortunately for me, most of the heavy rain seemed to happen at night while I tried to sleep in the shelters, or prior to this, while I was in town. We are told by the meteorologists that the entire country has been affected by an unusual weather pattern and jet stream configuration causing an 'omega' block, giving the Midwest continuous sunshine and the east and west coasts a rainy unsettled pattern. Looks like I should have planned on hiking the Great Prairie, Cow-flop Trail after all this year. Each day for the past three weeks has had an interesting combination of clouds, sun, and the threat of rain. Some days, we wake to a bluebird sky, but could end with thunderstorms. Although we have not had a prolonged soaking rain, the cumulative effect of this rain on the trail has produced an overabundance of mud.  Additionally it has been unusually cold. At altitude, even one week ago, I was waking to temps in the upper 30's, making me question if I had unwittingly been teleported to New England, instead of Virginia. I have not seen snow recently, but friends in the Graceland Highlands two weeks ago saw six inches of snow with muddy wet trails, forcing their self evacuation back to Damascus to await a warm-up and drying of the trails. After making the final descent into Pearisburg, the weight on each foot was more mud than shoe. I spent an hour in the hostel there washing the boots with water and a steel wool sink pad. I was quite glad to give hiking a week break to return to Maine and family for Sean's graduation from UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine, and give the weather one more week to straighten out.
 

Moonrise over Walnut Mountain

I carefully worked out the hiking intervals needed over ten days to cover the 163 miles to Pearisburg, and found it could not include another town stop. Fortunately, there were two stores where some resupply was possible without leaving the trail, so I incorporated this into my plans and shopping in in Damascus. After a pleasant stay at the Hikers Inn, where I stayed in a room with a Queen bed that actually had sheets, I loaded up the backpack with 8 days of food and set out on the Virginia Creeper Trail, a converted rails to trails multi-use trail. The predominant form of recreation seemed to be bicycle,  and most cyclists  were ferried by van to the top of the trail in the mountains and coasted at high speeds back to town. The AT intersects, and for short distances follows this rail-trail, but finds at least one 1500' climb up a side ridge, before returning back to the Creeper Trail.  Those who are purists follow the AT, but those less inclined to be complete in their efforts to see every white blaze while going north, could be tempted to continue on the Creeper trail alone and 'blue-blaze', thus eliminating 2-3 miles and 1500' of climb. Although tempting, I followed the way of the white blaze. The new poles had arrived at the Post Office, and the old sent back to Orono. It felt great to once again have a good pole in each hand, and the Helinox poles seemed a much better choice over the Z-poles. As we continued north, I was impressed with the increased hiker traffic heading south. These were hikers doing an extended section hike with the purpose of concluding their hike as they entered Damascus for Trail Days. This event can attract an estimated 10,000 present and past hikers. I was all the more happy I had timed my visit to Damascus to avoid this event.

Max Patch

Crossing Virginia border to Damascus

   The second day out presented two of the most significant climbs for the week, both on the same day. The first climb brought me to the summit of 5800' Whitetop Mountain. There I ran into Ragawort again, who had camped 2 miles up from where I started. As I passed, he kept up with me for the rest of the day. We seemed quite matched for pace and endurance, and spent a fair amount of time hiking together over the next couple days. The second climb was over Mt. Rogers, then on to the Graceland Highlands, home for the 'wild' ponies. The horses are left on their own for three seasons, but are corralled and brought to farms over each winter. Consequently, they are easily approachable and have no fear of humans. A sign warns us to neither feed or pet the horses. I think of Sean nearly incited a stampede nine years ago when he offered a carrot to one or two of the ponies. At Elk Park, we found Trail Angels who offered us salads, fruits, cookies, sandwiches, and Gatorade. The gentleman had hiked the trail in 2013 and knew what we would crave most, so salads were first on the menu. They gave us small somemore packs with chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows. We took advantage of this at Wise shelter that night.

Trail Angels at Elk Park Gap

   At 4 AM, the heavens seemed to open up and the thunder, and lightning. The deluging rain that rolled off the roof seemed to accumulate in front of us, making a moat (no alligators), and bringing into question whether or not we might need to swim to escape the shelter. It was a good day to turn over and go back to sleep hoping that in a little more time, the rain might stop. After breakfast, and as soon as I put the pack cover on, the rain seemed to suddenly dissipate! This has actually been a recurrent theme and observation leading me to conclude that my pack cover is magical. As the day progressed, the sun came out which facilitated the 20 mile hike to Trimpi shelter. This proved to be an old stone and mason shelter with a fire place built in the 1960's.
   The next day, I awoke to a strange blinding, glowing orb in the sky, something I had a hard time identifying at first, but later felt with some degree of certainty that it was indeed the sun.  After leaving in the early morning, I passed through several fields with livestock, (which is considerably better than deadstock!). The morning sun on the dew laden grass was beautiful to see, but my boots quickly seemed to fill with water.
   We hiked through a long climb to Partnership Shelter, located on the edge of the parking lot for the Park Headquarters for Mt. Rogers, on the road to Marion., Va. The shelter is new and heavily coveted by hikers as it can hold up to 16 hikers. There is a phone outside the park HQ building for hikers to make local calls, and yes both Pizza Hut and the local Chinese restaurant will deliver to the gate from town, (cash only!) Finally, the shelter has it's own shower! Usually, the water is heated with propane, but when I arrived, it seemed someone had forgotten to pay the bill. Undeterred, and facing many more days without a shower, I took a very refreshing cold shower in my hiking clothes (multi-tasking,) with only one consequence that George described so well on Seinfeld. I then laid out in the warm sun for an hour, drying and enjoying lunch, while most of my hiking companions went into town for resupply.
   After lunch, I continued to hike the last 6.8 miles to Chatfield shelter. A stream flowed in front of the shelter and there were several hikers there, none of whom I had met before. I apparently decided to make a spectacular entrance however to really impress them, and again fell spread eagled in the stream after stepping on a slimy rock. This once again earned me a score of 8.5 (damn that Swiss judge and his 8.5!). No permanent damage, but that did hurt, and an immersion of my lower extremities in the cold water did help. This is the one thing that all hikers fear: an unexpected fall causing enough trauma to take you off the trail.  So far, so good!
 

Ragawort on muddy trail outside of Pearisburg

  The next morning once again, I awoke early to the sound of pounding rain on the metal roof, though this time, there was no thunder or lightning. Once again, after donning the pack cover, and leaving at 7:30, the rain ceased, like Moses and the Red Sea. The day improved with the sun appearing later in the day. As I passed through Grossclose, passing under I-81.  I found some provisions at the wayside Shell station to supply me for the next two days that was not sugar, sugar, chips and candy. I bought two out of three Ramen noodle packages they had for sale. After my mad shopping spree, I went to The Barn, home of the Hungry Hiker Burger, which is not available at 9:30 in the morning. So I had an egg/bacon entree, sandwiched between two wonderful pieces of toasted Wonder Bread.  After this second breakfast,  I walked on to Knot Maul shelter and settled in for the night. There I met Slo-Poke and Hot-Rod, two middle aged, thru-hiking twins from Florida who passed through. I had heard of these guys and how funny they were from other hikers (reputation  travels fast). They did not disappoint. That night however, I shared the shelter with two young men. One of them had a snore that was Moe, Larry, Curley, all rolled up into one, and sent bears running for miles around. I can usually sleep through most shelter snoring, but not the case that night. Each of these guys had no sense of hiker etiquette, as they arrived late and were still night hiking at 9:30, well after the rest of us had gone sleep.  They then insisted we make room for them in the shelter and one stayed up well past 11PM, showing really no respect for other hikers there. They were both, of course, still sleeping in their bags at 7:30 the next day as I left.

   The day started out well for hiking with a bluebird sky and cool temps. I had wonderful views to the south with Mt. Rogers and Graceland highlands in the distance, as I climbed up through bald pasturelands. Despite a favorable forecast however, the day clouded up, and I had rain by the time I reached Wallace Gap. This time the pack cover could not save me, and the cold rain and sleet (at 4500') persisted. The ridge proved to be difficult footing and a tiring section to navigate with many short ups and downs before finally descending to Jenkins shelter.

   That night was a cold one once again, with a low in the upper 30's (really, Virginia?) That day was ideal hiking weather as the sun did stay out, but ineffectively as the temps never got above 60. We made a short day of this to Helvey's Mill shelter, in order to give myself a mini-rest day, arriving there at 2PM, allowing a nap, reading, and generalized goofing off.  The hiking traffic had really thinned out by now as everyone who cared was at Trail Days in Damascus. 

  The next day promised a room for rent with a shower in a store only a half mile off the trail, as long as I could hike to Trenten store and reach there early enough in the day. Once agin, I caught up to Ragawort, and we hiked most of the day together. I have to admit that if you hike with a companion who matches your pace, the conversation makes the day go by very quickly. I told him about the room for rent, and he agreed to go half on the rental. We  got the room which included a shower and laundry for $22.50  per person. We of course availed ourselves of the restaurant and had a great burger with fries that night and scrambled eggs the following morning.

Woods Hole Hostel, Pearisburg, Va.

We did set off early the next day as the weather promised intermittent rain for the next three days. Our goal was to reach the famous hostel of Woods Hole, and we knew the rain would bring everyone off the trails in search of a dry place for the night. I had wanted to stay here with Ryan 9 years ago, but the family had closed it 10 days prior to our arrival, as they felt Tilley, the grandmother, was no longer physically capable of running the operation. Fortunately, the grand-daughter Neville and her husband Michael took over the operation 2 - 3 years later and have transformed the place into a farm that is nothing less than awesome. This put a special spring in our step and we covered the 15 miles before 1:15 PM. Once there, we rewarded our efforts with a pint sized blueberry/banana smoothie. The hostel is a favorite with hikers. We stay in a barn with clean mattresses and fitted sheet. It includes a shower and for extra charges, they prepare dinner and breakfast. In a kitchen smaller than mine at home in Orono, they prepared dinner for over 30 people. There were over 20 cold frames, from which they picked the fresh components of a wonderful salad. The bunkhouse, as predicted, filled fast, and people were being turned away by 3PM.

Ponies in Graceland Highlands

The final day's hike was again foggy and damp, though no frank rain, as I made my way over the last 11 miles to Pearisburg. Ragawort left at 6:15, so I had no chance to wish him good-bye or safe hike. Hopefully we'll see each other again up the trail. This reminds me of the many chance encounters we experience on the trail, and the different people we meet. I'll return to the trail a week later, and the cast of characters will have completely changed. This is just another opportunity to meet more new trail people. We are all bonded by a common cause and purpose. Being unsuccessful in my attempt to secure a rental car in Pearisburg from the local Enterprise Agency, (who apparently have a reputation of never having any cars to rent), I arranged for a local shuttle with Don Raines, who brought me to Blacksburg. From there, a bus picked me up the next morning, and for $4, drove me the hour to Roanoke Airport. So here I am in Orono, on 'vacation' from my present job of hiking the AT. The timing of the visit is perfect for attending Sean's graduation, as well as being here for Kathy's 60th birthday. We'll be back on the trail as of May 27th.

Wild Azaleas

May 8, 2016   Damascus, Va
  Well, it finally happened. We have now officially crossed into Virginia, leaving North Carolina and Tennessee in our rear view mirror. That means there is only 550 miles in Virginia to go before the next state crossing... that's a quarter of the entire trail's length! The weather has been not so nice. Most days we get a combination of clouds and sun, and sometimes a brief period of rain. Fortunately for me, most of the heavy rain happens at night, and also fortunately, I'm usually in a shelter safe and dry.. with the mice. We have not seen or heard from a bear so far, though I have talked with several hikers who are convinces they saw or heard a bear. One hiker states he was sure he saw a bear.. while he was night hiking without a light. Spring continues to progress, though you can go from leaves out and green in the lower elevations, to brown and still winter at 6000'.
  After leaving Erwin, I was driven back to Beauty Spot by my host Mike at Cantarosa Farm. Once again, it was beautiful, but much of the mountains were shrouded in low clouds and seemed to be promising rain.I pasted the picture to Facebook and wished my wife a happy anniversary. It proved to be a fairly easy hike to Unaka Mtn. It is amazing how much energy you can still have if you let a vehicle make all your elevation gain for you! The summit, once again unlike most high mountains in the south, is completely covered by a pine forest, making one think of the mountains in New England. After leaving the summit the heavens opened up with heavy rain for about an hour completely soaking me, though the pack stayed dry. There is a mantra that hikers know and that is that nothing dries on the AT. Later the sun re-emerged and we were at least partially dried. I passed Greasy Creek and resisted the urge to visit a new hostel, and with the stories that later emerged, I am probably happier for it as the proprietor was already earning a reputation as being a little eccentric. It is interesting how many new start-up hostels emerge, and how many established hostels have closed. There is a limited amount of cash flow brought by hikers who tend to be very conservative in their spending habits. I spent the night at a shelter refurbished as an eagle project with Odie, Just Drew, and Hollywood. We had to choose our sleeping site carefully  inside as it was obvious the roof leaked.  Never trust a boy scout! We did get another rip-roaring thunder storm and tropical-like downpours that night which toppled a couple trees, but no one in the shelter got wet despite the leaks.
  By morning however, the sun was out, and it was once again a beautiful day to cover the 16 miles over Roan Mountain to Overmountain shelter. The climb up Roan was cool but long to the 6285 foot summit, only 3 feet lower than mount Washington. There were views but the summit is again largely covered by a pine forest. On top, we met an older couple who were doing the trail angel thing by passing out candy and oranges and apples to thru-hikers.It was beautiful through Carver's gap and up to Grassy Bald, but once again, thunderstorms chased the hikers most of the mid-afternoon. The shelter is actually a barn erected at the time of the revolutionary war. Yellow Gap is famous as a group of constitutional militia crossed the high gap and surprised and defeated the British loyalists on the other side. At the shelter, more than 15 hikers eventually accumulated for the night. Their was a mother/daughter pair who had decided to spend a second night there. The daughter had recently been discharged from the military, but was dressed in combat fatigues, and was open-carrying a 45 caliber weapon. I guess we new who was sheriff. Most authorities highly recommend that hikers not carry weapons by the way. Although they had the intention of doing a thru-hike, they had decided to quit the next day and family was picking them up. One less gun on the AT to worry about!That night, the rain was once again on and off, Although I was down below on the first level looking out over the valley, the women and the rest of the hikers were on the second floor. I had the misfortune of having a young overweight hiker sleeping directly above me who obviously had obstructive sleep apnea, and snored so heartily, the barn shook, and with that shaking the dirt on the floor under him found the passage through the cracks in the floor to my place of sleep, head and mouth! At 4:30 AM, I heard the two women up talking and laughing in full voice as though they were the only ones there. At 6:30, I awoke to smoke inside my sleeping bag. Looking out the two women had decided to start a fire on the dirt floor, ... inside the barn, preferring not to chance getting wet by using the designated fire ring. I quickly told them that this was an ill-conceived idea as a 200 year old barn would go up like a box of matches if it caught fire not only putting themselves in danger but also all the hikers still asleep above. They did comply and moved the fire to it's appropriate area. Several others were up but it seemed I was the only one to speak up; maybe the gun had something to do with it!
  That day of hiking, I braced for what I thought the weather predictions were for heavy rain. However, this once again never materialized. Going over the multiple grassy balds, the fog was thick, and I had sporadic showers, but no heavy rain. It was somewhat erie being out there alone and I thought it was likely similar to the Scottish Moors. At he end of the day, I arrived at Mountaineer Shelter, named after the adjacent falls which was the water source. This was a newer shelter built 10 years ago with the anticipation of more thru-hiker traffic. We fit over 15 people in the shelter, and still three others had to tent with the full house.
  The next days hike of 17 miles brought me to the famous Kincora, run for 30 years by Bob Peoples, who is an AT legend. He has been a force in trail maintenance and rerouting projects on the trail from Tennessee to Damascus. He built that new Mountaineer shelter. Nine years ago, his place was full and Sean and I had to tent. This time however, there were only 5 or 6 other hikers. The place had been let go a bit. He took in stray cats and provided a home for which the cats returned the favor by peeing on the hiker mattresses. There was a light out over the shower and I'm convinced this was a divine blessing so I could not fully see what was growing at the bottom of the shower. I did stay because he was a nice man, and I thought he deserved some hiker respect. I did get by and did a laundry and got a shower. Bob took us into the small town of Hamilton, Tn. for resupply where I bought a frozen pizza for dinner, and frozen burritos for the next days breakfast. The things we compromise in terms of niceties and diet while on the AT. The bar is obviously much lowered.
  After exiting Kincora, I made my way for Vandevetter shelter some 18 miles away. There was a stiff climb up and down Pond Mountain before starting the climb up the massif to  4500'.Once again the predictions were for a rainy day, but in the morning, the sun actually appeared. The air continued to be unusually cool, but excellent for hiking. In the process, I passed by Watauga Lake, a man-made lake in the TVA system. We were told not to camp or loiter at the lake as there had been a pesky bear problem. They had closed the shelter to camping for two years due to this smart bear. They had briefly reopened it earlier this year but like Yogi, the bear returned to pull his old stunts on the unsuspecting campers.. and mister ranger did not like that! I crossed the dam, and followed the ridge line up for miles giving outstanding views over the lake, arriving at the shelter by 4:30. At  6 PM, it started to rain with only four of us at the six man shelter. Then the hoards arrived starting at  6:30. We had 12  hikers all  wanting space out of the rain in that tiny shelter. We managed to squeeze in 8, but the rest had to set up their tents in the falling rain and falling temps which by then were in the mid forties. A fog  descended on the mountain, and all night the wind blew the rain and fog  into the shelter. Everything was damp in the morning. The temperature fell to 38' that night. I ate a brief breakfast, then got on the trail feeling that exercise was the best way to ward off hypothermia. Unfortunately within the first hour, I slipped in the mud. Once a 30 pound pack has momentum in the wrong direction, it's taking you with it. At this point I did a full spread eagle on the muddy trail. Fortunately neither my clothing nor any body parts were injured in this technical acrobatics which earned me a 9.9 score.The entire day, I was in the wind and a cold fog until I descended in altitude. I stayed at Double Spring shelter with Big Bird, a retired airforce helicopter pilot, and Vanderwort, a section hiker now committed to finish the entire trail now that he had retired from Publix Market after 40 years of managing the bakery section.
  The next day was a surprisingly quick hike of 18 miles to Damascus and the Virginia line. As I reached the sign post, marking the border, divine providence sent a troop of boy scouts, who were tech-savvy enough to use my phone and take my picture with Wilson. The first night here, I stayed in a hostel called the Place, run by the Methodist Church. Tonight however, I get a bed to myself (king-sized) in the Hikers Inn. I've spent the off day mostly stocking up on calories and enjoying the town. Plans are now to try to complete the 160 miles in 9 days and reach Pearisburg, Va, then drive to Roanoke and fly home for Sean's graduation, resting a week at home with family before returning to the trail.
 
 

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.

April 25, 2016   Hot Springs, North Carolina
  We have reached the 175 mile mark here in Hot Springs, with less than 2000 miles to go! There is only one problem; Hot Springs is a little hotter than usual, as there is a forest fire in the vicinity of the northbound trail leading out of town. I thought I left the Smokies behind me, but that was not entirely true! There are helicopters, planes with fire retardants, and ground fighters 'hot shots' here to fight the blaze which started under suspicious circumstances. From town you can see smoke from time to time, and 2600 acres of scorched hillsides above the town. Three theories are postulated: 1, a group of hikers stealth camping by the river started a campfire then left to go to town for a night on the town , and the fire got away into the surrounding woods. 2, a group of anarchist 'rainbow' hippie hikers (a real thing apparently) started the fire. 3, Last Wednesday there was a drunk hiker who was accosted by the local gendarme and at the conclusion of this interaction, the hiker was heard to say 'I'm going to burn your town to the ground!' The hikers have their own theory which is that the fire was started by the local merchants to boost sales.  All theories are being actively investigated by the local authorities.
  In any case, I am taking a 'zero' day today, buying new shoes and resting for the next section of the hike. Tomorrow I'll be bused to Allen Gap via a shuttle to get around the burn zone, missing 15 miles of the trail. I am staying ant the Sunnyside Inn, run by Elmer, who hiked the trail in 1978, then returned here and bought the Victorian mansion and converted it to the hostel. I stayed in the Earl Schafer room, the first person to thru-hike in 1948, and repeated the hike in 1998 at age 80. He stayed both times in Hot Springs in the room I am now enjoying. After his first hike, the ATC did not believe him or that a thru-hike was even possible. He actually had to give a slide presentation to ATC to prove his claim! What a trend-setter, with now more than 5000 people starting an intended thru-hike. ATC never sent Earl the 2000 miler patch the first time though.
  As I have mentioned before hiking the trail is like taking a ride on a cruise liner... well not really but they seem to both have a perennial problem with Norovirus. This is a nasty bug the gives severe heaves, vomiting and diarrhea for 24-48 hrs. It has reappeared for the last 5-6 years on the AT and spreads north with the bubble of hikers. Donna my hostess at Cabin in the Woods, had picked up several prostrate hikes in Fontana and brought them to the resort to be housed and watched. She called me the morning of my shuttle to let me know that she too had been infected, and I might be at risk. Despite breaking bread with her at her dinner table on several occasions I can happily report that so far I have escaped the contagion.
  In any case her worker transported me to Asheville where I picked up the rental car and drove to Black Mountain and my dinner with the Galloways. As for all new parents, they looked a little tired from sleep deprivation ; the visit, movie viewing, and meal was wonderful. AT, The Long Journey is fantastic and an excellent depiction of the rigors one goes through to complete a thru-hike.
The following day, I drove the 7 hours to D.C. along the highways and made a startling observation. I curse far less at the young hikers who overtake me and cut me off on the AT, than  I do in the car at drivers who display similar patterns of behavior. The meeting with ACG went well, and it was great to catch up with friends and now extended family. I thought that 7 days off the trail would do a world of good for my aching feet. Kathy and I with her friend Tracey, drove me back to the trail at Fontana after a brief visit with her family in Wilson, NC.
  Kathy dropped me on the trail on April 19th back at the Fontana Dam, and we said our goodbyes. I will say that leaving her for extended periods is perhaps the greatest challenge of this hike. The weather was cool and beautiful as I entered the Smokies. A little yearling fawn came across my path within 15' and brought me to a standstill, and created an excellent Kodak moment. We kept the mileage the first day down to 14. That first night was beautiful with moon and stars. There was no need for a headlamp for the 2AM pee break! I did notice though that the feet were as sore and numb as ever despite the rest, with some of the pain stemming from plantar fasciitis, and neuropathy from my first thru-hike.
  The following day I hiked within 7 miles of Clingman's Dome, at 6441, the highest point on the AT, and second highest mountain in the Appalachians behind Mt. Mitchell, also in North Carolina (Washington is a distant third!). With each hour that passed with hiking, the problem with my feet seemed to compound. Despite the new inserts, this did not seem to be a tenable situation if I expected to finish the trail. The only long term solution might be amputation, but trail surgeons are hard to come by. I called Kathy and actually made the arrangements to have her meet me at Newfound Gap the following day for pick-up. I felt at that moment that I needed to terminate the hike.
  After speaking with her, I noted that my feet were much improved once I removed the boots and donned my Crocs. I texted her the next morning and told her to cancel the rescue mission and that I would make my way through the rest of the Smokies to Hot Springs, and there get new shoes and see where that left me and my feet; hopefully somewhere other than in the middle of nowhere unable to take another step. I am happy to say things have slowly improved day by day to 'tolerable'.
  I called Kathy from the summit of Clingman's to confirm the new plan and admitted that I also swallowed my pride as well as 3 ibuprofen, which may have helped as well. The view from the mountain tower was beautiful. Unlike most mountains in the south which even at 550' are covered with hardwoods like White Oak, Clingman's is covered with pine trees. I spent most of the morning walking the ridgeline listening to the whispering pines and smelling that wonderful smell, thinking that this could easily be a ridge back in Maine. I was at Newfound Gap by 1:30; where I was greeted by hoards of tourists with cars, but no obvious trail magic. I sat down and painfully munched on my Builder Bar (ahh.. never again!). I was out of water, and despite the fact there were flush toilets at the gap, the only way I could conceivably refill my Camelback would have been to filter/pump water from the toilet... no potable water!  So the last three miles to Icewater shelter were very thirsty, but fortunately the shelter lived up to it's name with a beautiful spring of ice cold water. I washed my head and torso with in a brief effort to clean myself with a PTA wash, and immediately began to shiver from hypothermia, driving me into my warmer clothes. That evening, a group of young hikers brought up three pounds of hot dogs with buns and mustard given to them by a gentleman who wanted to set up a trail magic dispensary, but was denied by the rangers. We set a fire, and had a weenie roast. It is amazing how much one is willing to compromise usual values and practices on the trail due to starvation. On any other given day, I wouldn't give a hot dog a second look, but after 4 days in the wilderness, it tasted like filet mignon.
  The next day some were up before dawn. Using the red light function on their headlamps made them look like aliens carefully assessing and packing gear while the rest of us slept. That day was wonderful hiking the northern razorbacks of the Smokies. There long gentle assents to narrow 'catwalks' between the sharp peaks. The trail at times was no more than two to three feet wide, with a sharp downslope on either side at 50'-60'. Most of these peaks were also pine covered and took me back to home in Maine. I spent a good portion of the day hiking with 'Hopper', a thirty something who had spent three semesters in Orono at the University and had spent some time at Schoodic catalogueing birds on the islands. I also hiked with Pterodactyl, a very humorous retired EMT from Hooksett NH, who was renamed by some of the other hikers, beer-o-dactyl. We arrived after 20 miles at Crosby Knob shelter, to one of the most crowded, (and bear infested), campsites to date. There was an ATC ridge runner there to direct people where to camp with a full shelter. With the prospect of heavy rain that night, I was not pleased with the option of camping and fortunately for me, the ridge-runner took pity on the elderly and squeezed the shelter inhabitants space just a little to allow for my entry. That night did bring rough storms and thunder storms. The rain had ceased by the following day, and allowed me to venture the .6 mile off trail to the fire tower on Mt. Cammert, purported to give one of the most spectacular views of the Smokies. The mountains to the south were not visible but Davenport gap was beautiful with advancing undercast. I watched as the fog crept up the mountain and finally engulfed us. With that, it began to pour, and continued to do so for the rest of the day on the hike down to Davenport Gap. When it's a warm rain, I'll usually keep my clothes dry and wear only the tennis ball yellow running shirt and running shorts. At one point I was overtaken by young hikers who had donned their rain parkas and pants. As they passed, one asked me how it was I was not using any rain gear. My reply was that I was multi-tasking, which elicited a quizzical look. I explained I was taking a shower, washing my clothes, and hiking at the same time. They just smiled and wished me a good hike.
  I fortunately reached Standing Bear hiker hostel around 1PM, just as the rain came to an end. The hostel was one of my favorite stops nine years ago, but with the death of the first owner Curtis from pancreatic cancer last year, the place was being managed by one of his friends 'Lumpy', who did not appears to care for hikers or take an active interest in keeping the place in good repair. I tried to joke around with Lumpy on one or two occasions, but was stopped cold in my tracks. He reportedly screamed a hiker for taking his picture, with the comment 'how do you know there are no wanted criminals here?' Not a friendly guy and the place was trashed. I did a full sink-load of dishes (leave a place better than what you found it, boy scout motto #99).
  The next day out of Davenport was cool and foggy for most of the day with a threat of rain. We made our way back up to 5800 feet and over several balds. By the time I reached Max Patch, the view had cleared and was magnificent. At the bottom of the bald, we met a group of campers, 'hiker-Trash, 2014 reunion', a group of thru-hikers from 2014 who came back to give a weekend of trail magic. I enjoyed a helping of beans and chips with soda as a break for lunch. Nice people who really impressed me with their love of the trail and their desire to 'pass it on down', the kindness they too had been shown on their hike. Truly humbling!
  I did push on to finish my second 20 mile day that day to Walnut Mountain. I was the only one to stay in the ancient mouse-infested shelter, as everyone else set up a tent. After initial fruitless investigations in the early evening though, the mice left me alone the rest of the night. The shelter is located near another small bald and afforded incredible images at sunset and sunrise. Here I met a father-daughter pair from old stomping grounds of Woodsville NH. He was also a retired EMT, and she was a ward secretary at Cottage Hospital.
  The following day I made the final 13 mile trek here, along the way climbing another 800' over Bluff Mountain and more spectacular views of the valleys below and the mountain to come to the north. So here we are enjoying a day of relaxation, allowing for this next installment. Until next time...?




 

Monday, April 11, 2016  Fontana Dam, North Carolina
 Well eight days have elapsed and a hundred miles since my last post. Here we are though at the southern gateway to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, 71 miles of gorgeous hiking that includes the highest point on the AT, Klingman's Dome . Unfortunately at this juncture, I need to take a hiatus for the next several days to find my way to Washington, D.C. for a College of Gastroenterology Governor's meeting and lobbying on the hill; even here, some aspects of work can still call.
  The last week hs been exceptionally cold as a polar vortex, only the second one of the winter has descended on the eastern US plunging temps 15 - 20' below normal. The first week we had daytime temps above 65', and for the last week, some days were not out of the 30's. This has driven some hikers to the security of towns and hostels, myself included.
  After leaving Hiawassee, I was dropped with several other fellow hikers at Unicoi Gap at 3000' The next 16 miles to Dick's Creek Gap is known as the toughest stretch in Georgia, and includes the highest point on the AT in Georgia, Mt. Trey. We set out with other hikers with such colorful names as Wild Horses (whose real name is Morgan, Cheddah, and a Brit who goes by Double O (007). I felt good and strong with a day in town refreshing my constitution, a sentiment shared by my fellows. By 11:45, we had climbed Trey Mountain to have lunch with a perfect view in the cold crisp air. We ran into volcano, a 70 year old on his 4rth attempt to finally finish a thru-hike, having been thwarted by medical issues on previous attempts. He spent the night at Trey, and told us the wind chill had fallen to 10 - 15' overnight. No one froze to death but many at the shelter thought they were. At the top, we also met once again executive, a Delta airlines pilot who lives in Lynn, Ma., and does section hikes with a light pack all along the trail. After lunch, he promised he would bring two days of trail magic in Maine to Antlers campsite, in August and by float plane... awesome!
  Although my companions decided to stop at Addis Gap to camp, my original plan was to continue to Deep Gap and a shelter. On the way, I passed a crew of about 12 Boy Scouts who were headed for the same destination. I found out later that they arrived at the shelter at sundown, finding the place swamped with people as have most shelter sites been since the start. Knowing that there would be a high volume of campers, I continued on the the Disk' Creek Gap, the next major road crossing. On the way, I hiked and got to know somewhat 'puck', who at an age in his early 40's, had retired from the Marines after 22 years where he was a sniper, and personally knew the larger than life figure Chris Kyle, the American Sniper! He was now hiking the trail, before the next chapter of his life would sweep away any free time. We both reached the gap, and walked the half mile to the Top of Georgia hostel, a wonderful 3 year old hostel built and run by Bob. Puck got the last mattress inside and I volunteered to sleep outside in my tent. Once again the night proved to be a chilly one.
  After a hostel breakfast of home-made muffins and coffee, we continued on our way, once again facing a 1000' climb out of the gap. This day was marked by crossing the Georgia boarder into North Carolina, 75 miles and one state down. After reaching Bly Gap, and the gnarly tree, I faced an incredibly hard climb to 4000'. After an arduous day, I reached Standing Indian Shelter by 6:30, and shared the shelter with three or four other young hikers I had met at TOG. An early bed at sunset called me.
  Once again, the next day was clear and cold, around the freezing mark. The climb up Standing Indian Mountain proved much easier tan expected and provided magnificent morning views. I met a couple on top who braved the cold and camped there, rewarded by seeing the sunrise from the summit.
  The second mountain of the day, Mt. Albert, proved to be much more difficult and taxing. The last 200' guided us through a boulder field at 45' incline, and requires all four extremities to guide you safely to the top. From there I descended the mountain a last 2.6 miles to a new beautiful shelter at Long Branch, recently constructed of post and beam and capable of holding 16 hikers. Even then, there were at least another 6 tents set up outside for the 'overflow. There I once again ran into Olivia, Kira, and their husky, Glacier, who I had met and hiked with briefly at Low Gap. They had found a stray dog in the mountains, obviously lost by another hiker, and were bringing the dog to the next town, Franklin. At this stop, I soaked my aching feet in the 45' stream, which initially was numbingly painful, but after removal, made a bid difference in comfort level. There we also met Pharmacy, so dubbed because of the drugs he had brought for a cold, and Little Brother.
   We were all excited to awake the next day to a shorter hike of 7.5 miles to Winding Stair Gap, and a town visit to Franklin, to restock, refresh, and enjoy libation. The timing was perfect as a cold rain was forecast for that night.I reached the gap, sitting alone by 11:30. This was a major highway over the mountains. A free shuttle manned by legendary Ron Haven serendipitously arrived picking up other hikers from the previous Wallace Gap. He gave us the tour of Franklin, and told us we were not obliged to stay at his budget inn, but if you did, the perks included... it was cheap and easy! I went to local outfitter and described my feet neuropathy issue with a very knowledgeable manager who suggested hot mouldable inserts. Since then, my feet have been so much better, and this may have made the difference of whether or not I'll be able to finish this hike!
  The next day we were shuttled to the First Baptist Church for a free hiker pancake breakfast. These were very nice people who do this every year daily for 2-3 weeks at the peak of hiker traffic. After that, Ron shuttled us back to the gap, wishing us well. by 9:30. The day startes sunny after passage of precipitation overnight, The front however brought in a reinforcing shot of cold air, and skies got more cloudy as the day went on and threatened rain, then snow. We had magnificent views over Siler's Bald, and Wyah Bald. Bald are naturally occurring grassy areas that have been open and treeless since before colonial times. The early settlers brought their livestock to graze there. I arrived at Clear Spring Shelter, a shelter built in 1933 with a capacity of 6, and was the 6th person there. One or two of the younger hikers were not happy that I had arrived to occupy this spot ahead of their companions. Ah well, guess they just have to hike faster than an old man. These male young hikers proved to be very immature, and did not hold back vulgarity from the two women who also stayed there, whom they did not really know. One of the young women was from Vermont, hiking the trail alone, but meticulously. The boys had no stoves, and started a fire. Cooking consisted of throwing a 12' tortilla on the open fire for 10 seconds, retrieving it, then flipping and repeating the process while heating pepperoni and cheese to fill said tortilla on a flat rock. Guess they dropped out of scouting before completing the second class cooking requirement!
  The night was windy, rough and cold a stretched my 30' sleeping bag to the limits of what I would call comfortable, even wearing some clothing to bed. Sleep was fitful and not restful. We awoke in the morning to a thin layer of powder snow. One of the boys had left their Sawyer filter outside and it split with freezing. After the others had arisen and cleared space, I took my usual fare of pop-tart and oatmeal, then packed and got underway and span the 12 mile to the NOC, Nantahala Outdoor Center. My Friend Puck had arrived late that night and camped near the shelter, so we were able to reconnect on the trail. The final 5 miles down to NOC was difficult and unending, losing over 3000' feet of elevation. We booked a bunk and shower for the night, and took advantage of the good restaurant on the premises. There I met another older hiker in his mid 50's, 'Slow-Lane', from Anchorage. I had dinner with Puck which consisted of a large Greek salad. Trail cravings were starting to kick in.
  The next day, after starting the day with a breakfast burrito,we once again faced the 3000' climb out of NOC. It was still windy and cold, with the temps never getting out of the high 30's. After stopping for lunch at Sassafras Shelter, I met a pair of hikers, Crisco and Twinkle Toes, who were Dartmouth '17, and had taken two terms off to do the trail. He had earned his name as he had brought crisco to add to the evening meal and add calories, but he soon discovered, it did not add much flavor! At 4:30, I reached Stecoah Gap and a wonderful family doing trail magic of hot dogs, beans, potato salad,... Hopeful was an older local gentleman in charge who had also done the trail twice in 2003 and 2011. His trip in 2011 was almost brought to a halt in the northeast by hurricane Irene. As the night ahead promised one of the coldest nights to date, three of us called the hostel, Cabin in the Woods run by Donna, who came and picked us up. She has a beautiful main log house home with several smaller cabins all equipped with TV, running water, showers etc... all the amenities of home. For an extra $8 she provides you with a home-made dinner, and $5 will get you Breakfast. She is like a mother figure at age 73 and loves her hikers. I decided to stay here two night, and slack-packed the last 15 miles to Fontana.
  So today was a rest day, and Donna will shuttle me to Asheville tomorrow. There I will have dinner with Chris Galloway and his wife who hiked the trail in 2013 and composed a brilliant movie, AT, the long jouney. In exchange for financial help, my reward is dinner at his house and a viewing of the movie. The clips I have seen really capture what it means to face the hardships of hiking the AT. I'll expect to resume my jouney in 6 or 7 days... till then.

April 2, 2016.  Hiawassee, Ga. Four days of hiking the AT from Springer Mt. Have brought me 51 miles to here. I was expecting to continue one more day and get off at Duck's Creek, but more feet problems than expected have brought me to town for a little rest and a lot of first aid. How does one get a blister under a toe nail????
  So far the biggest difference between now and 9 years ago is the numbers of hikers. I spent the first night at Gooch Shelter and there must have been 50 hikers there. There does seem to be more of a party attitude now and from some, less respect for the trail and their impact there as evidenced by a significant amount of litter. When possible, l have already policed and carried out trash I have found along the way.
  I arrived in Atlanta without much problem to 70' temps and green landscapes. Carl, a hostel worker for Josh and Leigh Saint, picked me up from the train and brought 5 of us to the hostel. Carl and his wife Duffy work at the AT Inn in Millinocket as cooks and shuttle drivers as well during the summer months.
  The first day from Springer was a spectacular day and I was able to cover over 16 miles to Gooch Shelter. Much of the day I hiked with Bill, a retired engineer from upstate New York, who at age 66 could outpace many of the younger hikers. The day was crystal clear , unlike 9 years ago when a snowstorm hit us 2 days in. This time the warm dry temps lead me to mild dehydration over Sassafras mountain, not realizing the lack of springs or streams over a 5 mile stretch. Luckily at Cooper gap, the Army left a water hog for hikers which saved the day.
  Once I reached 16 miles to Gooch shelter, I got to set up the new tent. Thank God for u-tube videos. Flat ground was in short supply and the talking by other hikers went well past 11pm. I barely noticed as I was in bed and asleep at sundown around 8:30.
Awoke  to a waxing half moon but also the start of a haze in the sky telling me that I could expect changes in the weather.  I arose, packed and had the standard AT breakfast of two poptarts, two instant oatmeal, and Starbucks mocha via; around 800 calories in all. Estimates are that one expends 4000 to 6000 cal/day on the AT. You can't carry that much food for a 4-6 day stretch between towns, so while you're resupplying in town, you look for low weight calorie dense foods; not that hard in America!
 Bill went out ahead of me and really did not see him again until the end of the day at Blood Mtn.
  Along the way I hiked with a young man from Baltimore, Silly Moose, who had sectioned hiked in Maine and had also done the Long Trail in Vermont. Also met two older gents from Texas who seemed to be struggling at 5 days into their thru-hike which they were using as a fundraiser for Optimus Foundation.
 Lots of people on Blood Mountain and picture opportunities for me and Wilson, my trusty traveling tennis ball companion. From there it was a short run of 1.5 miles to Neels gap (mile 33 from Springer) and the Walysi Center and hostel where I found a bunk and a shower.

  The next day was cloudy and misty. You could feel the threat of rain. Even the air was thick to breathe and seemed less capable of satisfying your oxygen deprivation. A half mile up the trail, I realized I had not checked off in my mind my camera as being packed, and this was confirmed by emptying out the pack there on the trail. A quick return to the center and we found it on the window sill. The hostel workers told me they also found two cell phones. I am glad I discovered my mistake when I did, rather than 9 miles down the trail. The little mishap did cost 45' in all!
Most of the day till 2pm is best described as showers, and I did not get that wet. All that changed with the deluge in the late afternoon. The contents of the backpack stayed dry but me and everything else was soaked. We arrived at Low Gap shelter at 3:30. There were already several tents set up as people hunkered down to weather the storm. By some miracle of providence, as I arrived, another hiker was just leaving the shelter, preferring to face the weather and another 7 miles to the next shelter. He apparently preferred this over remaining in the present shelter where he had engaged in a not-so-pleasant political discussion with three other section hikers. His departure was my opening to the shelter. The rain stopped for a while a dusk, only to reinvigorate itself  into a thunder and lightning display of great magnitude over night. At times, being in a shelter is good !
  The next day brought short lived showers in the morning, as well as dense mist. As the day went on the sun made its appearance again and started to dry my wet clothing and boots. I had a great lunch at Blue Mountain shelter with a spectacular view of the mountains. Though I had planned to hike through Unicoi gap and camp one more night before going into town at Hiawassee, my feet and the prospect of another hot shower prevailed, and we opted to go to town and take a 'zero' to allow the feet a little rest and recovery after some intensive fist aid.
  So today I am hanging out, doing laundry and catching up with blogging. I am staying at the Hiawassee budget inn, the finest the south can offer where a hikers bash is scheduled tonight and over 200 current and previous thru-hikers are expected to attend free food (pulled pork), and blue grass music. We,'ll see how much sleep I get tonight. I may have wished I had gone back to the trail!