AT ‘23 Post 6 - Day 40 (636.2 KM) - Faith

Beauty atop a bald on the trail to Roan

A crisp “Ola!” from Damascus, VA. Finished TN for good! 3 states in the bag. In my first month, I’d say I’ve learned a lot about faith. I’m not a very religious person. I mean faith in complete strangers. Faith in myself. And faith that everything will work out, even when you’re panicking due to a lost water filter. Here’s my notes after the first month.

Fri Apr 14/23 - Day 33 - Shelton Graves (491.7 KM)

Got up around sunrise, packed up quickly, and had some breaky with Claire and James. I learned about the different type of Irish rains. Mizzle (misty), drizzle (spitting), rain (light rain), and wet rain (downpour). James complained that all we have here is wet rain. It’s either faucet on or faucet off. I laughed at the term “wet rain”, and taught them about our new term for mud from Tent Peg, “warm ice”.

It was pretty warm to start the day, but rain clouds quickly began polkadotting the sky. As the day started getting windy, I ran into Zig Zag again at another trail magic! I sat with Homemade and Turtle and enjoyed the much needed food.

After the snacks, we followed Zig Zag down a blue blaze (side trail) to a meadowy overlook. From the vista I could see active rain storms in the distance. Uh oh. That looks like wet rain.

Views from the meadow

We continued down the main trail to a bouldery exposed ridgeline to Big Firescald Knob. It was beautiful, but we heard thunder in the distance, and so hiked fast. Not good to be above the tree line on a totally exposed ridgeline through a thunderstorm. The views from the top were amazing, though.

Atop the exposed ridgeline

Just as we made it off the ridgeline and below the tree line, the storm proper hit us. Rain and hail at least half a centimetre big came down furiously. I was wrong. This isn’t wet rain. It’s wet, wet, weeeet rain. We boogied as fast as we could to the next shelter, Jacob’s Cabin.

As we arrived at Jacob’s, the faucet of rain turned off for a moment. We dried off and ate lunch. Gadget rolled in during our lunch, having traversed the exposed ridgeline through the storm. He said it was one of the scariest moments of his life. At the same time, Turtle rolled in. He said he was too stupid to realize the danger he was in on the ridgeline. He said he stopped and waited to take a shot of the lighting, saw a gigantic bolt come in less than a mile away, and quickly learned he wanted to be well below the tree line too.

I waited way too long at Jacob’s Cabin, watching the rain turn on and off. I started a fire for the group, warmed up and dried off a bit. I learned from Special that a mouse had built a nest in Gadget’s backpack the night before. He had it hung up and everything! Another shelter rodent experience. I headed out around 4:30 for a wild campsite. I don’t want to dally too long, gotta get to Maine!

Big Butt Bypass

I hiked over Big Butt, which was somewhat anticlimactic. Not many great views, not that tough of a climb. I was somewhat dissapointed in my namesake mountain. At least I got the great shot with the bypass sign.

As I left, the rain faucet turned back on. The forecast says it should be dry tonight, so hopefully my tent will stay dry. As I kept hiking and the rain kept going, I started losing faith in the forecast. In a dry spot about 6 KM (4 miles) beyond the shelter, at Shelton Graves, I decided to build camp. The gravesite consists of two tombstones of Union soldiers in the revolutionary war that were killed on vacation visiting their family in the south. There was a fire ring already, and multiple comments on my navigation app saying it was a great spot to camp, so I setup shop in the eerie weather.

Shelton Graves

As I predicted, the forecast was wrong. The rain turned back on and kept going all night. I cooked my dinner from the vestibule of my tent and wrapped my sleeping quilt around for warmth. I silently swore at the weatherman and myself for the wet night I had in store.

Hard rain poured down, forcing me to bed early around 8:30. Let’s see how wrong the forecast was about the dry morning I was supposed to have.

Sa Apr 15/23 - Day 34 - Hogback Ridge Shelter (510.6 KM)

The weather forecast was so so wrong. It rained all through the night and into the morning. When I arose I checked the forecast once more. It said it was foggy. Yeah, that’s true… Maybe you should mention the downpour too?!

My eerie campsite in the morning

Made it out of camp around 8:30. Around 10 AM I heard a shot fired, and then incredibly loud wailing from a valley in the east. As I hiked west around the mountain the wailing quieted, and as I came back around towards the valley it intensified. Spooky.

Rolled into Flint Mt shelter to dry off, have breaky, and commiserate about the forecast with Bird and Bean. We were all a bit grumpy from the wet night. As I left the shelter around 11, the clouds parted and the rain halted. I finally dried a bit, not taking off my rain skirt for fear the waterworks would come back.

Around 1 I came into Laurel Hostel, just a bit off the road from Laurel Rector. I ate some frozen pizza and lay out my gear to dry off. I drank way more beer than expected. Rather than go get change, Tim the hostel owner kept giving me incredibly cheap and free beers. I planned to have just one, but a few free ones later, I was deep into a four beer buzz. I stumbled out of the hostel around 2, onward to camp.

At Laurel Hostel

On the way up the mountain I ran into Gadget. He had skipped the hostel because a woman named Emoji setup some trail magic back at 2:15, just as I climbed out. F&ck! Just barely missed it! I almost wished he hadn’t told me. Gadget did ask me later why I was stumbling so hard up the mountain, and got a big laugh when I told him about my innocent unintentional four beer buzz. Southern hospitality, what can I say.

I rolled into the shelter around 6, setup my pad, and demolished some packed out pizza. There I met again with Earlybird and Churro. Apparently Renegade was off trail for good. Sad to hear; we shared a pretty rowdy campfire (started by moi) early on.

I’ve developed holes in my underwear, shorts, thermals, and socks. Seems everything is starting to fall apart a month in. I’m going to start unintentionally flashing people if I don’t get some new shorts soon.

Su Apr 16/23 - Day 35 - Whistling Gap (532.3 KM)

Woke up to the others shuffling around and packing up around 6:30. After the typical breaky and banter we were out by 8:15.

Views from Big Bald

Lots of ascent today. We took a few small breaks for snacks and moral support. We climbed Big Bald (insert hairline joke here) and were welcomed with yet another amazing view. At the top we met Trip, our first SOBO flip flopper! He did Harpers to Katahdin last fall, and was on route to finish his hike where we started, Springer Mt. He was very exuberant, but somewhat sad that his hike was coming to an end. Trip mentioned that the Mountain Harbour Inn was a must see, with arguably the best breaky on trail. Porkchop had mentioned the same a few trail magics back, so I took the note to heart. Breaky is my favourite, after all.

Me and Trip

From the top of Big Bald we could see a storm raging in the distance, right over the range we would be climbing soon. We took some shots and hurried on to the next shelter, hoping to dodge the looming rain.

A storm in the distance

Dealt with some minor rain on our way down, but it seemed the storm was raging east faster than we hiked, allowing us to dodge the worst part of it. We made it into Whistling Gap, and were just barely in our tents when the faucet of rain turned back on. Another night cooking in my vestibule and introspective writing from the sleeping pad.

Tomorrow we’re powering into Erwin for a resupply and quick rejuvenation. We might just nero in town and push on to Roan. We want to make it there early to dodge the storm coming on Saturday. As I’ve already mention, the hole in my shorts grows by the day. Let’s see if I can find a new pair in town.

Mo Apr 17/23 - Day 36 - Erwin, TN (554.1 KM)

Woke up early and got packed up quickly. Gadget and I ate breaky and then hit the trail around 8:15.

We rushed down the trail into town. A girl faster then us said “sorry, can I get by? Don’t want to be on your butt”. We let her pass, and as she ran by, I asked back “you don’t like my butt?”. My witty joke was met with awkward silence and a wry smile. Eh, I got a kick out of it at least. I jogged down the descents and caught up with Victory and Meadow. I kept up a good pace, and met them at the shelter for lunch with Gadget shortly after.

We chatted about being office bound workers stuck in a rut, ate nuts and Sour Patch Kids and all other hiker trash. They headed on, and shortly after me and Gadget hit the trail for town.

It was a long 22 KM day, with three major ascents, but mainly downhill otherwise. It was nice to get a big ascent then a little break before the next climb. Other than the normal blowdowns, and the roller coaster ascents, it was cruisy.

The Nunchucky river

After 7 hours, and a beautiful mountaintop view of fhe Nunchucky river and Erwin TN, we made it into town.

Erwin TN

We wanted to stay at Uncle Johnny’s, but the plumbing was down. No showers or laundry there. We decided to stay at the Super 8 instead. We caught an Uber into town (rare!), checked into the motel, and showered up. After some laundry we went to Bo Jangles for first dinner. It was KFC level chicken. The first piece I got had a hair deep fried into it. When I presented it to the woman there, I got a whole dinner replaced for free. At least they’re kind that way.

After dinner in my rain skirt, we headed back to change over our laundry. As we entered the motel, we ran into Taric and Kaylee again! We caught up as Taric held their pizza and Kaylee swapped in their laundry. Always good to catch up!

After getting our dry clothes, we headed out for resupply and second dinner. Suffice to say, I bought way too much this resupply. Like, my bag was full to the brim, AND some, full. The hiker hunger hit me bad. Second dinner was Taco Bell. I ordered a Crunchwrap combo with fries supreme and 4 soft tacos. I got a Crunchwrap, normal fries with cheese dip, a hard taco, and four soft tacos. Apparently the Crunchwrap combo comes with an extra hard taco here?? And there’s no fries supreme, with the beef and chives and sour cream and stuff? Such a stilted experience compared to my Canadian Taco Bell experience. Funky!

Gadget and I shared a motel room with two beds tonight. After second dinner we chatted about American history, Lincoln, and random Canadiana. Around 11, two tall boys, and a lot of Taco Bell, I called it quits.

Tomorrow we plan to nero and then head for the first shelter out of Erwin, Curley Maple Gap. It’s only 7 KM, other than the climb out it should be easy. We want to get to Roane before Saturday to beat the rain. I need to buy new shorts tomorrow. Mine still have a giant gash in the crotch. I don’t want a public indecency charge once the hole in my underwear is big enough to suit.

Tu Apr 18/23 - Day 37 - Curley Maple Gap Shelter (560.9 KM)

Woke up around 7:45 with Gagdet. Met him shortly after for coffee and a donut at the continental breakfast. It was the worst continental I’ve seen yet; cereal with warm milk, bagel with cream cheese, a donut, or coffee. No fruit! What a sham!

I powered down a couple of cups of motel coffee, a donut, and two soft tacos from the night before. Then I took some introvert time and posted my next blog entry.

Around 9:45 me and Gagdet headed for the Outfitters to get some new holeless shorts for me. The Outfitters in Erwin was barren. No men’s running shorts. No fire starters of any kind. No Body Glide. Another sham! I walked all this way for nothing!

Gadget and I grabbed some coffee from Railhouse Brewing as a consolation prize on our way back. I got a Curley Maple iced coffee, complete with real maple syrup. Hey, Curley Maple is the shelter I’m headed for tonight! Sweet (pun intended).

We grabbed some hard liquor; rum for me, and shooter vodka and sweet liquor for Gadget. My 750 ml rum fit perfectly in a 710 ml Dr Pepper bottle. Fun fact.

Around 11 AM we checked out, hauled our newly food and liquor loaded packs, and headed for McDonalds. I got a Big Mac combo with a Jr Chicken for later. After the food we headed for the grocery store, where we met Taric and Kaylee for our shuttle.

The shuttle was way delayed, like 40 minutes. After awhile we met a lady named Teresa that offered to take us back to the AT! She very kindly drove us back to the trailhead at Uncle Johnny’s. What a blessing! More trail magic faith getting us where we need to be.

Thanks Teresa!

Back at Johnny’s we ate our excess food and deliberated. Apparently there was a Walmart near town; SunGod needed to return something there, and I needed new shorts. He said “I don’t know how we’ll get there.” After a beat I replied back, “I have faith”. Shortly after, I was driving down the interstate in the car of a lady that ran Uncle Johnny’s, with SunGod in the passenger seat. When asked if there was a shuttle to Walmart, the lady at Uncle Johnny’s let us borrow her car to get there! Insane hospitality! People in my own family wouldn’t let me drive their car. We slowly and safely hurried over to Walmart and got our business done. I bought my shorts and a Dr. Enuff pop (nuff said). On the way back, SunGod and I discussed what we’ve learned on trail, and I brought up how I’ve learned faith. Faith in others. Faith in myself. Faith that everything will work out. Very knowingly, he said “I remember you said you had faith back before we had a ride.” SunGod taught me that everything is either “a blessing or a lesson”. It rhymes in his South Carolina accent (“blesson” and “lesson”). If you can accept the lessons, and have gratitude for the blessings, we’ll that’s all life is about. We delivered the car back in pristine condition, and left $10 for taking the crazy risk of letting random hikers drive her car on the interstate. She thanked us with a big smile and wave as she drove off after her shift. We were speechless. Unbelievable hospitality in the south. Faith continuously restored.

Around 3, sporting my new holeless shorts, me and Gadget said adieu at Johnny’s and hit the trail once more. Boss thought we were brothers. As we hiked off I replied “trail brothers at least!”. The climb out of town sucked but wasn’t a terrible gradient. After a couple of uneventful hours of climbing, we made it to Curley Maple Gap. As we rolled in Taric and Kaylee greeted us. I laid out a bunch of hiker trail magic to get rid of some of the crazy excess food I picked up in Erwin. We chatted about chicken farming and processing, attending Christian community college, what it meant to be a good parent, and ate butterfingers and goldfish. Apparently as a Resident Assistant at a college dorm, Taric saw some crazy shit. One time the kids raced a gas moped down the hallway! On the third floor, with no elevator! They had to carry it up! Another time he opened his door to find a 5 foot bass on the residence hallway carpet floor. Much banter and hyena cackling ensued.

Nanaman rolled in around 7 PM. Apparently he’s finished the Florida Trail and Pinote trail already, on top of huge sections of the PCT and AT. His plan is to continue past Maine onto the international Appalachian Trail. It continues up through the east coast into the Chic-Choc mountains of the Gaspe Coast in Quebec. That’s where my family comes from originally. We chatted and drank for an hour or so. His advice for the mental game is to drink more beer! Point taken.

Nanaman

And here I am at 9:47 in my tent writing this post. There’s been a norovirus outbreak among the thru hikers recently, so me and Gadget are skipping sleeping in shelters for the next little bit. Apparently most of the motel we were at are zeroing because they’re sick, and the Holiday Inn across the street too! Luckily we’re still feeling fine.

Today Body Shop messaged me, saying he was setting up trail magic at Beauty Spot Gap. He regrettably got off trail in Gatlinburg. We hiked together since day 2, so it was a real blow. Tomorrow, if we hike quick, we should make it there to catch him! It’d be great to see him again and reconnect. And eat some fresh trail magic, no doubt cooked up by the man himself. It’s a real motivator to go fast tomorrow. I have faith.

We Apr 19/23 - Day 38 - South of Iron Mountain Gap (585.2 KM)

Got up and broke camp as usual. Taric and Kaylee were out early. As I ate breakfast in the shelter, I heard a shuffling from the top bunk and realized Nanaman was still here. We chatted over breaky.

Gadget and I rolled out around 8:40. Body Shop messaged me that he setup trail magic at Indian Grave Gap. After some quick climbs and descents, we made it into the gap around 10:40 and reunited with Body Shop! I gave him a big sweaty dirty hiker hug. We set out his chairs and got down to drinking pop and bantering. We caught him up on our side of the story so far, and learned about his plans to hike into Damascus the next day. We ate delicious trail magic and gossiped until about 12:00. SunGod and Boss, and a few other hikers, also hit up the magic. It was great to see Body Shop again, and dearly appreciated the trail magic! He’ll be hiking with me in spirit, at least.

Body Shop strikes again!

We rolled out to continue our climbs for the day. It was a lot of ups today, but the grade of the climbs weren’t terrible. We made really good time, even with the long break at the trail magic. Around 5 we rolled into a shelter and made stovetop stuffing dinners. I threw craisins, bacon, and salami in mine to spice it up. Was a delicious and filling meal. Definitely doing that again… With gravy too. Thanks to Shawn for introducing me to backcountry Thanksgiving.

Around 7:15 we found a nice flat spot near Iron Mt Gap, and wild camped with Purple Haze. Haze has already thru hiked the CDT and PCT. He’s working on his triple crown this hike. Much luck to him!

We’re trying to pull some bigger days so we can get into Roan early on Friday and skip the rain Saturday. Tomorrow is more roller coaster ups and downs, complete with an 8 KM ascent at the end of the day to add insult to injury. If we can push through tomorrow, I’m confident we can make the mostly downhill run into Roan early. As Body Shop would say, “Roan early or bust, baby!”

Th Apr 20/23 - Day 39 - Roan High Knob Shelter (610.0 KM)

Started my morning at 7 by pulling the release tab on my sleeping pad. As I slowly deflated onto the ground, I cried a single tear of regret, and started packing up. There’s been no privies since No Business shelter back in NC. So I started slow… Nuff said.

Around 8:40, after a honeybun and some coffee, Gadget and I headed out. 30 mins later, Gadget told me some tips on how to do big days he learned from YouTube. 1. Wake up, get packed, and get out. You can eat breaky in 2 hrs, after you’ve pumped out some miles. The next tip was to 2. Take a long lunch; really soak up the restoration and take an hour to recover. The third was to 3. Eat dinner, then hit the trail again and find a spot to camp. We did that yesterday by instinct; it just made sense given our circumstances. Tomorrow I’m going to try to implement the tips fully.

Today was a hard climb. Not many blow downs or too much loose rocks. Just straight up, then a break, then up more. I noticed yesterday the “bastard climb”. 8 KM straight up, at the end of the day to make it nice and miserable.

We had lunch with Yak, a former Navy minesweeper. He said his time in the navy was mainly rote boredom punctured with moments of intense anxiety. Then we headed on to finish The Bastard. We came to the ascent for the climb around 3. We met Militant Buddhist refilling his water there. We chatted for a bit, having not seen each other since Standing Bear. After refilling my water I put some candy in my pockets and headed on for the 3 hour climb.

Gadget looking over a vista

I listened to podcasts, ate sour gummies, and finished the first half of the ascent with relative ease. It was the second half that sucked the hardest. But despite the constant climb and pain, I made it to the top of the mountain around 6:15. I estimated 6:30, so I was happy with that time.

We had dinner and caught up with Taric and Kaylee. They had camped shortly north of us, so we were on their tail all day. We learned about their outdoor leadership masters and chatted about our boring education relative to theirs.

Around 8 everyone headed to bed, me included. I’m in the shelter, but it’s not even 9 and I can hear rodents running around already. Maybe I’ll setup my tent outside if an emergent occurs. Thoughts and prayers.

Fr Apr 21/23 - Day 40 - Roan Mountain TN (636.2 KM)

Woke up to the sounds of scurrying above me. The noise of rodents and squirrels in the Roan High Knob shelter kept waking me up in the night. My first mousey shelter experience. Yay.

Gadget and I packed up quick and hit the trail around 7:30. Into town today! We hiked for an hour and came to a trail magic at Carver’s Gap. Thanks a ton for the amazing magic, Emoji! We stayed awhile, drinking real coffee and eating bananas, honeybuns, applesauce, cheese… Emoji had a veritable hiker smorgasbord.

The legend of Emoji was true!

At the magic we ran back into Manimal and Better Half. Last time we saw each other was the sunset atop Siler Bald. Better Half immediately recognized me as “the Blackfly song guy”, as I sang some traditional Canadian folk music for them. They live 20 minutes away, and have been slackpacking the trail sections close to home. “Slackpacking” involves leaving your gear with someone else, like a hostel or a shuttle, and hiking with just a daypack. Gadget and I were very jealous of how clean and well fed they seemed. Unfortunately, they forgot to pack their water filters! We said they could hike with us and use our filters, and they appreciated it.

Hiking with Better Half and Manimal

Today we hiked through arguably one of the most beautiful sections of the AT; Carver’s Gap to Roan Mountain. It was bald after bald of pure beauty. Completed exposed peaks, above almost everything at 5500 ft. We soaked in the views and took many stops for photos and videos. We were so mesmerized that we got turned around and ended up on a dead end side trail! 1.5 extra KM for us. Joy.

Beautiful balds on the road to Roan

Although it was a beautiful day, it was exhausting. The elevation has been a rollercoaster since Standing Bear. Today we descended 5000ft alone. On top of that, Gadget and I have been gunning for Roan early to skip the rain, pushing three 25+KM (15.5 mile) days through this crazy elevation. My knees hurt, my legs are wiped, and my feet plead for dear mercy every moment. But still I press on.

Looking over the balds

At a snack break, I asked how long Manimal and Better Half had been together. He said 30 years! Apparently they fell so deeply in love, he proposed to her after only 5 weeks of dating. 9 months later they were married, and 30 years later here they are on the AT.

Bliss

At lunch, Manimal and I made bets about when we would arrive at our hostel, The Mountain Harbour Inn. I bet 6:45 and he bet 6:15. Around 6:45 PM, footsore and exhausted but thoroughly pleased, Gadget and I rolled in. Apparently Manimal got there at 6:15. We both win I guess.

The inn is a hostel and B&B, with a legendary breakfast. Multiple people have told me it’s the best breaky on trail. I’m thoroughly excited for tomorrow. We ran into Taric and Kaylee again, and met Swami and Joker, two hikers I’d heard about down trail.

We had dinner from the food truck and drank beers from the general store. The Philly cheesesteak and onion rings I had were sublime. We reflected on our day in our post adventure bliss. After some chores and hiker banter, we headed to bed early.

Tomorrow it’s going to rain. I might zero here depending on how the rain goes and how my legs feel. Excited for the best breaky on trail.