| 10/5/99 | I had light scattered showers in the early evening. Then the clouds literally rolled into the shelter. The fog bank of clouds engulfed the area. I keep trying to get up and out early, but the cool mornings make it difficult. I have been averaging a departure time of 9:00am. The sun doesn't rise until 7:00 now and sets at 8:00. It's amazing to see the difference in daylight hours between Maine's summer and TN/NC's fall. The day went well. I met 2 TN locals. I was hiking down the trail when I came up on these 2 older men wearing camo coveralls. When I passed they asked me to sit and eat something. I looked at these 2 odd characters and off in the distance I thought I could hear dueling banjos. I thought about it and thought why not I could handle things. I sat down with them and noticed that they each had a bird hunting vest with the pouch in the back stuffed with small camping stuff. They offered me some food, which I gladly took. They were 2 very nice retired guys out hunting for wild ginseng. They showed me some of the tubular root and said that they can sell it for $300/lb. We talked about the trail and mountains and then we were off. It's funny, TN has a reputation of being unfriendly to hikers. I guess that's because the north-bounders don't have the beard yet. I kid you not, one look at me and people know I am a thru-hiker. It's mostly good, because that way people don't think I am a total bum. I am a bum with a purpose. Today's Trail Mileage 21.7 |
| 10/6/99 | I went over a mountain called Pond Flats today. It was a pretty good climb and descent. It reminded me of Maine a little bit. I then past a magnificent waterfall called Laurel Falls. I strolled on into the Kincora Hiking Hostel. It is a magnificent place. The owners are retired and Bob does trail maintenance besides. They are extremely friendly and the place has all the comforts of home. I am sitting by a wood burning furnace while I respond to emails. It was a light day, but it was great. The reality of the end is starting to seep into my consciousness. I know it's coming, but I am not sure I am ready for it. Hopefully I will be in about 400 more miles. Today's trail mileage 10.6 |
| 10/7/99 | I left the Kincora Hostile and made my way across the TN landscape. I saw a couple of turkeys in the early morning. The terrain really got to me. It was a washboard surface, 100' up 100' down. There wasn't much time to relax and enjoy the down hill because you were headed back up. I would rather have a long climb than that stuff. I was able to do 19.9 miles today, but it took it's toll. Tomorrow will be another short day. I am going to meet my uncle the day after that. That will be a 0-day. Today's trail Mileage 19.9 |
| Due to some bad luck my device is busted. I can't see what I am typing. So I hope this message is comprehendible. I am writing it blindly. The journal will still be done, but it will take a lot longer for it to be updated. | |
| 10/8/99 | I did only 12.9 today. I am stealth camping in Carcers gap. I am meeting my uncle Rich tomorrow at the parking area. We might do some day hiking in the morning. I passed over some magnificent balds right before the parking area. The weather is supposed to turn nasty tomorrow, but if it holds we will get some magnificent views. |
| 10/9/99 | Well, the weather was bad from early morning on. I met Rich at the parking area and we decided to call it a day and get a room and run errands. Little did we know what was in store for us. We got into a car accident . It was the other driver's fault and our rental car was totaled. Fortunately, everyone walked away with minor aches. I am a proud member of the seatbelt and airbag club. Since everyone was alright, we were able to joke about it. We rented another car and bought some food and beer at the grocery store and vegged while watching college football. It was definitely what was needed after a day like today. It was also the first time in a long time I just sat there and did nothing. Usually there is so much to do in towns, that I am busy. Somewhere along the last couple of days my e-mail display got busted. So I am typing blindly and hope that everything is coherent. |
| 10/10/99 | With some thanks to Rich, I stayed mostly dry on this rainy day. Rich dropped me off and I just walked the 2.5 miles to the shelter. I stayed there the rest of the day and watched the rain and read a book. Two section hikers came in later in the day and the 3 of us sat around and talked while it rained. |
| 10/11/99 | I hiked 16.4 today into the the Nolichucky River area. There is a hostel there called Uncle Johnny's. I was forewarned about it. He has a used car salesman mentality. It was an ok stay. I meet some other section hikers there. One had a car and drove into town to re-supply. I am celebrating my 4 month anniversary on the trail with real Mexican food and some beer. It sure tastes good. |
| 10/12/99 | I did 16.8 miles to Bald Mt shelter. I met Doc Alley and his 2 friends who were hiking with him for a couple of days. It was a good thing that the shelter was big. It could hold about 10 people and we had 7. The other section hikers that were there gave us tons of food. It was a great night of sitting around the camp fire. |
| 10/13/99 | It started to rain about 6:00 this morning and rained for a good 2 hours. I got a little later start and sat out the rain. I made it to Flint Mt Shelter where 2 more section hikers were already there. The day was cloudy and threatened with more rain, but didn't. Doc Alley had gone into town with his friends and then made it to the shelter as well. It was a good 18.8 mile day today. |
| 10/14/99 | Doc Alley and I hiked together today. He has a blistering pace, so we didn't hike too close together. We found a hunting dog which was used for bear hunting. It looked to be young and was scrawny. There was a tracking collar on him. It also had a set of identifications tags. We fed it a little of our food, which is saying a lot when a thru-hiker gives up some of his food. The dog followed us about 5 miles and we then found some day hikers with a car. They had a dog of their own. We asked them if they would take care of getting the dog back to it's owner. They said sure, but I think they were more interested in a reward than the dogs safety. We left them and ate our long overdue lunch. We moved on to the Spring Mt shelter and finished the day of 21.2 miles. I will slow down after the Smokey's. It was a great day. |