5-20-2009 Wed - Partnership Shelter Delievers

Start point: Hurricane Mtn Shelter
End point: Partnership Shelter
miles hiked: 19.7

Got up early and headed out, made it to VA 650 by 10am or so. Thats the road to Troutdale, VA, where Gary (who I hung out with at the NOC) had told me to go and stop by Jerry's Kitchen for one of the best burgers near the trail. It's 2 miles down the road from the trail and I walked more than a mile before someone pulled over and asked if I needed a ride. They were still serving breakfast but that was fine with me, I wasn't in that much of a burger mood anyway. Legs showed up when I was finishing up so I we talked while he ate. Got a ride back to the trail from Gary, he was actually there working with Jerry shuttling hikers to the restaurant/store and back, to bring in more business. It was good to get to talk to him and I'll prob see him again. Got back to the trail and decided to take a nap, real food can either get you moving or put you in a coma.. Once I started hiking again Green Light and Blue Sky (met at Greasy Creek Friendly, they also did Hardcore Trail Crew) came up on me so we all hiked together for awhile and had lunch together at Trimpi Shelter. Matt from DC showed up while we ate. Hiked out with Green Light and Blue Sky and kept up with them for a good while then hiked the rest of the way with Matt from DC. The Partnership shelter is well known because it is close to the Mt Rogers visitors center and pizza places will deliver there. We got in around 8 so we had to hurry to get our orders in. Got a medium pizza and a small order of cheese fries, and split a Pepsi 2 liter w/Matt. Completely stuffed after finishing all that. Hung out with Matt, talked about The Chinese Study, vegetarianism, and eating healthy. While typing I just now realized the irony of that. ;)

5-19-2009 Tues - Back to Trail

Start point: Massie Gap
End point: Hurricane Mtn Shelter
miles hiked: 13

I got a ride with Long Haul back to the trail today. First we dropped off Chatter, Smile Train, Buckeye and Wimbeldon at Elk Garden, then the blonde Freebird and Blacklist at Troutdale, and finally me back at Massie Gap where I left off. Not only did Long Haul give me a ride, he also mailed a package for me, offering to pay the postage. So many people going out of their way to help, still amazes me. What a beautiful day to get going again. In the 60's all day, some more of that perfect hiking weather. Hiked some more through Grayson Highlands and at one point I thought to myself, man, I could be happy hiking through this kind of terrain for a long time. Nice easy rolling hills, a little bit of forest, a little bit of prairie.

Stopped at Wise Shelfter to check the register, looks like Dragonbreath hasn't passed here yet so he must have took another day off to rest his leg. Stopped again at Old Orchard Shelter for lunch. Saw Chick Magnet again, and met a thru hiker named Ned the Fed. Got to Hurricane Mtn and stayed in the Shelter, it was me, Rooster, Pittsburgh, Legs and SpiceMan. I had met Rooster at Trail Days where we talked about Colorado.

5-18-2009 Mon - Kincora Hardcore Trail Crew

On our way to the worksite we passed Round Bald and Jane Bald

(from left to right; Bark, Berry, Gorgonzola and Denali) Wow, what a great experience this has been. Today we worked re-routing some trail between Roan Mtn and Hump Mtn, which were some of those amazing bald mtn's I crossed over a few weeks back. Both days you provide your own breakfast and lunch but they feed you dinner. You carry 2 tools up to where the work site is. Both days I had a pulaski (combines an axe and a mattock) and a Rogue hoe (which is brand of hoe with a sharpened edge). It was about a 2-3 mile hike to the work site today, so that in itself was a little tough carrying these tools, your water and your lunch all the way up there. We also use pick-axes, mattock's, loppers and rock bars (huge steel pry bars). I have some good before and after pictures of trail we all made:

Also helped make some stone steps today. which was pretty cool. You have to find the right rock with a flat surface, pry it out of the ground, and get it set properly. Then more rocks to support around it. Afterward Bob showed me how to find ramps:

We had alot better dinner tonight, much more filling. Started with chicken noodle soup, then salad and spaghetti with a really meaty sauce, and some delish garlic bread.

altimore Jack does pretty much all of the cooking for the 2nd day, with the help of some hikers who woke up late and didn't make it to the work site. (hikers chowing down, me and Baltimore:)

These past 2 nights I've stayed at Laurel Creek Lodge in a cabin, Kincora Hostel gets really full during these days for Hardcore, because Bob Peoples sets it up, so alot of people stay there at his hostel. There are a few tent spots and some spots on the porch, but its only a few dollars more here. They have waaaay less of a line for the shower here and I wouldn't have been able to catch up on all these journals if I had't gotten to use the internet here. Last night it was me, the blonde Freebird, Redbeard and Otter who split a cabin, tonight same thing just no Otter. I'm beat, so off to bed. ;)

me, D-Con and Flying Porkchop

heres another shot of the trail crew hard at work:

5-17-2009 Sun - Hardcore

Just barely made it in time for sign in. I was up in plenty of time but I just had problems getting all my stuff together. It was pretty funny, I finally started just throwing stuff in my pack, pulled my tent stakes and carried my tent (still set up) to the sign up, figured I'd just take it apart there and pack it up after I'd signed in. It was one of those times I'd hurried like crazy for nothing, we didn't get rolling till 9:30am. For Hardcore they take 50 hikers that are hiking the trail this year, and 50 from previous years. We re-routed the AT in a place where it went straight up, making new trails that went up in switchbacks (which are waaay easier to maintain, and cause less erosion). It was pretty hard work, but so rewarding. By the end of the day I had been sent to the crew farthest up the mountain, so when we were done and walking back to the cars the old trail had been blocked and the new trail already had been white blazed, so I got to walk down all that new trail that all of us made today. To make it even more interesting that was all trail that I had walked up at night, up from Iron Mtn Gap, so it was great to get to see it during the day. They fed us at the Watauga Dam visitors center so we got a great view of the lake as our backdrop for dinner. Gotta be up at 7am for 1 more day so I better hit the sack. Have a great week everyone!

5-15 and 5-16-2009 Fri & Sat - Trail Days!

Well lemme just say Trail Days is great. You should come even if you aren't hiking the AT, although it would help if you like hikers and hiking. So much happened I don't think I can give a good enough description, but I'll try to give some highlights. Friday my main objective was to get up in time to sign up for Hardcore, the trail maintenance crew that Bob Peoples sets up. It is supposed to be a great experience and a great way to give back to the trail. Got there before 9am and a line was already forming, but I made it and got signed up. I'll be working Sun and Mon doing that. They had free medical screenings throughout the weekend so thats where I went next. Had them look at the cut on my toe, they said just what I expected, keep it clean and make sure you don't get an infection. Got my feet clean though, and they gave me a free pair of merino wool socks, so that was cool. Next headed over to hear a guy talk and show slides of his thru-hike of the Florida Trail. It starts near Miami, goes up to Jacksonville, and then west over to Pensacola. The talk was pretty interesting, don't know for sure if I would be up for hiking on that much flat land though. Next was a dvd screening for a documentary that Lion King made about his 14 month 6000+ mile thru hike of the America Discovery Trail which streches from coast to coast. That was definitely worth watching. I ended up buying copies of his dvd's that he made of his PCT and AT thru hikes, so I'm anxious to see those. Found Mello Yellow and Brave Friend (Mello Yellow has the tie on) and hung out with them for awhile, then just kinda bounced around hanging out with friends and meeting new folks. Sat I got my Leki poles, they fixed the one I snapped. Met some hashers last night and we were supposed to have a hash at noon but no one showed up (LAME!) so it didn't happen. Probably was a good thing, shouldn't be jogging with a huge cut on my toe. Took my pack to the Gregory tent and talked to them. Got to meet Wayne Gregory, the man who started the company. My pack was starting to tear apart where the shoulder strap met the body of the backpack. They said stitching it probably wouldn't do so they just gave me a brand new pack! I couldn't believe it. This one is the same one I had (Z55) but its this years model and has some sturdier buckles, plus its grey and looks way cooler than my old one.. ;)

(Mr. Gregory is on the right in blue)

Me and Dragonbreath were talking about how many people were getting hooked up and taken care of during this thing. At least handful of folks I know got new packs and tons of people got different free stuff. The hiker parade was up next, everyone lines up with their class they hiked with (I'm class of 2009 of course), and the parade is basically a huge water balloon and water gun fight, mostly the hikers vs the townies. Its hilarious and quite a sight to see. They had a hiker talent show and I signed up for that and did some spoken word. I was nervous about how well it was gonna go over, but I got a good round of applause and lots of people told me afterward that they really liked it. I had never perfomed my material before that many people and immediately after i finished it was quite a rush, very exhilarating. I was getting some intense anxiety beforehand. Hung out more with Dragonbreath after I got back and we went down to the laudromat, while there met some really awesome thru-hikers from 2000, Flying Porkchop and D-Con. Back in tent city I stayed up waaay too late considering I'd need to be up a 8am to get packed in time for trail work at 9am with Hardcore. Trail Days was a blast, and the anticipation up to it was almost just as fun too. Oh yea, got my new shoes sent to me and picked those up Sat, thought the ones I started with would last me to PA but I'm pretty certain that 400+ miles killed em. So I'm headed back out (well after 2 days of Hardcore) with a new pack, new shoes, and my trekking poles are now like new, its a great feeling!

massive tent erection in across from us in Billville
our spot in Tent City

Otter's a moving white blaze
Thunderpants and SIS (Suffers in Silence), so named because she walks behinds thunderpants..
Brave Friend
Mello Yellow
Drew and Samantha

Freebird (the blonde one)

Puddle Jumper and Skipping Stones

Anything

Symphony
Brown Chicken
Brown Cow
Top Hat and Duffy
Miss Janet
Matt from D.C.

Jess and Julia

Zuma

Capt D and Vegemite, thanks Veg for the headlamp

5-14-2009 Thur

Start point: near Elk Garden
End point: Massie Gap
miles hiked: 8.3
total miles hiked: 493.9

Just a short day today before heading back to Damascus for Trail Days. Ran into Mello Yellow and Brave Friend. They were hiking southbound doing a section into Damascus. Alot of people like to hike into Damascus for Trail Days even if they aren't actually hiking the AT at the moment. I was happy that they will both be there so I can talk to them some more. We stopped at Thomas Knob Shelter which is pretty much on Mt Rogers, Virginia's highest mountain (5.729 elev). It is a pretty area, lots of highland meadows and alot of wild ponies. While we were stopped at the shelter for lunch some of the ponies came up. We'd all heard that they will come up and lick you and will let you feed them, but it was still suprising to have some ponies come up and just hang out and eat from your hand. Of course we took lots of photos and then headed out.

going up to the 2nd level of Thomas Knob Shelter
(Blues Traveler going through Fat Mans Squeeze)
Blues Travler's wife was supposed to pick us up at Massie Gap at 2pm so we didn't wanna be late. We got there on time, she was late, but it was good to know we're done hiking for a few days, my feet were still hurting. Mrs Blues as we called her got there and we got rolling back to Damascus. She turned out to be super cool, and we had alot of laughs on the way to town. We went to the campgrounds and got set up at tent city. Trail Days is mostly a Fri-Sun thing, but alot of people get there on Thur when they open the campgrounds. Went to the grocery store and got stocked up for the weekend. Saw a ton of hikers that I've met along my way but haven't seen in a long time. It really is the people that make this trail so amazing. The only downside today, I stepped on a tent stake and cut a huge gash on my big toe. Flip-flops have definitely proved not to be good shoes for camp, wish I had some Crocs. Got it clean and will be making sure to keep it clean as to avoid infection. Hung out with Saltly Dog most of the late night, Blues and Dragonbreath went to bed pretty early. We went around to different camps and hung out with different folks. We got rained on alot that night but it was still fun.

5-13-2009 Wed

Start point: Straight Branch
End point: near Elk Garden
miles hiked: 17

We all got up and headed out of camp at different times (I was last one out, just couldn't get going today) but with the same destination. Some nice hiking along Laurel Creek, then a pretty good size climb up. We all stopped at Lost Mtn Shelter for lunch. Another good size climb after that, Whitetop Mtn (5,150 elev.). On top of Whitetop has been one of the most windy spots so far. It would move you sideways if you let it. I found where they were all tented out, a spot that was down the descent of Whitetop, and got set up. We all went to bed pretty early because it got kinda cold and windy. .

5-12-2009 Tues - Into VA! 3 states down, 10 to go!

Start point: McQueens Knob Shelter
End point: Straight Branch
miles hiked: 16.9

Got up pretty early (7am) considering how late I went to bed and got packed up quick and hiked out. I passed Abington Gap Shelter and found out from the register that both Matt from CT and Blues Traveler who I have been trying to catch up with were probably only 5 miles from where I had stayed last night. If I had just kept going a little farther I would have caught them. Started hiking again and made it to the TN/VA state line and snapped some photos. Got into Damascus (with alot of feet and leg pain from that long day yesterday) and saw some folks I knew, and finally caught up to Blues, Matt (who is now Dragonbreath), and Salty Dog. Talked alot of smack to them, mostly because Blues Traveler gave away my spot in his car to Salty. See our plan was to hike past Damascus, and Blues Travelers wife was going to pick us up and take us back for Trail Days. He said he could make room for me, so I guess he's still ok in my book. We hiked out with a plan to try and get 30 miles past Damascus. We got about 6 miles north and found a pretty sweet camp site near a creek and called it a night.

5-11-2009 Mon - Actual 20+ mile day

Start point: 2 miles south of Vandeventer Shelter
End point: McQueens Knob Shelter
miles hiked: 23.3


I say its my first "actual" 20+ day because I pretty much walked 20 miles from Max Patch to Hot Springs, but it didn't really feel like it, and I think going by the book mileage that was only 19.8. This was well over 20 and definitely I felt it.. I got up pretty late, it was a rainy morning so I was in no hurry to hike up Iron Mtn. When I got going I was almost to Vandeventer Shelter and slipped down a little dip in the trail covered with mud. Fell on my butt, but what really pissed me off was I broke one of my trekking poles. Boy I was pissed, paid a good bit for those things and once again crappy weather messed things up for me. When I got to the shelter I had to let off some steam so something like this in the register: "Tennessee can suck it. I'm going to hike into the night again if nesseccary to get into VA and out of this b/s." Well Matt from DC came along who I had met before, but only briefly. We hike together for the next hr or so talking about snowboarding. He is pretty much the only serious rider I've met since being out here, so it was great to talk to someone who shares a common passion. At the next shelter (Iron Mtn Shelter) I came across Thunderpants and Sis (thunderpants is hilarious, great sense of humor), Chick Magnet, Wrath, Captain Knuckles and Creep. Ate some snacks then hiked out. Made it to Double Springs Shelter before dark and hung out more with Matt from DC, Thunderpants and Sis. Ate dinner there and then hiked out in the dark, seeing how far I could make it. Well at what I'm guessing was mile 21 or so my feet really started to hurt. Around 1:30am I got to McQueens Knob shelter which was made in 1936. Its one of the oldest shelters on the trail and is only suppossed to be an emergency shelter. It only sleeps a few people and isn't in the best condition. I was only gonna stop and eat some snacks but it had gotten pretty cold and foggy at that point so I decided to call it a day. Hadn't made it out of TN but there was only about a 9 or 10 mile hike into Damascus for tomorrow so that was good enough.

5-10-2009 Sun - Laurel Falls

Start point: Dennis Cove - Laurel Fork Lodge
End point: 2 miles south of Vandeventer Shelter
miles hiked: 15.8

Woke up and hung out with Damascus most of the morning. He found a puppy last night while driving, it was running down a mountain road. We drove around trying to see if anyone was out looking for it, stopped at quite a few houses asking around if anyone recognized it. Finally his investigational work paid off, found the owner. A girl named Rachel who was happy to have her puppy back. I realized after that adventure Michelle would probably get along pretty well with Damascus. They both would go out of their way to save an animal, or get it back to its owner. Came back to the lodge and caught up on some stuff online, packed up, and shot around with Snuggles on the basketball court at the lodge before heading out. The 50 ft Laurel Falls is no too far out of Dennis Cove and I sat there for a good long while enjoying the waterfall. The next couple miles of the trail follow the Laurel Fork Creek down river so that was a nice little walk. Took a side trail into Hampton, ate a medium pizza, had a Dr. Enuf soda (very tasty), and got a few food items at Dollar General. I've been doing pretty much all my food shopping at Dollar General, they have way more food than I remember dollar store having. Oh yea, ate a klondike and a twix ice cream treat. Its kinda nice being able to eat any and everything without feeling guilty, I'll burn those calories and fat off in no time. ;)
Got to Watauga Lake Shelter just as it was getting too dark to see. Decided to do some night hiking since I got started kinda late today, plus that pizza could fuel me for at least a few hrs. Made it past the Watauga Dam, then did a pretty big climb, 1500 ft in 4 miles. That doesn't sound like alot now, but in the dark it seemed like I was going up and up forever. Found a spot near a spring, set up tent, and got some water (that water filter I got is kind of a pain and a little time consuming to take out of my pack and put together, but its nice to have crystal clear water. Plus once you are down at the spring and pumping water thru the filter, you can drink all you want right there, so you don't have to pack out as much with you, water weighs alot..) Forgot to mention a deer was messing with me on my way up the mountain, it would get near the trail and then run off further ahead, then get near the trail again, those glowing eyes are creepy looking in the dark. It probably knew how much I like venison and was messin with me for payback.

5-9-2009 Sat

Start point: near Laurel Fork
End point: Dennis Cove - Laurel Fork Lodge
miles hiked: 8

Got up and felt great today! Nothing hurt! My legs feel ok, wow whats going on? The last couple days I've been doing a stretching routine in the morning before I get going which I think is gonna help alot. I also do 2 sets of 20 push-ups. Hoping to start doing 2 sets of 25 in the morning and then again at night, 100 push-ups a day, we'll see how that goes. Might be a new work-out routine: "Bash your body into shape" those push-ups coupled with 15 miles of hiking a day should do the trick. As Snuggles so kindly pointed out, my beer gut has not been reduced by the 400 some odd miles I've already done.
Not a whole lot to talk about of the hike, just more rolling hills. Got to Dennis Cove and found the trail magic. It was set up by a couple who hiked the trail last year, Slow Train and EZ Does It. Slow Train's dad has a cabin just 50 yards from where the trail comes into Dennis Cove so they used that as their base of operations. Burgers, hot dogs, beer, chips, fruit, these guys know how to do it! They even opened up their home to all these dirty hikers, now thats brave. Invited us back for dinner too, they cooked spaghetti and had everything ready to make smores. Still amazes me the lengths these folks will go to feed the all these hikers. I'm hoping to make it out next year to do the same, pass it forward. Snuggles and Damascus showed up and we went down to Kincora to see whats what. They were full for the most part, could have fit us but we decided to split a cabin at the Laurel Fork Lodge instead. Talked to Baltimore Jack who was there helping out, and got to meet Bob Peoples. Got all the details about Hardcore, which is a trail maintenance crew that Bob runs, its the Sun and Mon after Trail Days so I'm going to try and make that. They take 50 thru-hikers from this year, and 50 thru-hikers from previous years, so as long as I get in early during sign-up Fri morn I won't have any trouble getting a spot. Funny that there are that many people who wanna volunteer to do tough trail work! So anyway, we left Kincora and recruited Chick Magnet (met him at N.O.C.) to get a cabin so 4 of us with 2 bunk beds was only $8 a person. Kinda crazy I keep running into Snuggles and Damascus, so far I've ran into them and got to hang out 3 times now since we first parted ways in Franklin. Well I should be in Damascus, VA in about 2 1/2 days so the next time I update I'll probably have lots of Trail Days stories. Have a great weekend everyone!

5-8-2009 Fri - Tenn for 70

Start point: near Hump Mtn
End point: near Laurel Fork
miles hiked: 21.1

Woke up fairly early and packed up, started hiking the rest of the way down Hump Mtn. It started raining after I stopped to get water and didn't stop raining till noon. Crossed over into Tennessee which I will be in for the next 70 miles, finally done with the 152 miles of jumping back and forth between NC/TN state lines. Got to the Mountaineer Falls and stopped at that shelter and was thinking of calling it a day, but I didn't. It was only 5pm, still 3 good hrs of daylight to hike in, the sky had cleared up and the sun came out. Rested for about 10min, then got going. I really wanted to make it all the way to the next shelter, that would make my day tomorrow alot easier. Heard about trail magic at Dennis Cove, which is also where I was planning on staying near. There is a hostel there called Kincora ran by a guy named Bob Peoples who I have heard is one of the best guys on the trail. His hostel is only $4 for a bunk, which is actually just the suggested donation. So I'm hiking and hiking and hiking and still havent hit this shelter. These are just little rolling hills but they kick your butt for some reason. I'm used the idea of if you are trying to get somewhere hike till you think you've gone far enough, then hike a little more and you'll finally be there, but it didn't happen that way this time. Finally came up on Green Hornet and Skully who were tenting, as well as Timothy (That Guy) who I had met at Greasy Creek. Tented out near them, stayed up and hung out, had a good time.

5-7-2009 Thur - Roan to Hump

Start point: near Hughes Gap
End point: near Hump Mtn
miles hiked: 14.4


Climbed almost 2000 ft in about 3 1/2 miles, it was Roan Mtn (6285 elev), which will be my last big climb for some time. Its the last time the AT climbs over 6000 ft until I reach Mt Washington in New Hampshire. There used to be an old hotel called the Cloudland Hotel up on top of Roan Mtn, from the late 1800's to the early 1900's, finally demolished in 1915. Its crazy to think they were able to build something as big as a hotel that high up back in the day. After you come down the other side of Roan then you pass over Round Bald (5826 elev), Little Hump Mtn, and Hump Mtn (5587 elev). More amazing views, like I said before, love those blad mtn's, they have some of the best views. After I climbed Hump Mtn and started the descent I came across some Longhorn cattle, grazing right in the middle of the trail. That certainly brought back some TX memories! Found a nice spot to tent out, made a fire, some dinner, enjoyed the full moon. Haven't seen a full moon that bright in a long time, it would have been perfect for night hiking but I was trying to give my legs a break.

5-6-2009 Wed - the Vortex

Start point: Greasy Creek Friendly (Hostel)
End point: near Hughes Gap
miles hiked: 5

The mailman showed up with my mail about 1pm (which is when I finally got out of my tent, and trust me, I have not slept in that late in a loooong time). So I started taking down my tent and packing up. Had some really strong wind but no rain for abit, so that worked out great for me: I hung my tent up and it dried in no time, so I was able to pack up everything dry. Ate lunch and talked to Phil for awhile. He is Connie's ex-husband, and even though she runs the place he is the owner of the property. Whew boy, can he give you an earful about marriage. Great guy though, and I would lend an ear to hear him anytime. I've heard hikers call these places the vortex the last few weeks. Its just so darn comfortable to hang out at some of these hostels that its like pulling yourself away from a vortex to get back on the trail. They really make you feel at home. You should have seen the porch on this place. There is an old comfy wooden rocking chair, a great spot to prop up your feet, and a view looking out to the mountains and you're thinking, $5 a day, why don't I just live here for awhile.. After I got out of there and hiked the 1/2 mile back to the trail I made it past the Clyde Smith Shelter and Little Rock Knob and finally found a tent site on the climb toward Ash Gap as it was getting dark. Tented out, got rained on throughout the night, but my tent still doesn't leak so thats a plus. :)

Friends I Hiked With - April Fools Hiker Bash - Franklin, NC

Moxie

Snuggles

Damascus