Date: 2003-03-22
From: US 441 - newfound gap

To: US 441 - newfound gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

called up the post office this morning. everything's in, but there's no package for me. i'm a little worried, but most of all, i just want to get back on the trail. this means that i'll have to wait till monday and hope that it comes in then. i had been thinking about this scenario last night and i decided that i would love to go check out the cherokee reservation east of newfound gap. i could easily hitch there if jim was unable to take me and i could easily hitch back on monday morning or whenever i decided to come back.spoke to jim and told him my plans. he told me not to worry and that if i wanted to stay till then i was more than welcomed to, but for right now what i needed to do is get ready so we could go out for breakfast. ummm! breakfast.sandy, jim and myself went to a local diner and i had myself a delicious serving of blueberry pancakes. i remember staring at the menu for the longest time not being able to make up my mind. everything looked so good and i was afraid that what i picked wouldn't end up satisfying me as much as the next item could've of. a true thru-hiker dilema. having decided that blueberry pancakes have never failed me in taste or filling, i decided that that was the way to go.we had a really pleasant breakfast and jim asked me again if going to the reserveration was really what i wanted to do. i assured him that it was. jim and sandy already knew my money situation, so jim asked me if i needed some provisions to get me through the next few days. i said that i did, so we headed towards the local market after breakfast.having bought a few dinners, snacks and breakfasts, i was all set and jim drove me to the smokies visitor center east of newfound gap. it was still another 20 or so miles to the reservation, but i was confident the hitch would be no problem. jim and i said our goodbyes. we hugged and jim offered me a couple of last provisions: a small bottle of wine and money. i accepted the former with surprise and gratitude, but didn't want to accept the latter. jim insisted. one more goodbye, an emergency phone number and that was that.after packing up my newly acquired, dehydrating beverage i realized that it was only something like 10am. plenty of time to kill and i decided that newfound gap was the place to kill it. i stepped onto the road and the third car pulled over. it was two females and i looked in at them with surprise. i wasn't really sure if they meant to pull over to give me a lift or maybe just to talk or something. sure enough, it was a ride that they wanted to offer me. as it turned out, the driver's son had hiked something like 900 miles of the trail a couple of years back and he had talked all about the hitches that people gave him and so on and so forth. the mom had decided that if you carried a pack and looked somewhat decent (phew, thank goodness for that, eh), you were eligible for a ride.the ladies dropped me off at the parking lot at the gap and i thanked them. there was a good group of hikers by the stone wall where kids often climb, so i proceeded to enter there midst. i saw a few familiar faces including five alive, one of which (speck, i believe) thanked me for having found her camera. i had found her camera back at winding stair gap by franklin, nc. that night i gave it to red, because she was going to be heading into the noc the following morning and she could drop it off there. when five alive arrived at the noc the camera was there waiting for them and they got it back.i talked with the group for a while, saw dutchess who i'd met at the blueberry patch and met a couple of other hikers including chaos. the girls told me that mr. cranky pants' mom was doing majic on the other side of the parking lot, so i decided to check it out. sure enough, they were there. mr. cranky pants, his mom and sire. we caught up for a bit (i hadn't seen these guys since the morning that we left the noc) and they offered me some goods. i partook gratefully and had some snacks and some great mocha mix. it was good stuff.i got to telling the guys my whole package situation and my plans to check out the reservation, and as it so happened mr. cranky pants' mom was about to leave and she was actually headed in that direction so i could catch a ride with her. i was straight. having packed the rest of the goodies in the car, i said bye to the fellas and cranky pants' mom and i drove off. soon we arrived at the reservation and i was surprised to find the tourist trap that cranky pant's mom had described to me on the ride down there.it was nothing like i imagined it to be. i don't know what i was thinking, but i was imagining rolling hills, valleys, grasses, wild animals, even teepees here and there and simple, respectable houses. what i saw was the toned down equivalent of gatlinburg, which is a complete tourist town with it's shops, mini-malls and "ripley's believe it or not" museum. i was completely let down. cranky pants' mom asked me if i was sure that i wanted to stay and i answered that i was. i was here, so i might as well check it out. perhaps i could find something of what i was looking for in some distant, hidden corner of the reservation.i started with the cherokee museum and there i asked a nice, pretty native american girl about what i was looking for. she said there was nothing of the sort around, however, there was a really nice falls five or so miles from where we were at at the moment. i thanked her and decided that that was where i was going to go. i began my trek along a road and within a mile or so arrived at an elementary school where there was a basketball game going on. i decided that it'd be nice to see the kids play and perhaps see a little something about the way of life here.when i pulled up i noticed how the kids regarded me a little suspiciously and curiously. what was this guy with a huge pack doing here? where was he from and where was he going? i sat down, got myself a soda from inside and just observed. soon enough a bold little kid came up to me and asked me what i'm sure everyone else was interested in knowing. i answered him and we engaged in a nice conversation. he asked me what in the world i was carring in my big pack and i answered that that was something i myself would like to know. seeing the little guy's interest, i decided to indulge him and myself by showing him probably the single coolest thing that backpackers carry. my stove. he was amazed. i turned it on for him and explained exactly how it all worked, and even showed him the kind of food that i carried.we talked for a bit more and i played ball with the kid for a bit and then it was time to get going. i told the kid about my plans to check out mingo falls and he assured me that i was on the right road and that i only had a few more miles to go. i thanked him and headed out. back on the road.road walking is fine, but it's not the trail, and i desperately missed the trail after this walk. i wanted the AT. after a few miles i arrived at the parking area for the falls and went up. the falls was gorgeous and the sun was about to set so i decided that where better to catch the set than at the top of the falls. i began following a seldomly used, bushwacked trail and made my way up to the top. it was gorgeous. i sat down right at the side of the falls and caught the set all the while having thousands of gallons of water rush right beside me. it was powerful and as always happens when you're so close to such strength, i imagined what would happen if my 150 pound frame where swept up in that current and down that rock-strewn falls. ouch.dusk having arrived it was time to find a place to spend the night. i made it down to the parking lot and noticed an rv park just a couple hundred yards away. i wanted some companionship, someone to talk to, so i decided to take a walk in that direction. soon i happened on a lively group of people (and i mean budweiser and naty light liveley) and i decided that this suited me fine. they had a good campfire going on this chilly evening and they seemed friendly enough.i approached the folks humbly and introduced myself. soon enough i was invited to some beers and conversation. i met the owners of this particular rv, and you're gonna have to forgive me, but i can't positively remember their names, but i'm pretty sure the gentleman's name was james. i talked with james for a while, actually till late and he invited me to join them to some mcdonalds dinner. i was grateful. having eaten, drank and talked plenty, and late-night having arrived, we all decided to call it quits. jim offered his tarp pavillion to camp out under and i accepted.