Date: 2015-04-13
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Campsite beside USFS 230
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: clear sky

Today I had plans to shower, do laundry, and add a bit to my food supply at Uncle Johnny's, in order to make it till Saturday. I have a friend that is planning to hike with me for a few days over next weekend so I want to put in some higher mileage days this week so that I am close to Damascus, VA by Saturday.I was on the trail at daybreak and walked the six miles downhill to Uncle Johnny's Hostel in short order. I started out alone but 10-Speed caught up to me just before I got to the hostel. When I asked about a shower and laundry I was told I can't use the washers before 2:00 because they need them to do all their bedding first. I checked out the food selection they had and was a bit disappointed by the limited selection. They told me I can take their shuttle to Erwin at 12:00 if I want to wait that long. I decided to take a shower while I thought about it. As I showered I decided to just do my laundry in the sink of the shower house. I threw my dirty clothes that I had been wearing on the floor of the shower and smooshed them around a bit as I showered to get some of the crud washed out. After I was done showering I washed them in the sink with shampoo as laundry detergent. It worked quite well. I put the wet shorts back on, since those are the only one I have with pockets, and put on a clean shirt, briefs, and socks. I hung my stuff on the railing to dry and decided to join 10-Speed, Ginger-T, and Samson to Erwin, which is about two miles away, for a resupply and an all you can eat pizza lunch.We left our backpacks, or rucksacks as Ginger-T calls them, and tried to hitch a ride as we walked the two miles but were unsuccessful. Just before we left Uncle Johnny's we watched as two girls and a dog got a hitch before they even went a hundred yards. We decided it must have been the fact that they were wearing shorter shorts than we were. Maybe we have to get some shorty short running shorts to wear when we need a hitch...then again, maybe not.We walked to Pizza Plus and all ordered the $6.99 pizza, salad, and dessert buffet with free drinks. I'm sure they didn't make any money on us, but they seemed to welcome us with open arms. I don't get it. It was almost as if they had some kind of bet going on in the back to see how many slices of pizza us four famished hikers could put away. I felt bad for the establishment, so I left a $2.00 tip to help even the score.After lunch we shopped at an IGA market then walked back to the hostel. By the time I had all my stuff packed up it was 2:00. I needed to put a lot of miles on yet to stay on schedule so I said my goodbyes and left. We all planned to meet up in Damascus next weekent.It was a pleasant, quiet walk till around 4:30 then it seemed as if a front rolled in. It got colder as the wind picked up and a heavy mist rolled in as I was gaining elevation. I found a decent campsite by a stream around 6:30 and started setting up my tent. I barely had my tent set up when I heard someone coming up the trail, and here it was 10-Speed. He said it seemed too early to stay at the shelter he was planning to, so he just kept going. I'm glad to have some company for the night.