Date: 2005-01-20
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Originally I planned on spending just one night at the NOC. But last night I gave Jeff and Nancy Hoch a call at the Fontana Hiker Hotel. My plans were to get there on Saturday and spend part of Sunday at the library (updating Trail Journals) in Robbinsville (where they shuttle you). Turns out the library is closed on Sunday (dummy me) so I told them I would arrive instead on Sunday and do the library on Monday.Nancy updated me on a number of things. Said she had been speaking to Dan Bruce ("Wingfoot") and learned he may be unable to do his "20-year" thru-hike he had planned to start in a month or so. It was flattering to hear that Wingfoot knew who I was and had mentioned me to Nancy. Hopefully, in a good light! So, I'll spend a second night (tonight) at the NOC and get to Jeff & Nancy's on Sunday evening.Here is the latest news on the status of the 2005 NOBO hikers:ALPHA has ended his hike.Heidi (HYDRO) is so far ahead of everyone else it isn't even funny. She just took her first zero day in Hot Springs.KAL & HERCULES are about two days ahead of me - should be getting ready to start the Smokey's this weekend.Andy has opted to get off the trail for a while but says he will return.BLUEVIST (who is adament that she is not thru-hiking) was last heard from back at Hiawassee deciding what she wanted to do.JAWS - well, I'd hoped to delay starting the Smokey's until we got some snow, but that may not be possible.For those of you who plan on staying at the NOC - be advised that none of the restaurants will be open until March 1st. The Outfitter store is open daily from 8am to 5pm. Their gear selection is greatly reduced from what they had last April - they said they haven't stocked for the season yet. Everything in the bathrooms; the washer & dryer; and the kitchen prep areas worked fine. Bunk rooms were nice and warm. As might be expected, their hiker box was pretty empty. I went into their Outfitter store and looked at their stoves. I decided to try their Etowah Alcohol Stove. It is made by a local company and I've seen other hikers use them in the past. It consists of a small metal can with lid; some wicking material inside; an outer perforated can that serves as a wind shield; and two pieces of aluminum bar that have cuts allowing them to fit together as a pot support. I bought this stove because I finally gave up on using my Vargo Titanium Alcohol stove. The Vargo is the stove that a number of hikers have complained about - you had to use an excessive amount of fuel to prime the stove. Overall, I liked the stove and it heated well. But you just could never recover very well the excess alcohol that was not burned. Worse, the design of the stove required putting more fuel than you needed to heat water just to get the stove primed and operating. That meant carrying more fuel than you intended.The Etowah stove costs $20. Yes, I can hear some of you saying "you should have made your own and saved the money." But I like that the Etowah is completely accessible - you can definitely recover any unused fuel. I've tested it a couple of times and it worked very well. The only drawback I can see right now - the two aluminum bars that serve as a pot support - they are a bit heavy. Maybe I'll think of an alternative pot support down the road.Oh - I forgot to mention that the NOC Outfitter store does have denatured alcohol for sale - I think their price was 20 cents per ounce.****** This bit of info is way out of chronological order - but I wanted to share it with you. If you stay at the Hiawassee Inn, they will charge you an extra $5 for a shuttle back to the trail UNLESS you return at whatever their standard time in the morning is (think it was around 8:30 or 9am). ****** Also, when I got my hitch into Franklin, we drove by the Rainbow Springs Campground. They had their normal "CLOSED" signs up (as to be expected this time of the year) but no indication if they were indeed out of business for good (as everyone has been reporting). For those of you starting in March, you might want to give them a call just in case - but I do believe they have closed down for good.Okay - back to the present. I got a ride today into Bryson City and am sitting at the library right now, updating Trail Journals. In case any of you do the same, there is a pretty good Chinese Buffet called "Yummy's" across the street.I had hoped to upload all of my pictures today - but left my memory card back at the NOC with my other gear. I'll try to get the photos uploaded on Monday when I'm at the library in Robbinsville.Does it seem to any of you like I'm spending more time at the library(ies) instead of hiking on the trail? It's just that I wanted to get everything updated as much as possible before starting the Smokey's. Best wishes everyone. Remember, my new email address is "Mark_Jaws_Ogle@yahoo.com"