Date: 2007-11-19
To: "YDG's" House, Liverpool, PA
Miles today: 0.0

September 2004: I had just driven up to NewFoundLand and spent a month or so and had the time of my life. I actually got "Screeched In"(a whole other story) while I was there. I then drove back and parked my jeep at Kincora Hostel at Dennis Cove, TN. This was the hiked where I hiked from here down south to Amicalola Falls, Ga and was hiking back. And then yall remember: I got snowed out after spending 5 days at the Mt Collins Shelter in THe Smokies. So you already know how it ends; this is how it started. It was raining pretty hard and I had already been at Kincora for 2 days and I needed to get going. Bob People's, the proprietor, said, "yeah, it's raining; but it is not a cold rain." I thought to myself that it would not be too bad because it was only 5.6 miles. I got going and it took me from noon until an hour after dark to get up to The Moreland Gap Shelter, TN. I had actually stopped and given up about 100 yards from the shelter. It was pouring something "fearous"(furious, since, I am hiking in the south; I will put some southern twang in the text) and I had my tarp over my pack and I. I thought that I would just have to camp here. I put my headlamp on and looked south and saw a reflection from my light. I walked down to the reflection and saw it was the shelter! So I went and got my pack and went back to the shelter. Good thing that I did because hurricane FRANCIS was coming through and it poured for 3 more days. I had this first night to myself. The next night a SOBO from 2003 came in, "Freeman(AT 2003 SOBO, 2004 NOBO)". This guy was quite a character. He had recently "found the lord." He was from Maine and one day; the lord said to him, "hike south on the AT and then hike back; and then ill give you a ministry." That night, I got quite a preachin' too. He said that he had hiked down to The Bartram Trail on the AT and followed the Bartram just north of Franklin, NC. And he just stayed there to winter over. He was involved in a local church. He was just out doing a short hike to stay in shape. He saud that he was hiking back in the spring. He left and the next day in the driving rain about 10 guys from THE Oak Ridge nuclear power plant came in. They were doing a section. They used to always hike a trail to a fly fishin' spot; but recently heard of the AT and now were piecing it together. They had went over Big Hump in the teeth of the storm and they looked it. They did not know that there had been a recent extension/relocation(relo) of the trail in the area to get the trail off of roads in the Buck Hollow area. It added about 8 miles of trail and along with the storm, it took them by surprise. They had guys they camped all along the trail last night and were not sure who was OK and who was not. Most of the guys were 50 years plus; but, were all real "troopers". All ten of them showed up one by one and each told their story of survival. I told them about Kincora. They did not have a thru hiker's guide; so, they did not know about it. The last one to show up was the youngest guy in his late 20's and a member of the nuclear security team. I made a crack about being careful about what we say. He did not think that was too funny. So the next day, the storm abated and I got to hiking south. Hiking south just feels so dirty(that's a NOBO, SOBO joke). It took me 7 days to get over to The OverMountain Shelter, TN. It was great weather. When these big hurricanes come through, they take all the weather with them for weeks. I got to the shelter which is in a beautiful spot between Grassy Bald(6000ft) and Little Hump Bald(5500ft). The shelter is about 4500 feet and looks down into a beautiful agrarian valley. I cooked my meal on the lower porch watching falcons dive down. I thought this was a good place to sleep and went to sleep watching the sun go down. I woke up in the middle of the night with fog and rain pouring in on me. I got my stuff together and went upstairs in the loft. This shelter is an old, big tobacco barn. There are gaps between the exterior boards that used to allow the hanging, drying tobacco to vent. It now lets the rain and wind zip right in. It was not too bad. I just went to one corner and put me tarp up and got into my bivy sack. The next day it rained hard all day and there was winds around 50 mph sustained and gusts of 70 mph plus. The old barn would rock back and forth. It was good those gaps were in the boards or it would have blown away. Around 3pm an one armed guy came in. I was surprised because it was terrible conditions. I could hear trees falling all around. He was dressed in jeans and hunting boots and an old external framed back. He looked out of place. He asked me, "have you seen the town?" I said, "what town are you looking for?" He said there is supposed to be one around here. I told him that if he went down north for about 8 miles he could get to 19E and go right or left to a town. He then asked if I had a can opener. He said he was going to have a treat and eat a can of soup. I gave him my P-38 can opener & he soon came back saying that he could not get it to work. The P-38 is a two handed tool. I opened the can for him. Now, I want yall to know that I am not making fun of him, Im just telling yall what happened. I did not hear anything from him for awhile and I went to see what was up with him and there he was: wrapped up in trash bags, laying right in the storm on the downstairs porch. I went back upstairs and was just about asleep when another hiker came in, "Tex"(AT 2003). He was out doing a short trek. I asked him if he saw the guy downstairs laying in the rain? He said there was no one down there! I couldnt believe it. I went down there and he was right, he was gone. Hw was going to do the 8 miles to 19E through this storm over Little Hump and Big Hump! Around morning the storm's wind shifted out of the north and blew right into the old up level barn door. The temperature also dropped about 20 degrees. It was now about 35 degrees with 50 mph winds. I just stayed in my bivy sack all day. Tex went out into the storm and around dusk in came "The Lost Cowboy". He had hiked down south from Harper's Ferry. I told him that he was crazy for being out in that mess and asked if he had seen a one armed man? He said that he had. He came in around midnight at the Apple House Shelter, TN. He told me that this was hurricane IVAN. He said that it was a rare storm because it's eye has stayed intact over land. I said I have been here and it has rained for nearly three days and the winds have come hard from several direcions. The next day was a very difficult hike up To Roan Mtn Shelter, Tn. It is only about 5.5 miles; but, there were so many blow downs that it took all day. Even for "Grey Ghost"(AT 2004). He spent 3 days in The Stan Murray Shelter, TN waiting out the storm and only did 3 miles from there to Roan Mtn Shelter. The next 33 miles into Erwin, Tn were some of the hardest hiking that I have ever done. I was still getting into shape; but, there were 1000's of blow downs, especially on the NE side of Unake Mtn. It was so bad that Lost Cowboy went home. When I got to "Uncle Johnny's" Hostel, I had lost 20 ponds in 20 days! I then had another hurricane in the Big Bald Shelter, Tn. This time it was Jeane. I then had Michael or Matthew in the Smokies. It was an incredible fall with 4 hurricanes. All the streams and rivers were flowing higher than I had ever seen. I had some guides tell me that during Ivan and several days after the storm that the Nolichucky River, French Broad River, and Nantahala River were all unnavigatable. That was unheard of, especially for those nutty kayakers. The people in The Franklin, NC area will remember that whole sides of mountains came down. I saw one section just north of Wayah Bald, NC where the trail for a mile had slide down into the valley. It is now "Relod". I heard in surrounding counties that around 50 people had died. And the worst story was of a poor emergensy responder who went out to help others in the storm and came back home and his house had slide down the mountain with his whole family inside.