Date: 2013-06-23
From: Tripoli campsite

To: Jail House Hostel, Palmertown
Miles today: 12.8

BB and Flow had been told that the minute they left the Tripoli Campsite the trail turned to hell. Bag o' Tricks wasn't far off and we were soon stumbling on rocks again. We had to climb along the Knife's Edge, a tumble of boulders, many upended and promising grevious injury for anyone falling the 30 or 40 feet to the rocks below. I moved very slowly and didn't see Dirtdog when his hiking stick got wedged between two rocks and nearly knocked him off his feet when it sprang back and hit him in the chest. At the end of this passage his eyes were like saucers and we both had some thank-you-God prayers to say. I can't believe that my trek through here in '04 didn't leave a memory. However, just a few miles further on, I did remember, not fondly, being on Bake Oven Knob and getting stuck on the rocks. DirtDog climbed higher than I and had more trouble while I moved on a lower track. He was vehement that it was crazy to take people over the top when there was a path down below, but it is an area maintained by a climbing club and they are showing off their prize views. The views were huge, but I much prefer a safer route. We passed people tenting around Bear Rocks, including a climber's tent hung halfway up the rocks, and were happy that we were able to just walk past this area. At the Bake Oven Shelter we met Vagabond, a 70 year old woman we had met at the base of Shuckstack Mountain going into the Smokies. She related that she had fallen off the Knob right in front of Caboose and Sassafrass, but they weren't able to catch her. She landed on her pack and attributed her lack of injury to angels! Water here was dripping slowly from a pipe so it took a while to refill and cool off. About 2 1/2 miles further on we ran into trail magic at a road to a TV tower. We were cheered that people would do such kindnesses for strangers and had apples and snacks and replenished our water, something we really needed on this hot day. Along the open ridge we snagged some of the ripe blueberries and had to show a different Caboose what they looked like so he could try them. We left him picking them and may never see him again. There was a huge pile of bear scat here indicating that these little gems have been discovered by more than hikers. At the George Outerbridge Shelter we spent some time with Caboose, learning that we had met him way back in Georgia, and then we moved on to the descent into Palmertown. The route into town is either dangerous along a high-speed highway with no shoulders or over a long and complicated route involving bushwacking and neither seemed like an attractive option, so we stuck our thumbs out and soon had a ride in the back of a very rusty truck while being entertained by a friendly local couple. They took us right to jail! The free hostel in town is in the town's old jail basement and it was cool and roomy. We were soon registered at the Police Department, settled with bunks and went across the street to do laundry and then up the road to have lunch at the Palmertown Hotel. What a hot day! The thermometer in front of the bank fluctuated between 98 and 107 degrees and there wasn't a soul on the streets but us. At dinnertime most of the hikers returned to the Hotel for a long and pleasant meal. BB then offered to buy all of us an ice cream cone; we were the last customers of the night and were on our way back to the hostel when we saw that there was a band in the gazebo in the town park. There must have been more than 100 folks enjoying a truly good band and we sat to watch. It didn't take long before we were having fun and a local woman came over and got us all up and dancing. We circled the park and the gazebo while the band continued with song after song. We were making fools of ourselves and using all kinds of energy hikers NEVER do, but I can't remember ever having more fun! We later learned that King James and the Showmen were all high school teachers that had played together for years in venues like Atlantic City and New York and that this was their last performance as a band. It was wonderful! Sleeping in the crowded hostel was great because there was a large fan that provided the white noise to drown out all the rustlings and sounds of sleeping people.