Date: 2008-04-11
From: Holiday Motor Lodge (Pearisburg

To: Hoiday Motor Lodge (Pearisburg)
Miles today: 0.0

So this is my zero day. Instead of telling you what I did throughout the day, I'll just give you a breif rundown and then tell you a story about how Team Deutschmark came together or at least how I remember it. Ok today I did laundry, had breakfast at the coffee shop and went to Wal-Mart. I picked up supplies, foot care and a thing I like to call my Fat Pad. It simulates fat on a skinny person like me. It¢s a thick yoga mat that I cut up to go around my waist and shoulders. This relieves the pressure points I've been having problems with. Just to let you know patent is pending on this invention. All right now onto the story. I'll start out with how I meet everyone and how we came together. It was the first real day of hiking and I stopped at hawk mountain shelter for water and lunch. While I was enjoying my lunch a hiker came to the shelter and started a conversation. He told me about how he found an ammo bag with blanks rounds inside. He said rangers did training in the area. I introduced myself as Stovie and he said he didn't have a trail name yet and to call him Kabir. I said ok, thinking I'll never see this guy again. I packed up and headed up the trail. The next day I made it to Blood Mtn shelter and I meet two hikers named Kanati and Fester. Kanati was a talkative man but Fester was not. Kanati told me he used to do a lot of driving in Ohio for work and he was familiar with some of the areas up there. He told me he even remembers the big tornado over in Xenia, Ohio. Later, before we got ready for bed, we had a great ideal to stop the wind from coming into the window of the shelter. I would use my tyvek ground cloth to block the wind. We used some rocks and a broom to hold it in place. I was proud of myself on how good I blocked the window. Later that night the wind started whipping and the tyvek wasn't tight enough and it made a cracking sound every time wind blow through. Twice Kanati got up to try to fix it but to no avail. I even try to fix it but was unable. It kept us up all night. I also saw firsthand how unafraid the mice are of us, by jumping on Kanati's head. It took me awhile to get use to the mice. The next morning Kanati and Fester left for Neel¢s Gap before I did. A little was down I stopped to adjust my pack when I saw Fester come up behind me. I wondered how I got in front of him. He said he missed the white blaze and went down another trail before he realized it. In hindsight I guess that wouldn't be the last time for either one of us. When I got to Neel¢s Gap Outfitter I did a shakedown of my gear and I was there for a long time. Before I left I saw Kabir who is now known as Bad Hummus because so Wal-Mart brand Hummus didn't agree with him. While I was taping up some blisters I me a hiker named Todd. He said he didn't have trail name yet but I assured him he would get one. When I left Neel¢s Gap I wouldn't see them again until Hiawassee. When I stayed at cloud 9 I saw Kanati and Bad Hummus again. They showed up in the afternoon and I was surprised to see them. We did hang out much then but we knew we like each other and that¢s a start. I left late the next morning and I didn't catch up to Fester and Todd until the NC/GA border. They were taking a break and Fester was getting water. I was going to get water to but Fester said it wasn't much of a water source and it was down a steep hill. So I pressed on in front of them hoping to get water at the shelter. I remember the Mtn up to the shelter was a monster with switchbacks. I guess if I climbed it now I'd think it was nothing. Who knows? When I got to Muskrat Creek Shelter I saw Kanati and Bad Hummus waiting. I remember thinking it nice to see some familiar faces. A little later Todd and Fester showed up. That would be it for the night and that's where Team Deutschmark was born. Now I can tell you how we got the name it a gang secret I'll take to the grave. We had some much fun that night, tell stories around the fire, ones that I could never repeat and just acting like adolescent. We had some good laughs. We tried to hang a bear line but it turned out to be more like a mouse line. We tried really hard but we're still new at it and it will take some time to hone our skills. Later that night when we were getting ready to go to sleep and they told me that Bad Hummus was a cuddlier and to watch out. At first I was a little freaked out but I guess if it real cold it would be so bad. You know what happen on the A.T. stays on the A.T. Just kidding no cuddling went on except with the mice. For the next couple of day we stuck together, meeting up at Carter's Gap shelter the next day. Bad Hummus, Todd, and I got to the shelter together. There were 4 hikers already there and it was only a 6 person shelter. When Fester and Kanati got there the team decided to sleep on a platform underneath the shelter. At first I was going to do it but they talked me into after Kanati built a barricade to stop the mice from coming down. While we were getting ready for dinner another hiker showed up. His named was Red Ranger. He said he thru hiked in '06 and he was doing a section hike this year. He was a little quiet, but we would meet him and get to know him better the further we got along the trail. When we actually got ready to go to sleep we realized that it was extremely cramped and short. So short in fact that my feet were hanging off. Kanati hit his head several time and I think the rest of use hit them at least once. We had lots of fun down there I'm glad I got to experience the basement. This was the night I found out that one of use a pee jug. I won't tell you who but I think it's an awesome idea as long as you don't forget which one is your pee jug. We hiked together again the next day into Franklin. It was snowing that day and we pretty much stuck together the whole day. When we got to the parking area on the road to Franklin we saw Red Ranger. He said he called Ron Haven, the owner of Budget Inn, and he would be here soon. So we waited in the parking area. I was cold so I kept moving to stay warm. Bad Hummus said I look like a shark and if I stopped moving I would die. He called me Stovie Shark. You know he probably right. When I'm cold the only way I can stay warm is to keep moving. Well Ron came by and picked us up and Kanati and Bad Hummus stayed in one room and Fester, Todd and I stayed in another. Later that night we all went out to an all you can eat Chinese restaurant with Mongolian grill. A Mongolian grill is where you pick out your raw meat and vegetable put them in a bowl hand it to the cook and he fry's it up right in front of you. We ate like pig that night and we left the restaurant satisfied. The next day Kanati, bad Hummus, and Todd left for the trail while Fester and I put in a zero day. This would be the last time Team Deutschemark would be together. For as short of a time we were together it felt like we were friend for so much long. I'm happy I got to know these guys and I hope to see them all in the future. Go Team Deutschemark.