Date: 2010-04-27
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Sam's Gap
Miles today: 40.0

First let me apologize for not responding to guest entries. To be frank, I barely know how to post my entries and haven¢t spent much time researching the site since my computer time comes at a high opportunity cost (Sorry about that, my inner economist was speaking¢a high opportunity cost basically means I have better things to do during my limited time in town). Second, the daily miles I am posting are obviously bogus. Instead I am posting the mileage between computer postings, and these are generally rough estimates in any case. Third¢¦there was supposed to be a third issue but I am a bit sleepy and can¢t seem to remember what it was. Maybe something about photographs, which I am endeavoring to upload to Flickr at the moment.   Before I leave the subject of photography, let me apologize in advance for my ineptitude. They say there are no wrong notes in jazz; please accept, for charity¢s sake, that there are no bad snaps in photographic art.Town gravity is strong with me and it was difficult to pull myself away from Hot Springs, especially considering that the Trail Fest party was beginning on the day I planned to hike out. As a result, I managed to get a ride to Allen Gap from Jacob of the Sunnybank Inn, then slackpacked back into Hot Springs. Thanks again, Jacob! It¢s always nice to slackpack into those river gorges rather than hike out of them with a fully loaded pack. I am a bit jaded to Mountain views, so the highlight of the trip was hiking over Mill Ridge and hearing the thick buzzing of many, many bumblebees. Honestly it was a bit disconcerting, and conjured up some frightening memories of The Swarm (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078350/ ). But once I saw they had no interest in me it was was pretty cool. I was pretty tired when I arrived back in Hot Springs and confess that I did not experience any of Trail Fest.The next day I got out early so that I could maximize my hitching opportunities, which in retrospect was unnecessary. Not only did I get a ride quite soon, I didn¢t do many miles¢only a five mile hike up to Little Laurel Shelter where I pitched my new tent in the backcountry for the first time and waited for a thunder shower to roll through. The tent, although much smaller than my old Eureka Rising Sun, held up very well and was easy to erect. It¢s a bit claustophobic from the inside, but didn¢t leak at all despite some heavy rain and strong winds. It also has a very nice vestibule for such a small tent and I¢ll be able to completely pack up from inside it once I work out a way to carry the tent on the outside of my backpack. In fact, this issue would be immediately solved if I simply stop carrying two sleeping pads (more on this anon).The next day began as an extremely buggy ascent of about 1000 feet. The climb itself was not terribly difficult but the bloody flies were suffocating.   People like to bring their dogs on the trail, I think I may start carrying a gecko or frog on my shoulder like a crazy pirate (crazy like a fox!). Two things of note on this day: the ridge walk south of the Jerry Cabin Shelter is stunning but very, very rocky; and there are an alarming number of graves along the trail in this section. The graves actually began just shy of Hot Springs¢one had the rather spooky epitaph ¢departed but not dead¢¢and have continued every few miles since then. I suppose this is a result of our proximity to private land in this section. Side note: the Flint Mt. Shelter, where I camped that night, has a memorial plaque for a hiker. At the risk of being too irreverent, when I die would it be possible to have a memorial plaque erected in a trail town motel room¢¦maybe room 20 of the Budget Inn of Franklin, NC?Rain, rain, rain. The next day was a bit wet. However, staying true to my goal of leisure hiking, and considering that 12 miles is a very comfortable hike for me, I planned in advance to do those miles and arrive a Sams Gap where I could hitchhike into Erwin, TN. Or so I thought. It turns out that there is not a great deal of traffic on that road and, despite a very high percentage of samaritans, the vehicles that stopped were not going to town. I ended up calling for a cab whose cost was split with Bigoo and Coopa. We are now in the Super 8 Motel, which is bulging with hikers by the way, taking a rest day and waiting for the rain to pass. I am also nursing what I believe can be safely called a shin splint, but I¢ll hike out gingerly tomorrow and hope the pain subsides. It¢s mostly uphill so I am optimistic.I arrived at Sams Gap, where I-26 passes over a state highway, alone but within 90 minutes was joined by eight other hikers. I mention this because the bridge provided excellent cover from the rain and none of us were moving from that spot except to town. Five got a ride in¢the three of us to Erwin and two section hikers to Uncle Johnny¢s Hostel¢while the other four camped under the bridge. I confess that I have never camped under a bridge, hobo style, and I¢m a bit chagrined to have passed on the opportunity. It would have have greatly enhanced the adventurous nature of thru-hiking, but the draw of a hot shower and greasy pizza was too strong. Dibs and Bimbo, two hearty adventurers, did take that opportunity and made a very cozy camp just under the expressway.   I hope it was a fun night guys, and bravo on the clothes line!I mentioned earlier the fact that I carry two sleeping pads and I know there may be some gram weenies out there ready to pounce. Honestly I cannot offer up much justification for this breach of sanity¢I¢ve been carrying a Ridgerest and Z-rest for 15 years now and just can¢t seem to break the habit. By weight I believe it puts me a couple of ounces beyond the full length of the top inflatable, insulated pads. But I really like the fact that I can go two deep when I sleep and double wide when I take trail side siestas.   In any case, it is not my only luxury item. I also carry a camp chair, or canoe chair, or something. I am not exactly sure what it¢s called but I¢ve had it since 1995 and it stays in the pack. I will not hike without a book and won¢t begrudge a few ounces more for a good book rather than pulp trash (although I did abandon David Foster Wallace¢s Infinite Jest at Elmer¢s ¢ it¢s laying next to a guitar in one of my photos) . I have had a fetish for maps since childhood and wouldn¢t think of hiking without one, even though they unnecessary on the AT. My greatest afront to lightweight hiking, however, must be the pack itself. I have been carrying a Gregory Massif for 15 years despite the fact that I have a much more sensible one at home ready to be mailed. At 6475 cubic inches, it is definitely overkill for the AT but has a very comfortable hip belt. In fact, it is an all around comfortable pack for me and I¢ll need it when I get my Baby Taylor (http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/Baby-Taylor/BT1/)!That¢s all for now. I¢m heading back to Sam¢s Gap tomorrow.Cheers.P.S. Well, if the shin splints do not subside I will likely go ultralight for a while. The notion is coming to me with considerable frequency¢pretty much every steep descent. I have the gear at home and suspect that I may buckle and use it. We¢ll see.