Date: 2017-09-22
From: Boots Off Hostel

To: Mountaineer Falls Shelter
Miles today: 24.4
Weather: clear sky

There were several other hikers at the Boots Off Hostel yesterday and last night. This included section hiker Trail Stormer, as well as Sauce, whom I had met before I arrived in Damascus, and Flip. Flip and Sauce knew each other from the northbound part of their flip flop hikes. They had both started in May. But after reaching Katahdin, Sauce had gone to Harpers Ferry to hike south whereas flip went to Springer Mountain to hike north and here, near Hampton Tennessee at the Boots Off Hostile was where they crossed paths again. There were also several assistants at the hostel besides the owner, Jim. This included Glen, who appeared to be the one doing most of the building and mechanical work, hiker Jesus who was painting a large wall-sized mural of a view of a starry sky, and another individual whose name I did not get. The hostel itself was a residence with a common area including kitchen, charging stations and a large deck and fire pit on the back of it. There was a separate bunkhouse with room for 8 people and two separate cabins with room for 4 people each. In the shower building there were two showers constructed of buckets one would fill with mixed amounts of hot and cold water which then falls like rain - very nice! There was yet another separate building which looked like a privy but was actually a fully equipped 2-stall bathroom. In addition, the hostel business also operates as a campground with acres of primitive camping area.I got up around 6 a.m., & I got my stuff together and moved it from the bunkhouse to the common area of the boots off hostel. There I finished packing up and enjoyed the complimentary breakfast, including 3 cups of coffee. The owner, Jim, was about to shuttle section hiker  Trail Stormer to a trailhead. So, I took a picture with Jim before he left. I then talked to his assistant, Glen, for a while about his former experience as a director of information technology operations for a large financial firm. Then I headed out for the day. I was on the trail shortly before 8 a.m.As I mentioned yesterday, my stop at the Boots Off Hostel was unplanned. I had really not needed any additional supplies, so I didn't get any. However, I did need the rest and I enjoyed that. My plan now was to take two days to reach the town of Roan Mountain. Tonight I hoped to reach the Mooreland shelter which would essentially split the 32 mile total distance in half. Then the following day after reaching the next town, I would stay at the Doe River hostel, and resupply with enough stuff to get me the next 50 miles to Erwin Tennessee where I would make my next resupply stop.The first 3 miles of today's hike was a relatively easy climb of Pond Mountain. There were no views, as the trail was essentially a green tunnel, and the sky was completely blocked by fog and cloud. However it was relatively nice hiking conditions because it was cool and the trail was dry. By about 9 a.m. I was over the top of the first climb and on the way down. By 9:30 I began to hear the sound of rushing water coming from the valley below. By 10 a.m. the fog had burned off and a sunny, gorgeous day was unfolding. The trailhead become rock here as it switched back and forth across a steep slope in order to maintain a gradual grade for hiking. I was able to take some pictures through the trees of the steep hills on the opposite side of the valley. Sometime before 10:30 the trail flattened out and went along a beautiful stream for several hundred yards and then crossed it on a nice wooden bridge. (Picture) On the other side of the bridge, the trail continued to follow the water upstream for a few hundred yards and then it crossed back over this stream on a similar foot bridge and again continued upstream.Around 10:40 a.m. I came to the fork in the trail. The left branch would go to the Laurel Fork shelter and the high water bypass around Laurel Fork Falls. The right branch would visit the falls and was the continuing route of the Appalachian Trail. So, because I had no reason to visit the shelter or bypass the falls, I went to the right.Around 11 o'clock, I reached Laurel Fork Falls itself. There were several day hikers here already. Like them, I stopped and took a break here. I sat on a log and ate a snack, as I watched the water cascade over the tall rock wall. (Picture) Then I continued hiking, and the trail became a steep staircase of large rocks. I climbed upward. Shortly after that, maybe 15 minutes, the trail leveled back out somewhat to a more gradual grade above the falls.The trail then proceeded through the ravine parallel to the path of the creek that feeds the falls. Is a beautiful day with amazing scenery. I took several pictures. Around noon I crossed a road and began the second major climb of the day. I reached the top of that around 1 p.m. About this time I was remembering that yesterday Flip had warned me about Yellow Jackets that had hurt him badly with about a half dozen stings on both legs, about 3 miles this side of the falls and shelter. Just as I reached for my phone to check the distance, I was stung in the back of my right leg. After brushing away whatever it was that had stung me, I hiked a little further and then stopped and checked and sure enough I was exactly 3 miles from the next shelter. I put my phone away and continued carefully.After another half mile without incident I reached an  open field that had been recently mowed. It appeared this was a camping area. There was a sign indicating a water source nearby, but I decided to continue. Shortly after that, however, I saw an unmarked trail leading off to the left to what appeared to be a water source, & I decided I should fill up one more bottle before continuing because there would be no more reliable water between here and the shelter. I wasn't sure if I would stop at the shelter because it looked like it was going to be prior to 3 p.m. when I got there, and there was abundant water beyond the shelter. Having had a hard time finding water on a couple of previous occasions, I opted for the more conservative approach and stopped and filtered 1 liter.I reached the Moreland shelter just before 2:30 p.m. I had not been hurrying or pushing hard all day long, I just got here sooner than anticipated. So I decided to keep going, again not sure how far. About 3:45 I crossed what my guide book called Hardcore Cascades. To me, it looked like a nice stream and water source. I didn't need water though.Kept going.  Arrived Mountaineer shelter about 6 p.m. and had shelter to myself. Got water, washed up, made dinner, got ready for bed. Tried to scare away the mice and the bears.