Date: 2017-09-20
From: Crazy Larry's Hostel

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: few clouds

I got up when I woke up, around 5 a.m., and I started getting my stuff organized, final packing. Around 7 a.m. Wesley and I walked over to the mojo cafe, and we had breakfast there. After, we said goodbye, then he got a shuttle ride from the folks next door at and Outfitters. Then I walked back to Larry's and checked out. Next stop was the post office just after it opened at 8:30 a.m. where I mailed myself some of the excess items from my backpack that I didn't need anymore, like my bug net and so forth. Afterwards, I followed the white blazes through and out of town to the south. I took a picture of the town park near the point where the trail exits town to the south. Then, at about 9 a.m. I followed the trail between two houses and up into the woods, and I headed south again, solo.Oh, last night while Wesley and I were relaxing on Larry's porch, through hiker "Lost" walked by. We chatted with her for a while. (Picture)At about 10 a.m. I reached the Virginia/Tennessee border. (Picture) and arrived at the Abingdon Gap shelter at about 12:20. I stopped and had a quick lunch.I kept hiking. It was a pleasant day, sunny and cool. The terrain was relatively gentle. I arrived at the double springs shelter at about 4:15 p.m. I had passed a man and two women probably in their 60s, while I was on the way up the last climb to that shelter. They arrived there about 15 minutes later. Already there was also a couple, probably in their 50's. The man told me where to find water, and I filled all my remaining bottles. Both of these other groups were short section hikers, and they wanted to use their tent rather than stay in the shelter. I decided to keep going for a little while before stopping for the day. So I continued southward again at about 4:45 p.m.About 5:30 I came to a high pasture with nice views of the surrounding countryside to the south east. (Pictures) After I continued through these fields, I crossed the road and reentered the woods. I could not decide if I wanted to camp or continue hiking to the Iron Mountain shelter. However, as it approached 6 p.m. I realized it would be dark before I arrived at the shelter, & I decided that it would be better to make and eat my dinner here where I was on the trail presently rather than to generate the smell of cooked food near where I might camp alone. The latter may invite animals to investigate. So, I stopped to sit on a large log and made my dinner and ate it. I could not find my bic lighter, so I used my fire starter necklace to create sparks with which I lit my jet boil stove. Eating my dinner also served to lighten my heavy food bag. I also consumed a litre of water in the process, and I decided to carry two liters as I hiked further.  I passed some spots that I thought might make good camping. But either I just didn't feel it, or I saw dead trees and or dead branches overhanging the camp spots. So each time, I decided to keep going. I still had four more miles to hike to get to the Iron Mountain shelter. At dinner, I had taken out my headlamp and a spare set of batteries and prepared them for use in case I would need them.About 730 p.m. I passed a monument to a local hermit named Nick Grindstaff.It indicated that he had died in 1923 and I think the inscription at the bottom of the monument read "he lived alone, suffered alone, and died alone."Arrived at Iron Mountain shelter about 8 p.m.  Two guys there: M16 and Mage. Dreamcatcher and Lobo had been here earlier, and DC gave them their trail names. The former was about to rejoin the active Army as an Infantryman, and had been a reserve MP. He had deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 with 1st Infantry Division. The latter was so named because he was carefully tending a campfire.They moved some bags so I could fit in the shelter, and I quickly unpacked, hung my bear bag, and got ready for bed. M16 fell asleep as I was finishing setting my stuff up. Mage stayed up and continued to tend the fire.