Date: 2016-05-09
From: Erwin, TN

To: Elizabethton, TN
Miles today: 111.6
Weather: broken clouds

It is time to catch up on my trail journal before leaving our trail angel's home in Elizabethton, TN. Kangapard and I were rescued from Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel on Friday, April 29th. We had awakened that morning to some guy vomiting and retching outside our cabin window. That was all it took for me, and I called a local motel to see if they had space. We were to stay at the hostel one more night, but neither one of us wanted to take a chance of a repeat of last night's fiasco, plus the shindig that was scheduled to begin late Friday. Crumpet was coming today to visit and she would move us over to the motel. On her way, she let me know that friends of hers were going to join us for breakfast, and she was hopeful they would be able to provide us with some type of trail magic. Just as I put my phone down, a couple appeared in our doorway and said "Hi, we're Sarah and Shane, and you are coming with us. Grab all your gear and get in the truck"!! I was so overtired and so grateful for this rescue, that I burst into tears! (very embarrassing, by the way). Doing as we were instructed, before they could get away, we quickly packed up and threw our stuff in their pickup truck just as Crumpet arrived. Off we all went to a local restaurant, Clarence's, that is well known for their biscuits and gravy. Hiker hunger has truly taken over and I had an immense breakfast. I don't know about the gravy, but I can say those biscuits are the best I have had here in the south!A plan was hatched over breakfast. They were going to take us home with them, and we would stay with them for the next 10 days. Each day they would drop us off at a trailhead, we would hike and then they would pick us back up where we finished. We spent the afternoon on their lovely back porch pouring over the AWOL guide and working up reasonable daily mileages, while enjoying the pond and waterfall and the many birds visiting the feeders. This plan allowed us to hike longer miles carrying just a small daypack, a huge relief after lugging around 30 pounds. Saturday dawned with the drill sergeant hollering "load 'em up" and off we went for day 1, miles hiked: 13.0. It was a rainy day, but pleasant hiking without worrying about gear getting wet and setting up in the rain. What a luxury to return to a warm, dry house each night, jump into a hot tub and do more bird watching! I could get used to this. Sunday was a shorter day, 8.5 miles, again rainy. I am getting to enjoy hiking in the rain. Monday was tough. It was a 16.1 miler, my longest yet. The trail here in TN are really nice. Good footing, well maintained and not overly strenuous. It is a wonderful change and I am beginning to revive and gain hope. Maybe I can do this after all! I was extremely sore and tired when we finished and wanted nothing more than a day off, but nope, not allowed!! Tuesday was a short one, for recovery from the previous day, and we did 6.5 and were done before noon! Wednesday 11.8 miles went by fast as well. Where is all this speed coming from? It doesn't hurt anymore. My legs seem to know what to do without a lot of effort from me, so I am just along for the ride and begin to daydream as I hike. Thursday rolled around, and oh no, not another 16 miler. Sigh. Out we go, and are done in 9 hours. Friday's hike was 14.8, Saturday 10.4 and Sunday was Mother's Day, and I got to take a day off! It was wonderful to sleep in a little and just sit on the porch birdwatching with my feet up, and a cat in my lap. We are enjoying ourselves way too much, and I am sure our host is growing concerned that we are putting down roots! Monday rolls around and it's back to work, our final day of slack packing, and we complete 14.7 miles in record setting time. Total mileage slack packed these 9 days of hiking= 111.6 miles. Wow! When we return to the trail, we will be just 15 miles south of Damascus, VA.There were many highlights to these 9 days. The hiking was actually enjoyable. I think I like TN the best so far and would recommend it to anyone, especially those starting out as newbies. The views were always incredible. We went over many balds that took some serious effort to climb, but were well worth the views. The day we did Roan High Knob, it was 30 degrees and the wind was howling. Snow covered the top, and the pine branches were loaded with icy snow. It looked like a winter wonderland, and being that wonders never cease, we didn't have to sleep out there in the cold like the rest of the hikers!! Climbing Jane Bald, we could see all the way to Watauga Lake and dam area, of which we had hiked the perimeter one day. There are many waterfalls in this stretch and thankfully we hiked those stretches in good weather, seeing Laurel Fork falls and Jones falls. I had lunch at the iconic Overmountain Shelter, an old restored barn, watching other hikers, looking like little ants (so high and far away) climb Little Hump and Big Hump (more balds) before I took my turn. That was hard work and the wind was so strong up there that it almost blew me over sideways.Another delightful aspect of slack packing was that each day we went in a different direction, totally confusing my family and friends following my tracking device. Some days we headed north, other days we went south. Our direction for the day was decided by the elevation changes, as we both prefer to get the hard climbing over with in the mornings. It was so nice to have a choice! This reversal of direction also meant that we were running into different groups of hikers each day that we know. It was fun to chat and catch up and on one morning I carried extra tangerines to hand out to friends I knew I would be passing by that day, a little trail magic, compliments of our host Sarah!Our slack packing has come to an end,and tomorrow we take a zero to do laundry and work on reorganizing our packs. Words cannot express how grateful and thankful I am to Sarah and Shane for this wonderful opportunity to rest while still gaining mileage. Hiking longer mileage than I was used to conditioned my legs and lungs without the added weight of a pack. I feel fitter than ever. It was also a much needed mental break, and I have reset my attitude. I now know that I can do this, and I will finish this hike.