Date: 2018-04-05
From: Stealth Site - vicinity Sugarloaf Gap

To: Street Gap - NatureÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Inn Hostel
Miles today: 9.3

We were awakened around 6:30 by two owls avidly discussing their daily plans, but we didn¢t get moving until a little after 7:00. We had decided the night before that we would get an early start in order to get to our pickup spot at Sam¢s Gap by a local hostel owner, We opted for protein bars for breakfast to speed up the morning routine. That turned out to be a mistake. We had a pretty good climb, followed by a short descent, followed by another sizable climb. Protein bars are great, but they just don¢t do what a nice hot meal can do for you. We even resorted to popping Skittles to get us up the second big climb. The sun was shining brightly and even though the temperatures were cool, we were shedding layers early to try and keep the sweating under control.  We knew we would have two really tough days on Friday and Saturday to get us into Erwin, hopefully before the next round of bad weather hit, so I asked Next Step to pull out the trail guide before our last climb. I was trying to see if there was any way that we could try and add a few miles to our hike to put us in a better position for our hike into Erwin. We happily noticed on the guide that our hostel made another pickup about 2.5 miles past our original pickup point. Perfect! It doesn¢t sound like a lot, but when you know it¢s going to be some hard ascents and descents, 2.5 miles less of hiking than you planned can make a big difference! The only problem was that the fuel from our protein bars had already run out and we were hiking slower than sloths wading through molasses. But just like that, an angel was just around the corner! As soon as we started to cross the highway at Sam¢s Gap to start our extra miles, we saw a sign that said, ¢Uphill, scrambled eggs and hash browns, sodas, oranges, etc.¢ What is the one thing that will cause a hiker to hike UP a hill that is not on the AT?!?! Food!!!! We couldn¢t get up that steep hill fast enough!!! There was an older gentleman waiting for us with his propane stove ready to go. Two other hikers had just finished their treat and were headed out. Buckeye, another hiker we just met, had just arrived as well. ¢Do you like eggs?¢ the older man asked. ¢YES!!!¢ we all three responded in perfect unison. Next Step asked him his name. ¢Paul.¢ He then asked if Paul had previously hiked the trail. ¢Yes, in 2007.¢ ¢What was your trail name?¢ asked Next Step. ¢Quiet Paul.¢ Fit him like a glove. However, he might not have been a man of many words, but his generosity spoke volumes!! He gave us a HEAPING plate of food!!! We found out he had been a stone mason from DC and had actually done the masonry for the East and West Towers of the National Cathedral in Georgetown. How cool?!?!  Since we were blessed with the trail magic, we then made another responsible decision to forgo our shuttle to town and just eat hostel food and save our town food for our Zero this weekend in Erwin. After ¢preaching¢ deferred gratification to our kiddos for many years, I guess we actually learned something about that ourselves. It¢s painful sometimes, but almost always a good decision. Lol We called the owners of Nature¢s Inn when we were about .5 miles out to let them know we had hiked a little faster than we had expected, (am sure that was all because of the eggs and hash browns!!) in case they wanted to head on over to pick us up. We thought we only had to hike about 200 yards off the trail for our pickup point at Streets Gap, but as we headed down the gravel road looking for the paved road, Next Step called back the owners twice to make sure we were on the right road. It ended up being another .75 miles to reach the paved road. But ¢Rare Gem¢, the hostel owner who picked us up, said that they would be happy to drive us all the way back up to the trail tomorrow. THANK GOODNESS! Those extra miles add up quickly and don¢t even count for our daily total. We were in for a treat. Rare Gem was so personable and we chatted the whole trip to drop a couple of other hikers off before heading to Nature¢s Inn. She even ran me by Ingle¢s to grab a Coke Zero to take back to the hostel! We feel like we¢re in Hiker Heaven here at the Inn. We have one of the three bedrooms in the ¢main house¢ which also has a bathroom, complete kitchen, living room and a washer and dryer!!!! Going to be hard to leave! Got in and got our showers and started the laundry. Now just getting ready to head up to the store to get some pizzas to cook for supper and get a few items for our resupply until we get to Erwin. A 69 year old hiker and his 70 year old best friend arrived shortly after us. They had stayed the night before and did some slack packing today. Finn and Happy Feet, a couple we met in the Smokies showed up a little later.  It¢s been an absolutely awesome day! And tonight I won¢t even have to be worry about being awakened by those stinking owls in morning! Hugs! --Which Way Elevation Data:                    Weather:Ascent ~ 2,720                    Day ¢ 54 degrees / SunnyDescent ~ 2,340                  Night ¢ 39 degrees / CloudyGrade ~ 10.1 Over the Horizon: Roan Mountain