Date: 2013-03-20
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 3.8

Because I hiked further than planned yesterday I only have a short 3.8 mile hike today making it a nero day (near zero). My whole mindset this morning has been "it can wait until Franklin". I only ate a power bar for breakfast and I didn't even brush my teeth . . . it could wait. Even with that I was not the first out of camp as Turtle left while it was still dark. PB was next and I left soon after her. I had only one mountain to climb before heading into town. I caught PB early in the climb when she stopped to remove her jacket. I was feeling good and covered the 3.8 miles in less than 2 hours which is fast for mountain miles for me. When I was less than a mile from being finished I ran into Warren Doyle. Warren is famous on the trail and I had heard a lot about him on the trail. He has hiked the trail 16 times and set a speed record in 1973. He has also mentored other speed hikers who have set more records. Apparently he is a very controversial figure who is very outspoken. What seems to cause the most controversy is that he has essentially made a business out of helping people hike the entire AT while he slack packs for them by driving their gear to predesignated places where his clients can camp. So in essence his clients are day hiking about 20 miles a day for the entire AT. Some purist believe this is cheating. My personal belief is everyone has to HYOH (hike your own hike) and if you want to do that by slack packing and day hiking then I say good for you for being out here and who am I to judge. If you want to read more about Warren, google his name and read the article in Backpacker Magazine. Warren was very friendly to me and I enjoyed talking to him. Moreover, he picked up Preacher who had a hurt leg a gave him a ride. He also found Turtle had taken a wrong turn and was wandering down a dirt road. He gave her a ride back to the trail and got her headed in the right direction. Thank you Warren for helping my hiking buddies!As soon as I got to the parking lot at Winding Stair Gap a man got out of his pickup truck and offered me a ride to town. He and his son had been camping in the area. We waited for PB and he drove us to our respective hotels. I was soooo excited about getting a warm shower. I found a cotton T shirt in the hikers box (so what if it said in giant brightly colored letters down the front "SWAG, SWAG, SWAG, SWAG") and changed into my short running shorts and threw all my stinky clothes in the washing machine. I went back to my room with great anticipation for my long hot shower. I turned on the faucet and only a small dribble came out. Hmmm, I know it's been a long time since I've had a shower but it shouldn't be this difficult. I walked up to the office and found out the water had been turned off due to a water line break up the road. No problem, I will get my clothes out of the washing machine and wear the least stinky ones. No, no, no . . . there was just enough water to get all my clothes wet but not washed. I was starving and didn't really care what I looked like so wearing my short shorts, my SWAG T shirt, crocks, and a rain jacket I walked a half mile down the street and ate at McDonalds. I'm sure I was a sight to behold! The locals seem to be very tolerate of what they call the "beards and beans people" (hikers). One older gentlemen walked up to me and said "you don't really care about the cold weather, do you?" I just smiled and said my clothes were in the wash but I was too hungry to wait. I had another kind of trail magic about an hour after I checked into the hotel. I noticed the person who had given me a ride into town had pulled into the parking lot. I went out to see what had brought him back and he asked if I had my hiking poles. When I got out of his truck I left them in the back and he drove a half hour up the road and then drove back. I wish I had his name - THANK YOU whoever you are!!! If you ever begin to lose faith in humanity, I guarantee you that the AT will restore your faith. This evening I walked to a French restaurant and enjoyed a spinach salad, among other delicious dishes. By now I had on long pants but I forgot I had on my comfy cotton SWAG T shirt under my down coat. When I took my coat off in the restaurant the waiter asked if he could please see my swag. It is fun to be in town.