Date: 2007-05-25
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Greasy Creek Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Hey everyone! I'm amazed to see over 1200 people have looked at this site! Im' at the "Greasy Creek Friendly" hostel near Roan Mountain, TN. I've hiked 360 miles! It's hard to believe. The past three and a half weeks have gone fast. The moon was nearly full when I started, and it's getting that way again. As I come to that first month mark, I have to wonder what it is that I am doing, day after day. I'm sweaty, smelly, dirty, and the pain never goes away. I walk up more mountains then I can count everyday, and once I get to the top, I have to walk back down. Today I woke up early, walked twelve miles before noon, and finished at this hostel for a 19.6 mile day. And as I walk up the trail at inclines ankles aren't prepared to handle, my only thought is getting to the other side. Every morning I get up, walk as far as I feel like walking, and stop. And now I'm nearly in virginia. Close to a quarter of the way done. My days are surprising, mountains appear smaller than they turn out to be, and the miles just roll under the feet. I'm excited about how far I've come, the scenery that's changed, and what's waiting for me up ahead. Okay, so real news: The Sunnybank Inn at Hot Springs was amazing. Elmer and Sunny were awesome to me, although, I have to put in here, I made a mistake. They're not married, not even an "item", just two people who are friendly and warm to hikers. The entire staff there was great. The hike since then was tough. Hard to get back into the swing of things. I was averaging less than 15 miles a day. But I'm feeling good now, ready for virginia, my fourth state, and the one I'll spend the most time in. I almost stepped on a copperhead a few days ago. I've been hiking on and off with a great group of people, some I haven't seen in weeks. (Kenny, you remember the younger couple that we saw once, and not again, they were going real quick- Ben and Lauren? Well, I've spent the past two days with them, they're doing really well, they have new names, Stitch and Figgy. And the older guy with the bypass, Atomic- he's still on the trail, going by Nuclear now.)   That's about all the news, for now, just many mountains, a lot of walking, and good nights. One crazy story:Two days ago (tuesday) I was at 5300 feet of elevation, coming over a southern bald called Big Bald; go figure. Well, I could see some clouds, didn't think much of it, I'd done 10 miles by this point. Stopped at the next shelter, about a mile away. Cooked some lunch, felt a few rain drops, thought I'd wait it out a minute till the cloud passed. Well, next thing I know, there's thunderclaps, and I decided to wait the storm out. Just an afternoon shower... I was in the shelter with five other people, watching this storm coming. The rain came first, and the lightning. Lightning was coming down about 400 yards away. You could almost smell it. Then, came...   the hail. First pea size. Next thing we knew, it was showering marble size hail; the ground was covered in hail. I was glad I waited a few minutes. A few hours later, it cleared up, bright and sunny, didn't look like anything had happened.   I hiked 3.4 more miles, set up tent, and had an enjoyable evening chatting it up with a fellow thru-hiker named Big Cat. Well, thanks for checking in with me. The support keeps my spirits high. Until the next update...