Date: 2016-03-21
From: Mountain Harbour Hiker Hostel - US 19E

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Bright and breezy today. A bit cold throughout the day but good weather for hiking. The day started with breakfast at Mountain Harbour Hiker Hostel. Mike and Shannon provide a scrumptious meal that is a real treat. The whole experience at Mountain Harbour was great and I highly recommend this as a stop to rest and resupply after Erwin, TN. The hostel has a great room with sofa, comfortable chairs, kitchen, bathroom, shower, and a loft where most of us slept. The room enabled all of us (Blues Brother, Rocky, Fresh Ground, Earl, and me) to enjoy getting to know each other as we spread out our packs to resupply from the General Store and do laundry. That good vibe continued before and after breakfast with all but Earl agreeing on today's destination some 18 miles away.Want to mention and thank Shannon for her hospitality. She really made me feel welcome and it was touching to hear how the hostel first opened when cold hikers showed up at their door years ago. These hostels are often labors of love and you can't help but feel very connected to people like Shannon. Fresh Ground pointed out that he thinks getting to know hostel owners provides a great component of the AT experience and I heartily agree.Fresh Ground is a great story teller. One story involved Trail Hoarder, who got his name because of his frequent practice of adding to his pack items available from other hikers in "hiker boxes" that are often created in hostels to help hikers leave items they no longer want. Fresh Ground told of how the hiking competitive juices sometime emerge between hikers to give them the "I'm a stronger hiker than you" distinction. In this story, Fresh Ground saw Trail Hoarder resting so he hiked passed him to establish his stronger hiking credentials. Trail Hoarder arrived at that night's location saying he was "through hiking". Fresh Ground and others agreed that they were all "thru-hiking" only to be confronted by Trail Hoarder who told the that today's experience with Fresh Ground made him want to stop hiking. Apparently Trail Hoarder had fallen, needed help, and began to cry after Fresh Ground blew by him. Fresh Ground explained the competitive angle and how he didn't realize that Trail Hoarder needed assistance. Trail Hoarder continued hiking the next day. Hilarious and Fresh Ground tells this story better than this writing of it.I had difficulty hiking today, never getting into any flow. Jones Falls is a short side trip that is definitely worthwhile. If hiking passed it, consider stopping there for a long break or meal. Blues Brother did just that - and got so taken away by it all that he forgot which direction to go when returning to the AT and ended up hiking in the wrong direction for a mile.Blues Brother's misfortune turned out to be good for me as I followed his lead and pace the rest of the day. Blues clearly slowed for me and I appreciated his doing that today. He later told Rocky and Fresh Ground how he had similarly tracked me en route to Overmountain Shelter a couple days earlier.Tenting sites and water was plentiful all day. Less than a mile before today's destination, Blues Brother caught up with Rocky. And then with a tenth of a mile left, the three of us caught up with Fresh Ground, who had stopped along the trail to make a few phone calls since he had access there. So the four who started this morning hiked in line to tonight's shelter. It's a bit cold but warmer weather arrives overnight. Blues Brother and Fresh Ground started a fire in the fire pit and that made for additional time getting to know each other and telling stories as we all warmed up.One last entry to remember today. Thanks to Steve from Bennington, VT for sharing his experience with his seventeen-month old granddaughter. Steve said his granddaughter was fascinated by my photos and kept doing her hand motion for "more" as they looked through them. I am enjoying taking the photos and this story has a smile on my face as I drift off to sleep tonight.