Date: 2013-05-07
From: Erwin, TN

To: See you on the other side Camp
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: light rain

The morning we were supposed to leave Erwin some hikers in the lobby showed me a pamphlet for a shuttle that would take people all over town for just $2.00.   Fine time to find this out after walking all over town with my sore ankle. I called the shuttle and got a ride to Johnny's Hostel and Outfitter to get some alcohol fuel for my stove before hitting the trail.   The trail conveniently starts at Johnny's so Thistle and I started hiking. The hike out of Erwin was beautiful. On most hikes we pass small creeks, but here we passed large swollen waterways that are just smaller than rivers with wooden bridges crossing them. There were rhododendrons and flowers scattered among the many large rocks surrounding the rolling brooks. The mountain trails led to outcroppings of rocks, providing nice views off the hills. Even though the hike was muddy and foggy, it was one if the better hikes since starting at Springer Mountain. And though we were just getting back to hiking after a three day break partly due to thunderstorms but mostly due to illness and injury, there was still a threat of rain. My foot was feeling better after taking it easy, but the hike reminded me that I still had an ankle still vulnerable to injury. After about 3 miles of hiking, it started hurting again. I stopped and took my boot off to apply some topical cream I had in my backpack and that helped quite a bit. Once back on the trail, Thistle and I set out to find Indie, who had jumped ahead of us. We stopped at the first shelter we came to when it started raining so we stayed a while and talked to some hikers and a church group from Florida until the rain let up. When we started hiking again the weather deteriorated and before we knew it we were walking in pouring rain. We came upon a camp area several miles down the trail when the rain stopped, so we decided to make camp. I started a fire with some dry kindling and Birch bark I'd been carrying for a couple of weeks, a trick that Mountain Man shared with me several weeks ago when I asked how he started a fire during the horrible ice storm. It worked like a charm. I set up my tarp in a common area between the tents and above the fire so we had a dry place to eat dinner other than in our tents. The camp turned out to be really cool. Several hikers came by soaked when it was pouring rain and so I felt good about our camp. I figured we would just try to find Indie again tomorrow. Our camp was situated where the trail came by one side and curved around 180 degrees to the other side. Hiker after hiker heard the same from me. It would start with a small conversation just like I always do and I would end it by saying that I would see them on the other side. Then they would follow the trail to the other side of our camp and I would greet them again as though it was for the first time. It was funny and we all got a kick out of Knutt being Knutt. I bought a small speaker for my i-phone which added to the atmosphere. I don't know why it took me so long to make that purchase but now I have it so we can all listen to the same music without shutting people out with earphones. I keep learning about the small things that make the trail more fun, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that I will continue to enjoy my time on the trail.