Date: 2022-10-03
From: Crazy Larry Hostel (Exit at TN 91) Mile 449.1

To: Boots Off Hostel Mile 428.4
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: broken clouds

Crazy Larry made us breakfast again and then we finished packing up and getting ready to leave. It¢s always a bit nerve racking to leave after a long hostel stay as you feel like your stuff has gotten spread out and you want to make sure you don¢t forget anything important. Checks and double checks to make sure nothing is missing. Orchid , Coach and I got a shuttle back to TN 91 to continue heading south. As we were getting dropped off a pair of bear hunting trucks turned off onto the side road. Sure enough there was a dog on top of the bed of the lead pickup. We¢d forgotten that we have crossed into TN and we quickly pulled up the TN hunting schedule to find we¢re in the middle of a bear hunt as well as archery season for deer. It¢s still damp, foggy and misty out. Water is still dripping from the trees but it is slightly warmer out. I¢m wearing shorts to start the day but have the fleece and gloves on. Early on we have a lot of bushwhacking through overgrown sections of trail. The bushes are wet and quite quickly my shorts are soaked and legs are wet. I don¢t really want to put on the rain skirt as there are a lot of thorny bushes in there as well. It basically feels like you are walking through a car wash. The three of us are hiking together or near each other again today. We took a short snack break at the first shelter and then had a longer lunch break at the second shelter. Both times I added back a layer but was still getting cold by the time we finished eating. After lunch we started hiking along a ridge above Watauga Lake. It was still pretty overcast but the fog was lifting and it wasn¢t misting anymore. We got the occasional partial view down to the lake. We had taken bets about when the sun would come out. Unfortunately we all lost as it never did.Eventually we descended down to the level of the lake and then walked across the dam which was built by the TVA back in the late 40¢s. We spent a while walking along the edge of the lake and had some nice views of the surrounding mountains. There is definitely a noticeable difference in the number of trees that are starting to turn although most are still green. Eventually we leave the lake and start down the road that Boots Off hostel is located on. The AT turns off the road at a recent relocation while we kept going for about a quarter mile to reach the hostel. The three of us are the only ones in the bunkhouse although there are two other southbound section hikers with their dog and a northbound hiker as well. We ran into town for some items at the grocery store as well as a chicken sandwich from McDonalds. I think this might be the first fast food chain place I have eaten at so far on trail. After dinner Coach pulled out the guitar that the hostel has and he played for quite a while. A nice relaxing way to spend the evening. Coach will finish his Bama to Baxster Thru Hike at Hot Springs which is rapidly approaching. He started on the Pinhoti Trail then Benton MacKaye trail which feeds into the AT near Springer Mt. Steps 41900Weather Forecast: 58/41 cloudy