Date: 2012-04-22
From: Black Bear Resort and Hostel

To: Black Bear Resort and Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Another hiker came in the same night I did. He drove here from Florida and is friends of the owners. He is just hanging out for a couple of days and then will get shuttled to Hot Springs, NC and meet some friends and hike back to Black Bear. He was nice enough to take Long Skirt and I to breakfast yesterday and to do a little shopping in Hampton, TN about 6 miles down the mountain. Thanks Mark. Since I am going to be here for a couple of days I am looking for things to do that don't stress my knee. Mark is being shuttled to Hot Springs this morning so I rode over and back just to have something to do. It is so pretty here in the mountains. I really enjoyed the ride and the conversation with Stephanie the shuttle driver and one of the owners. When we got to Hot Springs we went to the Smokey Mountain Diner for breakfast. It took all morning to get to Hot Springs and back. There is another Hostel down the road from here called Kincora. It is owned by Bob Peoples another trail legend. His Hostel is for those on a budget and is not that clean to be honest but he only asks for a donation. The young crowd likes to hang out there. Because of the weather he filled up fast. It seems like the older hikers come to Black Bear. There were three men who came in after staying at Kincora last night and I knew one of them. Sipsey. Even though the the owner doesn't do free shuttles to town she was going to Elizabethon, a little larger town, nearby so she let the five of us join her. We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and then to Wal-Mart for some shopping. When we got back the weather had deteriorated and Kincora was full so they were shuttling hikers down here. Over the next few hours about 15 hikers checked in. The weather continued to get worse. Rainy and cold. We are all huddled in a room for hikers that has a computer, DVD player, microwave and refrigerator. It is a small room and we are cramped but having a great time talking and watching DVD's. Most of the conversation revolves around the weather and should we hike tomorrow. We have all decided that hiking tomorrow would be foolish. It is going to rain and snow tonight and tomorrow and the wind is going to be gusting to 40 MPH. An easy decision for me. I was going to slack pack but I think even that would be dangerous so I will now have to reevaluate my schedule.The good news is that my knee is much better. Just a little pain, hardly noticeable, without Ibuprofen and not noticeable at all with it. I think I will be ready to hit the trail again as soon as the weather improves. Now the big question is do I change to my summer gear in Damascus in a couple of days. Reed mailed my summer sleeping bag and some other stuff there. My summer bag is a 40 degree bag and I have a liner which adds about 10 degrees and of course I will have clothes I can sleep in if it gets really cold. I would like to send some winter stuff back to lower my pack weight but I don't want to be foolish. I can bounce the box up the trail if need be and swap out everything later. Not a decision I have to make today.