Date: 2013-04-10
From: Vango/Abby Memorial Hostel

To: Kinkora Hostel
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: clear sky

(In which I struggle with the heat and reach famous Kinkora Hostel)I wake up early and survey my surroundings. The lone dog is awake and requesting attention, which I allow briefly. The house indicates quiet hours from 2300 - 0800, and it is not quite 0800 yet. I find where I can register in the shower and laundry room adjacent to the house, so I handle the paperwork. That done I am more at ease than when I was a stranger appearing in the dark last night. I return to my things to get then packed and kill time until 0800. Once that time has passed, I head down to the house to see about my stay.I knock at the door and am bid inside by the hostel's owner, long-distance hiker Scotty. He is not just a thru-hiker as some other hostel owners are, but has done other trails including the Long Trail, Florida Trail, and International Appalachian Trail. I am interested in the IAT and hang around for a while to chat about this. It is almost 1100 before I excuse myself to resume hiking. I did not stay inside the hostel but offer some money toward my stay here. Scotty will not let me go without accepting some food in return for this donation.I return to the Trail the way I had departed last night. Once back on the ridge I continue north over mild terrain. There are many streams here but I wait until I reach Moreland Gap Shelter to take a break and refill my water. I should have just used one of the streams beforehand, as the spring here really is a long ways downhill from the shelter. Continuing north I push over gentle terrain which seems tougher than it should be in the day's heat. I wish I had started walking earlier than 1100 today. White Rocks Mountain provides no real reward except for being the last climb today, and I descend toward Hampton, TN.There is a waterfall 0.8 mile off the Trail, but I do not have the motivation to make such a long side trip today. I reach Forest Road 50, my end point for today. It is a short day but I want to stop at Kinkora Hostel for the night. This is the hostel run by Bob Peoples, a renowned figure on the Appalachian Trail. I am surprised to find the forest road is a paved road, when I was expecting a dirt or gravel track like every other forest road I have crossed. The hostel is an easy walk to the west, and I almost miss it before picking out 'Kinkora' on the mailbox.There are some familiar faces present here. Dozer and Funyuns passed me before I started out this morning. Crush has also made it here, as has Chino. I see Crow for the first time in a while. He has suffered knee issues and has had to slow down and take many zeros. There are a few new faces here - a woman and her friend section hiking, and her husband supporting them. I meet Bob Peoples but do not get to talk or listen much unfortunately. It is late in the day, I missed the town shuttle, and I must prepare some food.There is plenty of Ramen in the hiker box, so I take that for my dinner. In a large pot I combine the three bags of Ramen with a bag of dried green beans. When that is done I add plenty of cheese and a little pepperoni to the mixture. The result is an adequate meal and almost as filling as any pizza would have been. I follow up with nachos while sitting around chatting. It is pretty late, and as folks retire to the bunks to sleep or the porch to chat, I choose the couch to use as my own bed. It is not quite as long as me - few couches are - but I don't run the risk of snoring folks in close proximity.Peace,