Date: 2016-05-15
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Trent's Grocery
Miles today: 16.7

Brrrrr, it was a COLD night for the three of us in the shelter. I woke up about 7 am and Homer was already taking off. We had a long day ahead of us to get to Trent's and he wanted to get started early. Down Under and I moved a bit slower and made breakfast and packed up. On the side of the shelter someone had written "Live to Hike" with a list of long distance trails we have in the U.S. Down Under snd I were looking at that and he was saying how lucky we are to have such a marvelous trail here in the U.S. It was true, we had a number of foreign visitors here to hike the AT. One of Down Under's major goals on hiking the AT was to get back in shape. He said he had already lost 20 kilos and was looking to lose at least 10 more. In addition, the mental and physical challenge of the AT was invigorating, just what he needed to jump start his retirement life. So in addition to "Live to Hike" the sign could have also added "Hike to Live".We left the shelter about 8:15 am and walked briskly as it was still very cold and windy. I stopped to remove a few layers and Down Under kept moving on. At 10:19 am I was able to get a cell phone signal and I checked the weather. In Bland (1000' lower elevation) it was 39 degrees, wind chill was 30 degrees. Up here on the ridge it was certainly much colder. The trail was relatively level for the first 8 miles with just small climbs and descents. After passing Brushy mountain (yet another Brushy Mountain) the trail descended about 900' to Lickskillet Hollow which had numerous stream crossings. Along the way I passed the turnoff to Jenny Knob Shelter but decided not to go down to it. I was finally getting warm enough so that I could take off another layer and I was now walking in a T-shirt and hiking shorts. From the Hollow the trail ascended back up a hillside for about 700 feet and then ran another 4 more miles and slowly down 700 feet to Kimberling Creek. The trail came to a beautiful suspension bridge crossing Kimberling Creek and then then popped out onto a road. Trent's was just half a mile down the road from here. I had not seen a single hiker all day long.At Trent's I found Homer and Buffalo Betty sitting at one of the two tables in Trent's. Trent's is a small grocery/convenience store out in the country that has a small grill that cooks hamburgers and the like. I ordered a Bacon cheeseburger and sat down with Homer and Buffalo. They hadn't seen Down Under yet and I hadn't passed him so he must have stopped at the shelter I passed. A few minutes later a couple of other hikers came in and said Down Under was behind them by a few minutes. When he arrived we talked about where to stay the night and we found out Trent's had one room behind the store that they rent out to hikers and hunters. Down Under was all for sleeping in a warm room instead of another cold night outside, and Homer and I agreed to split the cost of the room. It included a shower and laundry as well so it made for a pretty good $50 investment. We piled into the room and Homer agreed to take the floor for $10 and I chipped in $20 for one of the beds. We took showers, did laundry, and felt refreshed. Down Under crawled into his sleeping bag on one of the beds and fell asleep while we were still talking. Buffalo Betty went out to her car and slept in it as was her usual practice. Homer and I finally turned off the lights and crawled into our sleeping bags, clean and full and warm. A good day.