Date: 2005-05-06
From: Campsight at mile 396

To: Damascus, VA!!!!!!!
Miles today: 64.0
Weather: broken clouds

Hi everyone! Today is Thursday the 12th of May and I have to give a short replay of the events since my last entry because this town is getting packed with everyone pouring in for trail days, the huge festival that starts on friday...I have been in town since tuesday, just chilling.....Saturday, May7:I woke up early from the campsight to hit the trail like a madman heading for Kincora hostel...I actually made breakfast and I was stuffed. I ate five bags of oatnmeal and shoot, I mean oatmeal tastes so MUCH better with milk instead of water, which is what I used...I made the 13.4 mile hike into Kincora Hostel very quickly and I was in the shower at the hostel by 2:30, while my Stank-Nasty clothes were in the washer...Kincora is this great log cabin where the hikers have freedom to actually wash there own clothes and take care of their own business...The kitchen and living room are downstairs and the whole upstairs is nothing but bunkbeds...I really wished that I had a guitar as I sat on the porch of the log cabiun, looking out at the beautiful tennessee fields in the valley I was in, and then I could rock out to some bluegrass....Bob told us that he was leaving for town at around 4:30 and so I was getting excited to go into hampton and resupply and eat a real meal...I went to Long Johns, which I have wanted since before I started the trip, because I haven't been able to eat that fattening slop for years and I really wanted it, but when It came time to actually eat it, it wasn't as great as I anticipated, but I got some free slaw, so I was happy...I was mad that the ice cream shop across the street was closed so I bought a pint of turtle sundae ice cream that was good. On the ride into hampton we past a septic service company that had their logo printed on the building...It said, "Because a straight flush always beats a full house."!!!We rode back in bobs truck and the others got loopy off of the exhaust fumes seeping into the bed of the truck, since there was a topper on it too...I got some great deals at the grocery and got some great Wasabi crackers for a buck, and some stuffing too, which I love...I got some sausage bicuits for breakfast that I was excited about...On the truck ride back, I talked about nutrtion and was shocked that my sausage biscuits had 100% of the saturated fat allowance...Yummy...that night, we sat around and I finally got to meet 50Short and some others...I slept like crap that night at the hostel..I don't know why, but it may have been the caffeine...OH YEAH,,,,TODAY IS DERBY!!!Funny how I am so far away from any party...Sad...Sunday May 8:I woke up early and ran downstairs to start making my biscuits and they were terrible¢¦I had to end up pouring a cup of syrup to dip them in so I was very disappointed¢¦I was definitely ready to get back on the trail though, and that is great because I usually don¢t feel like it after being at a hostel¢¦I was excited because a lot of others were there and today I got to only hike 10 miles to the watauga lake shelter¢¦Watauga lake was after this monstrous climb that I attacked like I was on a bike or something¢¦I totally spanked that climb¢¦I was sad that I won¢t have anymore totally ridiculously huge climbs for a while as I get into Virginia¢¦Today was like 70 degrees and sunny so it was a great day to be at the lake¢¦After descending the huge climb, I was greeted at the road by Phoenix rising with trail magic and then I was excited to make my way towards the beach at the lake¢¦There is a roped off area where people swim and It is very crowded with locals and loud radios and convertibles and kids running around with dripping cokes and mustard on their faces and the smell of fried chicken and picnics¢¦Oh yeah¢¦I called my mom and Stephanie that morning and I was half asleep¢¦And so I drank a ton of coffee, and so when I hit the beach, I napped since the buzz was gone¢¦laurel falls was a huge waterfall on the hike today¢¦It was amazing and it was almost as big as cumberland falls¢¦I ate some honey and whole wheat sandwhiches and some granola¢¦About 20 of us chilled and drank free cokes at the beach and locals and hikers were all coming up and talking to us¢¦All week long, I am in this bottle neck of hikers headed to Damascus for trail days¢¦I had a great dinner that night of stove top stuffing with tuna and sasamee seed oil¢¦The shelter was packed, but I got a spot and slept pretty good¢¦ I thought a lot about a reeces cup blizzard with oreos, but there is no DQ¢s for weeks¢¦.Oh yeah¢¦A guy named batch got on the trail again today after thinking about quiting.He is 83, and we were very glad he is back on the trail¢¦I met him first by giving him a ride into Gatlinburg. I saw a huge snake today laying in the trail¢¦My first of the Season¢¦.I almost stepped on it, but it took off quickly¢¦Monday May 9:Today I was hungry, starving, tired, unmotivated, and bored. I ate food all day, and was still hungry, I am starving. I didn¢t feel like hiking but I have to. I was sick of the trees, and I wanted a field or some clearing with sun. I had to hike. I must do miles. I have to hike¢¦Oh goodness. I am tired. I need a break¢¦.But tomorrow I still have another 20 miles to do after today¢s 22! Crap, I can¢t wait till Damascus, where after that, I have no hurries. I want a blizzard from DQ, I want apples. I want bananas, and this ramen, with chili flavoriung and tuna isn¢t very good. I was dehydrated for about an hour today, today was the first day that really felt like summer, ouch. I want to change my gear. Out. I want my guitar. The terrain was fairly easy today, for a 22 mile day. I don¢t really hurt that badly, and It is graded nicely. I did some yoga, and got to the shelter, to good company and I felt better, the shelter was nesteld in a valley, and was nice.I was really psyched to get into Damascus tomorrow! I got to get into a nice field at the end of the day too which livened my spirits and it was a nice change of pace¢¦OK my time limit is up at the library, I'll fill everyone in later with the past few days...Take it easy everone...I am doing great!