Date: 2003-04-07
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Sam's Gap
Miles today: 11.2

Was I ever glad to be in a shelter last night. The heavens cracked open, the lightening slashed the windy skies and buckets of water dumped down. Poor Chief. By the time I leave the shelter, the rain stops. Everything drips and smells of pine and last year's leaves. The birds seem particularly happy for the let-up and flute their optimism with a lusty gusto.My Cho-Pat knee braces get a lot of comment at shelters. They have worked like a charm, as they did on the Long Trail last year. Not a smidgen of knee pain out here. Prior to their discovery, I was generally limping by Day Three of a hike. So, to me, they are like miracle gear.I want someone to tell me of a similarly simple "helper" for my sore heels!By the way, the "light miles, light weight" therapy is helping my tendons. My left heel is 80 percent better, and the right heel is at least 50 percent improved. I no longer limp unless I've been sitting awhile.I find human nature endlessly fascinating. For example, there seem to be a number of folks (in life, and on the Trail) troubled by the fact that they don't know all there is to know in the world. These types appear to be psychologically unable to ask simple questions. It's as if by asking they are giving something vital away.So their curiosity and inquiry about equipment like my knee braces often takes the form of attack and criticism:"Pretty funny looking knee braces there."I've found them very helpful."They look sweaty, hot."They do keep the joints warm on these cold mornings, I find that an asset."You'll cook in them in summer." By summer, I hope not to need them, at least until the White Mountains of New Hampshire."I'll bet they're expensive."No more expensive than being being forced to take a rest day in town, and a lot less painful."An Ace bandage would probably do the same thing for a lot less."Then you ought to buy an Ace and see for yourself. They don't cost much."Naw, I don't have knee pain."Whatever...Shoot, aches and pains are a big topic on the AT! Without them, and food, what else would we talk about?The scenery today is lovely: woods to Tennessee rural hillside pasture to waterfalls and streams. I truly like the mix of rural, hill and mountain, with the occasional town thrown in for pizza. When my brother commented that he thought I was going to disappear into the wilderness for six months, I had to put him straight. "No, it's three to five days of Appalachian backcountry followed by a dip into small-town America. Sometimes there are even Krispy Kremes." This trek has SCOPE!Actually, this is America, east-of-the-Mississippi America, to be exact. You can't GO for longer than five days or so without there being a road, even in the mountains. American loves her roads. And with roads near by, can fast food be far away? I learned a nifty trick yesterday from Hambone and Papa Bear, some section hikers. I came up to camp with a full waterbag. I looked for a nail to hang the handles on, but all the nails were full of wet gear. So they showed me how to slip the handles in a crack between the planks of the picnic table. Then they inserted a little stick to keep the handles from slipping back through. Now the bag hung from the table. Handy! Elegantly simple. I love Trail technology. One of my other favorites is to use a rhododendron leaf as a "pipe" or sluice when the water source is too low for dipping. As long as it is flowing, I can fill my water bottle this way.I hiked most of this day with Scamp and Greylock, leapfrogging along, taking pictures of each other crossing the stiles over pasture fences. When they found out I was going to Erwin at Sam's Gap, they decided to join me. Yeah, when the scent of a burrito gets in your nostrils, it's hard to leave it be. Make those hound dog sounds: AaaaROOO!Though we didn't get rained on, the humidity was near-100 percent, and my shirt was soaking wet from the climbs. On one climb, the aptly named Frozen Knob, the wind blew extra cold, the temperature dropped palpably. The sky spit ice chunks at us. As soon as we dropped down off the knob, the chill and ice ceased. Pretty weird, huh? Can an old mountain knob be haunted?Scamp and Greylock join me in the wait at Sam's Gap. Miss Janet has promised to pick me up at six pm. "Don't forget me," I pleaded, when I made the arrangements two days earlier. "I have these abandonment issues." Ha!She promised not to; I sent an e-mail as follow-up.We got to Sam's Gap early, at 4 pm. It's now 6:45 pm and Scamp and Greylock are doubting that this ride thing exists. We are chilled and hungry. And now it is starting to rain.We have already turned down several rides so as not to make Miss J make a trip for nothing. Aaaargh!Left by the side of the road again. I am starting to get a complex!"How long do we wait past six before we start hitching?" asks Scamp. Now! We jump up and get a ride from Rick, whose sons have done the Trail. If I had trusted hitchhiking to be this easy, I never would have arranged a shuttle. But then again, I thought I would be hitching alone.We roll into Erwin and immediately hit up the famous Erwin Burrito. The chicken quesadilla gets two opposable thumbs up, maybe three. Back at Miss Janet's hostel, many reunions. Swift Sandal - who I haven't seen since NOC - is there recovering from shin splints incurred in the snow. The snow took out a few hikers, it seems. Pop-Pop was there too. He had ridden up with Miss Janet to come and fetch me from Sam's Gap, then made her wait for me to come out of the woods, in case I was hobbling. He had watched me limp painfully into Hot Springs, bless his heart. Hikers really do try to to look out for each other.Janet hadn't forgotten me, she explained, she had been running late. She tries to do everything for everybody, so it's hard to stay mad at Miss J. We all sat in the kitchen yakking and laughing and drinking some sort of coke and vodka concoction till way too late, and I slept on the couch as the hostel was full.