Date: 2010-05-18
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel
Miles today: 14.0

Last night we made it to Indian Grave Gap and camped. It was the first time Half Left and I camped alone without any of our Flatlanders or any other hikers. We found a nice campsite just before the road and set up camp. It rained on and off most of the way to the camp so everything was wet, the wood, the ground. It was a bummer, this is also the first night Half Left wasn¢t able to make a fire. Fire while camping is one of the highlights, it is so intriguing staring most of the night while sitting around, talking over the day. Instead, we ate our pizza Half Left had carried from Erwin and talked about our family, our hike that day and the hike tomorrow. Tomorrow is our daughter Hannah¢s birthday, we talked about her turning 10, what a big day for her. Happy Birthday, girl!!! Hope your day and party is wonderful. We settled into our tent about hiker¢s midnight (8:30). It is staying light a lot later so entertaining yourself too much longer is almost impossible, we were also tired from the hike. During the night it rained, rained and rained more. We were hoping our tent was as waterproof as it makes out to be and that our gear resting in the vestibules outside stayed dry. We woke up to cloudy skies but no rain which makes it easier to cook breakfast and pick up camp. Our tent was wet on the outside, but everything stayed dry. I made breakfast, cheese grits with bacon for Half Left and cereal for me. I always make coffee and drink an instant breakfast also. Half Left packed the tent while I packed the food. We set off about 8:00 in the morning.The first part of the day was to climb up and over ¢Beauty Spot¢ another bald on top of a mountain. It is easier for me to climb early in the day because my legs are fresh. Half Left doesn¢t mind a climb later in the day. It was a steady 2.3 mile climb to the top, it rained on and off but was refreshing because it is also hot. As we reached the summit, rain could be seen in the distance. We could hear thunder in the distance so we didn¢t stay very long. There were about 7 tents set up on the summit, a camper in the parking lot, chairs left out, along with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels and Svedka Vodka, looks like a party last night! The only person awake was ¢Wanderer¢ a Japanese hiker who apparently didn¢t join in. He is a very nice man who is hiking the trail during his 7 month visa. He speaks English fairly well, we bumped into him 2 or 3 more times during the day. We took a few photos and hurried down the mountain because of the thunder. Don¢t want to be on top of a bald during a thunderstorm!It was a beautiful rolling hike from there through the grassy fields, then the climb up Unaka Mtn. another steady climb up and up and up! The top was uneventful, not view, just an old pine forest, creepy and dark. We hurried across and began our descent, a long but beautiful hike, past a couple of waterfalls, beautiful flowering trees and wildflowers everywhere. At one point I told Half Left it looked like a jungle. During one of our stops we decided to hike all the way to the hostel, Greasy Creek Friendly. We had heard the woman who ran it was a very nice person and the hostel was warm and ¢friendly¢ just as the name suggests. We arrived about 5:00 at the hostel and yes she and her cats are warm and friendly. One of her cats ran away about 12 days ago, Nemo. She is very depressed about it but there are no signs of her anywhere. It¢s sad, you can tell she is very distraught. She made us dinner, salad, black bean burgers and jalepeno poppers. It was nice to have a shower and clean clothes. Wanderer showed up as well as 3 Amish hikers section hiking. They are from Iowa and are hiking southbound to Erwin.Tomorrow we will hike to Carter Gap and have her pick us up and bring us back here. Half Left may mow her lawn to work off some of our stay. I will help do chores also.More to come, see you on the trail¢¦