Date: 2015-03-30
From: Erwin views area 

To: Campsite past Iron Mountain Gap 
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Got up at 7 this morning. Rained last night but I stayed dry under my new tarp. Dry and warm. I was starting to think being dry was a myth for me. Slept decently as well. Finished the last 1.5-2 miles down to Unaka spring Rd and went over to uncle Johnny's hostel. I saw Greywolf on the porch and was surprised I had caught him. He was happy to see me but had bad news. He was ending his thru hike and returning to Germany for personal reasons. We exchanged emails and he gave me a German hiking meal similar to mountain house before heading to Johnson City for a flight out. I was sad to see him go but I understood. I grabbed some supplies from the outfitter and headed out. I felt I had been sitting around too long at uncle johnny's, it was 10 am when I left. I crossed a bridge over Unaka river before heading back into the woods. It was cool and overcast. I was wearing my jacket for a few miles until I started climbing. I was surprised it was flat for so long. I must've walked 2 or 3 miles before having to climb. The rest of the AT had been like a roller coaster of severe up and downs. I got to the curly maple shelter about 5 miles out of town and had lunch. There was a guy there named Cody something. He looked alittle ragged and I soon found out why. He was a Southbounder that had started in New Hampshire in November. I couldn't imagine the cold nights and weather he must've been through. I didn't stay long though, I heard that fresh ground was only 4 miles from this shelter. The hike to Indian grave Gap wasn't long or too difficult. Fresh ground had a sign set up for the leap frog Cafe and there was even a fire. He had a crew helping him this time and they were cooking the french fries and hot dogs. I thoroughly enjoy any chance to eat at his cafe. There were a few other hikers there and they were talking about spending the night there. Fresh ground was talking about going to get dominoes and Im sure he would cook an amazing breakfast. His pancakes and eggs are delicious. It was still early though and I couldn't imagine stopping here for the day. I had only done about 10 miles. Not even 200 yards down the trail another guy was setup with brownies, banana bread, apples, bananas, sweet tea and hot coffee. It was everything that fresh ground didn't have he said, and I would have to agree. I stayed a little bit and 2 other hikers called hermit and silver came down. Silver was carrying so much he had a grocery bag full of food too. In his other hand was a giant walking stick. When I saw him earlier at uncle Johnny's he didn't look so big but suddenly he did for some reason. I found out this was his 3rd thru hike and   before that he had been in the Marines. So had hermit. We walked several miles together down to where they would stay for the night at a campsite. Silver was a strong hiker I could tell. We were walking up some challenging inclines and he still had that grocery bag and his massive stick. I found out he was carrying about 47 lbs and I believed him. We both had the same pack on and it holds over 72 liters of stuff and his was full. I was still not ready to quit for the day so I went on another 4 something miles to cherry Gap shelter. By this point I was around 18 or 19 miles in and it was about 6 something in the evening. I had already decided I would go on after taking a break. There were 2 hikers that I had seen back at fresh grounds and they greeted me. I never got their names. I went down and got some water then relaxed at the shelter for 30 mins or so. Finally when I was starting to feel like changing my mind I got up and headed out for the last 4.4 miles to a campsite. The last miles weren't bad but it took alittle while to cover them. I ended up hiking again in the dark for over an hour before finding the clearing I was looking for. I set up pretty quick and climbed right in to my hammock. Not supposed to rain tonight. Tomorrow I will shoot for another 20 something. Only 104 miles to Damascus.