Date: 2005-09-23
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Nolichucky River (Erwin, TN)
Miles today: 26.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I spent 12 hours in my sleeping bag last night. I still woke up a lot, though -- it hasn't rained here in weeks, and the ground is parched and hard as a rock. Still, I was refreshed and got off to an easy start at 8:30. After a little uphill, I descended to Sam's Gap to cross I-26, and slowly climbed up to Big Bald, which offered panoramic views, and, finally, a cell phone signal. At 5500 feet, it was noticeably colder and windier up there, and I was chilled by the time I finished my phone conversations. Shortly after the bald, I encountered a volunteer research team tagging songbirds and raptors. I talked for them for quite a while, observed their work, and even got to hold a Tennessee Warbler in my hand. The Big Bald project has been going on for 25 years now, and it's one of the longest bird-banding projects in the country. The volunteers catch the birds in nets between the trees, pop them into paper bags until they calm down, then take them out to identify, age, sex, and band them, as well as take a number of measurements. Apparently if you Google them, you can find a site that tracks where their banded birds have gone. By the time I left the bird-banding area, it was 1 and I had only done 6 miles -- not a good day for a marathon. So I decided to take it easy, and when I caught up with a hiker a while later, I stuck with him and talked to him for a couple of hours instead of passing him. The hiker was a middle-aged man from the Elizabethton area. He kept up a near-continuous stream of conversation, including the story of how he became a born-again Christian and preacher, but didn't proselytize too aggressively. At 3:45, we reached Spivey Gap, 11 miles from Erwin. I sped ahead while he stopped by the stream, needing to take a bathroom break and assuming he would catch up with me. But he didn't, and as I walked on, I decided to try jogging. I'm sure the end of the story is easy to guess from there. I reached the next shelter at 5:15, left a note for the hiker apologizing for leaving him behind, and made it into Erwin at 6:50. So I can now say that I have backpacked a marathon in one day (on much harder trail than any marathon I've run, too!) I passed some beautiful overlooks on my way into town in the warm evening light. I had planned on staying at the legendary Miss Janet's House, but she didn't answer the phone and I couldn't find a ride, so I rented a cabin at Uncle Johnny's, right on the trail. They did my laundry, shuttled me into town for dinner and shopping, and were generally hospitable. Their hostess intrigued me with stories of her vagabond life -- first living wherever it pleased her as her husband did long-distance trucking, then selling everything and starting a thru-hike of the AT, only to see a Help Wanted sign at Uncle Johnny's and immediately put down new roots there.Uncle Johnny's isn't listed in the Thru-Hiker's Companion because of an unfortunate incident between its editor, Uncle Johnny, and their cat several years ago. But it was a fine place to stay.It's late evening, and strangely, I don't feel tired at all. I plan to watch the news on Hurricane Rita for a while and maybe watch a movie. But I still think I'll take it easy tomorrow.