Date: 2017-04-07
From: US 19E

To: Kincora Hiking Hostel (Hampton, TN)
Miles today: 24.7

Day 31: US 19E to Kincora Hiking Hostel (Hampton, TN) - 24.7 miles:I was up at 6:55am for an early morning deuce. My watch alarm sounded at 7am as I was sitting on the toilet. After finishing I went and sat at the kitchen table to enjoy a hot cup of coffee. Half an hour later Booty would join me, followed by the Bird at 8am. Doug would return and we'd all enjoy coffee, chat, and Booty and I had some cereal. The morning hours would pass quickly as we more or less lolly gagged and dilly dallied. With the outside thermometer reading 31 degrees, Booty and I juggled the idea of zeroing again for we knew it'd be colder a couple thousand feet higher. However, we knew it'd be a dry and mostly sunny day, and decided we needed to get back on trail.We climbed into the Bird's can and were standing at the trail-head along US 19E by 11am. As we climbed out of the backdoor, we were greeted by the cold air funneling through the gap. "Zero...zero...zero" Booty repeated to himself as he stepped out into the wind. After a quick goodbye to Doug and a couple of hugs with the Bird, I scampered across the road to the trail on the other side, quickly retreating into the woods to pee for what seemed the hundredth time after two cups of coffee, a can of Mt. Dew, and half a liter of water. I would need to stop and pee every 20 minutes or so until close to 4pm. As Booty and I began climbing two miles back into the mountains, my pack felt doubled in weight after cruising two days ago during my 31-mile slack-pack. It would take close to two hours before my pack returned to what felt normal.Near the top of the first climb, the forest opened up to a few hundred yards of exposed ridge line. Towering above towards the south stood the Roan Highlands, the top halves of the mountains blanketed in white. I crossed paths with hikers who spent the previous day in the mountains, thawing out from rain, hail, and snow. As I stood in the green grass of the exposed ridge, the warm sun on my skin, I stared above at the frozen mountains, feeling good about my decision to slack-pack the stretch to beat the storm.I'd use Booty as my pace car throughout the day, hanging back 100-200ft so he could still hike his own hike. As we approached Isaac's cemetery, a turkey hidden just off the trail shot up from the brush, the thumping of its wings breaking the otherwise still air. The trail skirts along one end of the cemetery, a chain link fence the only divider. A statue of Jesus, its weathered back to the trail, stood within arm's length of the trail just inside the fence, watching over two graves. We soon walked up upon Sugar and Tin Man, both unsure of their destination for the day, but we'd spend a little time walking together. After suggestions from two passing day hikers, we all took a blue-blazed trail a tenth of a mile to Jones Falls. The crisp, cold water cascaded down a series of large rocks, appearing over the highest ledge some ~100ft above. After grabbing a few pictures, I spent an unnecessary amount of time attempting to climb slick rocks to a higher vantage point, ignoring the signs warning visitors not to climb them. Halfway up, stuck on a slippery ledge, I finally lunged for a lone rhododendron bush, hoping it wouldn't rip out of the rock and send me sliding down. Fortunately it held and as I scurried my way to the flat ground above, Booty and Sugar walked up, having used a side trail I didn't notice. Shit, I thought.Booty, Sugar, and me would hike together for a few miles, along a gently flowing river, by the 400-mile point marked by sticks, and along several small streams, babbling softly as we crossed over each. Eventually Booty and I, maintaining a 3mph pace, would pull ahead and not see Sugar until the evening. Using certain points as checkpoints, we'd first reach Mountaineer Falls and Mountaineer Shelter which told us we were a third of the way done. We next reached a park-quality bench placed on the side of the trail, overlooking more snow-capped peaks, as we sat together taking a break. Next it was Hardcore Cascades which, although it was a series of small cascades, was far from hardcore. Onward to Moreland Gap Shelter where, at just under 19 miles in, we knew we had six miles remaining. After a quick break, stretch, and scarfing down a Snickers bar and two fun-sized Almond Joys, my only food for the day, we were quickly back at it in order to escape the wind howling up and directly into the open side of the west-facing shelter.The final six miles consisted of a few camel humps and ridge running before finally dropping down towards Dennis Cover Road. As we walked, the sun beginning it's final push downwards in the west, I watched Booty walk for close to half an hour with his hands raised to about the height of his shoulders. Onward he walked in this motion. I finally shouted from behind that if he was praying, he should throw in a good word for me. I'm not sure if it was praying he was doing, but, if so, he must've had a lot to say. There's plenty to be thankful for out here after all.After quickly dropping down into a rocky valley, the trail crisscrossing the valley floor from side to side, the air grew chilly and the light grew darker. The sun shown on the treetops above, but we dropped deeper and deeper into the valley. Eventually the trees thinned and a green pasture appeared. As I rounded a corner, an old barn stood just off the trail, beams of sunlight bleeding through the cracks of the stacked logs. Another couple hundred yards on the trail exits onto Dennis Cove Rd where a white sign on an electric pole advertises Kincora Hiking Hostel a quarter mile up the road. Kincora is the home and hostel of AT legend Bob Peoples. A prominent feature in the AT community for decades, he's been awarded a variety of awards including 2000 Maintainer of the Year and 2016 Silver Service Award for his continued service and maintenance of the trail in this area.In an old bunkhouse just off the main house, complete with a common area with a couch and two chairs, a full kitchen, and an upstairs loft with a dozen or so bunks, around 10-12 hikers will call it home tonight. Booty and I picked out our bunks, several hostel cats seemingly appearing and disappearing from within the walls, and hit physical and mental comas. As we began to unpack our stuff, we both found ourselves unwilling to move as the exhaustion from the day caught up to us. We eventually grabbed our food bags, went downstairs into the common area, and were about to dive into our crappy food when a guy told us his friend would be happy to run us down the mountain into Hampton, TN. More specifically, there's a McDonald's in Hampton. An hour later four of us crammed into a small car and winded our way down the sharp curves leading into town.Within half an hour I was enjoying the food coma that comes after downing a Big Mac, two McChickens, a large fry, and a few large Coke's. It was the icing on the cake after a 25-mile day. Upon returning to the hostel, I walked in to find Sugar sitting on a couch slowly shoveling summer sausage into his mouth. I could tell part of his soul died when he heard he had just missed his opportunity to get I on some golden arches. Fortunately tomorrow brings a few options in regards to getting into Hampton, including a side trail that leads hikers just over a mile to McDonald's or Subway. I have a feeling Sugar will be alright. Tomorrow brings a pointless climb up and down a single large mountain before reaching Lake Watauga. After skirting a corner of the lake and crossing a dam, the trail will climb to the top of a ridge, known by a series of names including the Damascus Highway, Tennessee Turnpike, etc for its relative ease leading into Damascus, VA.Even with a zero yesterday, putting in 75 miles in the past three days of hiking has gotten to my feet. My tentative plan is to back off mileage wise, maybe ~20 miles a day max, but the approaching ridge line might tempt me into more. With only ~125 miles remaining til my tentative exit point, I'm well ahead of my planned ending day and have room to play with. Right now it's just after 11:45pm, I'm sitting on a recliner digesting my food as I wrap up this entry. Booty, Sugar, and three others have been chatting and joking for the past hour and a half. Today marks the completion of a month on the trail, and it's been a good month. Sitting here listening to banter, I find myself thinking of Tennessee whiskey. For now, it may not be the newest, cleanest, or warmest hostel, but tonight it might just be the friendliest.