Date: 2013-04-27
From: Kincora Hostel, Hampton, TN

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: light rain

I realized this morning that my watch is an hour behind. The shuttle to the trail was leaving at 8:00 and I thought I had a hour and a half to get ready when I really only had half an hour. When did the time change??? We made a quick resupply stop and then headed for the trail. Trouble had to use the restroom at the parking lot for the trailhead so I used the time to update my journal since I was still getting a strong signal. That meant we didn't really get started until around 10:00. The first part of the trail was a flat section around Watauga Lake. The lake was flooded and some picnic tables were just barely visible above the water. One of the footbridges we had to cross had water almost even with the footbridge. Walking along the lake I heard the sound of a low flying airplane and looked up to see a Stearman, an old bi-wing plane, fly low over the lake. He did this 5 or 6 times while we hiked around the lake. Yesterday I got two cheese burgers from McDonalds for lunch today. We stopped to eat lunch just after the dam but I forgot I had the cheese burgers and ate my regular stuff. After the dam, we began the typical climb out of town and we climbed for nearly 3 miles. We met lots of people - a group of section hikers from Huntsville AL, day hikers from Charlotte, and some old friends North Star, Peanut, Gar Bear, Bear Snack, Alpha Dog, and Bahalla Na. Throughout the day we had views of Watauga Lake down below. It began to sprinkle in the early afternoon and sprinkled off and on. We stopped around 4:00 at the Vandeventer Shelter for a break and found a crowded shelter as everyone was trying to get out of the rain which was now coming down harder. Eventually most of the people left but Trouble and I were cold and didn't relish the idea of going back out I'm the rain. With the big climb out of the way we decided to call it a day -especially since we are in a dry place and there's no guarantee that there will be room in the next shelter. I'm disappointed in our miles for today but I also realize its not all about the miles. The forecast for tomorrow is rain all day but we don't have any major climbs so I'm hoping we can make up some of the miles. I'm rationing my water tonight to avoid walking the 0.4 miles down a steep ravine to get it. I know there is a water source closer to the trail tomorrow after 3.8 miles. Being short on water and just wanting to get warm, I decided not to cook. For dinner I had one of the cheeseburgers and some summer sausage. In yesterday's post I mentioned that Bob People's is legendary. I thought you might enjoy some of the shelter graffiti about him:Bob People's gives his boots blisters. Bob People's was once bitten by a snake. After 3 days of suffering, pain, and delusions, the snake died. What Bob People's doesn't know doesn't exist. Bears hang Bob People's bags. I snuggled down in my bag to get warm and listened to the people talking. I remember thinking I can participate in the conversation even though I was cocooned. I woke up and it was dark and everyone was asleep. Guess I was more tired than I thought . . .