Date: 2016-03-24
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Hiker Paradise, via Rector Laurel Road 
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up rather late this morning, with the sun already pouring in. I was surprised to see a giant sleeping bag that wasn't there when I arrived. I learned quickly that it held Tesla and Grits, whom I was sure weren't going to make it here last night. Bang Bang slept on as I packed up and broke camp. I left by about 8:30. I was considering trying to make it 22 miles to Hogback Ridge Shelter: the elevation profile looked extremely tame except for the first climb in the morning and the last climb at the end of the day. The trail had different ideas. The wind howled all day long from the South. Switchbacks be damned! The climb up to Camp Creek Bald went straight up the mountain, tough as can be, and my pack felt extremely heavy for some reason. After this climb was done, the trail putzed around a place called Jones Meadow, where who should I find lounging in his tent but Andrew, aka Chickenfoot. He apparently spent all morning and into the afternoon in Hot Springs and was planning to hike "deep into the night but my knee gave out so I stopped here at 12:30 (AM)". Hike your own hike. But I do NOT understand his hiking habits at ALL. The trail then headed over Big Firescald Knob, where a bad weather bypass cuts right below the trail for a mile and a half. I am getting that the bypass was the old AT and they cut a new trail to make it more challenging and give some views. The guide called the stretch "rocky and strenuous," but I was skeptical, looking at the unimposing profile. Doooowee. The trail here kicked my ASS. It was rock staircases up and down and the profile couldn't quite get across the sudden leaps and drops that make the section hard. It took me about halfway to forever to finish the section and I felt drained having gone through it. To make things worse, I stumbled and got a huge prickly vine suck between my legs and lacerated the back of my left thigh and the front of my right. I was in just a pissy mood for the rest of the morning, and I wasn't going nearly as fast as I'd wanted. The trail improved over the course of the day. It became graded more nicely (with a few exceptions) and after Jerry Cabin Shelter passed through some lovely bald meadows that are probably my favorite stretch of trail so far. But I just felt off and foul. And worse, rain had suddenly become predicted for about 4:30, and I knew I couldn't risk a late arrival to Hogback in a thunderstorm. Plus, i definitely didn't have the energy for a 22-mile day. So I considered my options. I sat for a very long time next to a tree in Flint Gap and read the AWOL guide. I could find a campsite somewhere up on the hill before the shelter, but I didn't feel like camping (somewhere) in the rain. Then there was a hostel at Devil's Fork Gap, about 16 miles into my day, that looked promising. A market and restaurant with bunks and a shower, essentially. So that was the plan. Then I got to Flint Mountain Shelter, where a piece of paper advertised "FOUR MILES NORTH OF HERE, A NEW HOSTEL, HIKER PARADISE! PIZZAS! MATTRESSES!" I wrote down their number and as soon as I had reception, called them up. I received not the proprietor on the line but instead another hiker who introduced himself as Options and said that he arrived 20 minutes ago and it looked rather nice, especially for the 15 bucks he was quoted as a price for the night of stay. I kept that in mind, but was still leaning towards Laurel Trading Post, the first hostel. The trail descended easily towards Devils Fork Gap and I had reception the whole time, and I planned to call Laurel Trading Post for a pickup at the trailhead, because the store is almost 3 miles down the road. But when i got there. Suddenly, no reception. I thought I might hitch a ride, but the road was very sleepy in my direction. So I sat down on a stile that climbed a barbed wire fence and once again considered my options. I could hike back up til I had reception and then wait however long it took for a shuttle to come find me. Or I could push on a half mile and go to Hiker Paradise, a hostel I know essentially nothing about, which is only a half mile off the trail. I decided to keep going. The last half mile was easy, but the road walk to the hostel was loooong. I was expecting a house with an attached garage or something, but what the hostel is a very recently-built shack/building with everything hikers need in about a 25 by 25 foot space. It has a gravel floor, three sets of three bunks, a TV, picnic table and chairs, and a separate floored area with a very, well let's say cozy, shower and toilet room, and a hiker fridge and a huge resupply shelf. Four older hikers were already here, including Ghost whom I'd met last night. They joked that I was crashing the AARP meeting. I set my things down, with still no sign of the owner. I soon met George, who is the owner's ten year old son, and seems sugar-crazed and starved for attention. He was cute and fast-talking and would've been just fine company if he hadn't been bugging everybody about their phones, if they had any games, any chocolate or any knives. When I told him I was carrying my old iPhone, he unabashedly asked if he could have it, as he did with a few other of my possessions. Soon, Jerry, the owner came in. He's apparently been working on the building for a few years, but only opened for business on March 1. I told him as soon as he advertises in the AWOL guide, he'll be packed every night, and he said he was grateful not to be packed while he's still working out the kinks. We hung out and ate dinner (I passed on the frozen pizza in order to lighten my food bag a little). I took a shower and did what laundry I had. Despite having good wifi, i wasn't able to FaceTime with Ali, which made me pretty sad. It's been a rough day for me for some reason. Everything's just felt kinda off. I'm two days out from Erwin now, going to do 16 miles up to Big Bald tomorrow and then 17 down into Erwin the next day, hopefully. Here's hoping I feel better in the morning.