Date: 2013-05-06
From: Hardcore Cascades

To: Just the other side of Watauga Dam
Miles today: 21.5

This morning I would wake up to the steady beat of rain drops hitting my tarp. By the time I had convinced myself to get up and get moving the rain had subsided. Within an hour the sun was out and the sky was dotted with white, puffy clouds, a hiker's delight. The forecast had called for more rain, but there would be none this day, a welcome break. In between me and a resupply in Hampton, TN lay 11.7 miles, a 1 mile side trail into town, and a lone pop tart. I scooted down the trail, my mind trained on hamburgers and soda. As I was getting close to town, I reached the Laurel River. There were several impressive foot bridges that crossed over the river, which flowed swiftly underneath. The walk along the river culminated with Laurel Falls, the likes of which I've not witnessed with my own two eyes. A huge mass of water, it dropped nearly 50 feet to a thunderous roar. A strong wind and mist greeted me at the base of the falls. It was a spectacular section of trail. I soon reached the poorly marked side trail into town. Hampton is no booming metropolis. Many of its buildings are abandoned or run down. As I walked down the street, and receiving strange looks as I did so, (have these people not seen a hiker before? The AT is a mile away!) trail magic found me. A wonderful couple from Ohio, Todd and Melanie, pulled over beside me and asked me of my destination, to which I replied "food." They told me to hop in. I was thrilled because they saved me from a longer walk than I had anticipated. They took me to McDonalds, the only other choice in town being Subway. I needed calories, not a healthy sub! Todd, who I found out had walked the AT from Springer to the Hudson in NY, treated me to my caloric splurge. A #1 and a chicken sandwich, it must've been in the 3000 calorie range. To top things off, they offered to take me to the next town over to the grocery store where they were going anyways. The grocery in Hampton left much to be desired. I was elated! I hurriedly picked my items, cheked out, and waited for them outside, people watching as dad calls it. Here comes a fellow up to me, with an elaborate story, requesting money for "gas." I told him I was hiking the AT and that I was lucky to even be standing where I was at. He moved on after that. I thought that was funny. They dropped me back off at the side trail, we shook hands, I thanked them profusely and they drove off. Thank you my trail angels. And so I made it back to the trail, full of energy with nightfall approaching. I couldn't waste this energy so I dug my headlamp out of my bag and continued on, in the dark. All was well until I reached Watauga Lake. The AT had been detoured due to flooding. Flooding on a dam controlled lake, imagine that. I walked nearly a mile around on roads, which I wasn't very fond of, until I rejoined the trail. Well, they didn't detour far enough because three different times I had to bushwack through the woods to get around knee deep water in the trail. The last flooded section that I would have to go around and, wouldn't you know it, I almost fell in. Luckily, only my right foot took the plunge, ankle deep. I must admit, one wet foot is better than two. I continued on, passing a shelter and headlamp lit tents on the way. Lord only knows what they thought was coming down the hill when they heard me come by at 10pm. I would eventually cross Watauga Dam, another TVA dam built during the 40's. In the middle of my crossing it, I turned off my headlamp and gazed up to the sky. Millions of stars dotted a pitch black sky. I pushed on until the trail started going steeply uphill. I had had enough and started looking for a place to camp. I found an open spot on the side of a steep, rocky hill. An impromptu camping spot, I made it work. My hammock was tied at the base of one tree and seven feet up on the other. Pretty steep. What a day.