Date: 2003-04-30
From: Apple House Shelter

To: Rt 19
Miles today: 0.5

Made it about 4 miles past applehouse shelter, only to hitch back into town and be at zero again for the day.Today has been rather strange yet good and it is only 1pm. Last night I tried to convince our small group that we should make a beer run since it was only .5 miles to a road. No one agreed to the idea (for various good reasons). Since I didn't get my beer run, I went into town for breakfast at the Country House Rest. with Sue and Oopala. (Big Red and Starbuck joined us too as they were headed into town for maildrops.)Breakfast was super yummy and we got gigantic biscuts that were great. 2 cokes, a bacon and cheese omlet, hashbrowns and a gigantic biscut later I was back on the trail going uphill for 2 miles in noontime sun. ugh so hot. I got about 4 miles down the trail and heard thunder......what do I do? I'm alone so I can't benefit from anyone elses wisdom or common sense. So I panic and turn around.I am writing this sitting at the front doors of the Buck Mountain Baptist Church. Maybe I should have moved on, I'd be at least two miles further and could maybe find a spot to put up my tent. This storm has been headed my way for about an hour now and I haven't seen another hiker cross the road. What to do, what to do.Well, the good but strange part of today was the huge Trail Magic! At the parking lot of this church was a van with guys in orange vests eating lunch, first thought road crew. nope. correctional facility community service guys. I had already made my choice to stop so I wasn't about to leave and look scared and rude. They asked me a ton of questions. They ended up being supernice. I refilled all my water bottles from their cooler, I have about 8 oranges, 6 bags of chips, a whole package of oatmeal cookies and a few packages of ding dong knock offs.Tons of food and no one to share it with. The sun is on my right and the storm is on my left and I have no idea which way I am going. A hiker just crossed the road, not sure who it was but they were confident enough to keep going.Oh, the feeling of being a weenie and wishing there was a shelter close by, but no... the closest shelter is at least 12 miles away (give or take a few more miles due to a re-route).With the wind blowing I'm wondering if this overhang will even keep me dry, tenting is sounding better and better but I don't want to move from the perceived safety of the presence of human (and God's)existence.I'm praying this storm blows in and out but if I have already been waiting an hour it seems like it could be a while, plus the thunder is coming from 2 directions now. Not good. Oh what to do. The sun is still shining on the church, but the storm is getting closer. If this lasts all afternoon, I am in trouble. Well, I took the weenie route when I started to see lightening. I hitched at the church and a really nice guy in a pickup brought me to the Beer Wash. I felt silly saying that is where I wanted to go (like I am a lush) but Big Red and Starbuck got a ride to breakfast from the owner of the Beer Wash who is fixing up the place next to it to turn it into a hiker hostel. So I don't totally have beer on the brain.Not sure where Big Red and Starbuck ended up but they aren't here so I have the place to myself. I'm about 1 mile from the trail where I started this morning, and it felt like a long drive from the church. I hope the owner will bring me back to one or the other tomorrow morning, preferably back to that church.It is realy hard to decide if I made the right decision. I am overlooking the mountains right now and it definitly could be raining up there, but I am hearing thunder behind me and see some sun trying to break thru.It's 3pm now. I took and shower and rinsed off some clothes. This break will give me the opportunity to catch up on my journal, clean out my pack and relax. I can go play some pool at the Beer Wash. I'm hoping they have some food there too.The reason I am so hesitant to say this was the right decision is that I was suppoed to get to the Kincorra hostel tomorrow. Now I may be a day behind and I really wanted to stay an extra day there and do some trail maintenence if they had any projects going on. Plus Ed offered to pick me up in Demascus on Sunday and I really don't want to go home prior to reaching the VA state line. 11pm update - this is a redneck hillbilly town, like totally to the max. The Beer Wash owner, Buck is a genuinly nice and normal guy. He gave me the scoop on the area and basically most people are mean, there is alot of drugs, theft, prostitution, and old crooked money. He hates it but made a promise to his sister to watch her kids so that is why he stays. He can point out the good from the bad. A big thank you to Bill, a local (and regular at the Beer Wash) who took me to Subway to get dinner (with the gallon jug of moonshine in his car)-Buck guarnteed me he wasn't drunk. Bill also said I should have stayed at his place with heat and he would have cooked me some beef stew....ahhhh southern hospitality. Honestly though, Bill was a nice and innocent man. He had a brain annurysm a while back and had to relearn alot just to keep on livin'. Buck guarenteed my safety and later said Bill is the best guy in the area. Buck keeps the inside bar part of his business open just for Bill and one other man because it is their life and they wouldn't have anywhere else to go and socialize. I drank for free tonight as Bill bought my first two beers. I tried to say that was enough but he said I was to stubborn and bought me a 3rd. Later on his nephew came in and even though I said no thanks bought me a 4th. Free Beer!Oh the stories I have from this day....2 people died from over dosing last night, another girl (looked sweet as anything and like someone I worked with) just got out of jail and was back to say hi, moonshine, and how the whole area has gone to drugs from one painkiller that Dr.'s prescribe. Apparently they crush it, melt it and inject it. So why are Dr.'s still prescribing it when there are a million other painkillers out there?? Oh and the local law enforcemnt is crooked and knows all about the drug problems. Boy I learned alot about this area - and if you are reading this and feel defensive please understand it is what I got from one outsider and several locals opinions. Basicaly it was town shock. You hear about the backwardsness, but never expect to really experience it. What is truely sad is that there are some amazingly beautiful areas around here that people take for granted and dump trash, beer bottles, even their own poop all over the place. It sucked being on top of Roan Mountain after a hard days climb, finding a nice flat spot to tent under the pine trees only to see a whole lot of poop and trash near you. Sorry if this is too graphic, but its truely something I've experienced.I've heard two version of why the people in the area don't like hikers 1)The government bought land for the trail 2)The goverment took land for the trail. Switchback told me the locals have 2 garbage cans. 1 with identifiable stuff, 1 with unidentifiable stuff and it is the second one that gets dumped on the trail purposly. After the stories I've heard I think I will be running to the trail very early tomorrow morning.