Date: 2014-05-11
From: Just past Little Hump Mountain, Mile 385.6

To: Vango/Abby Memorial Hostel
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: clear sky

Well... That's two down! And over 400 miles, too!NOTE: I've just updated all my journals from May 4 'til now and uploaded pictures, so check them out. Some are a little sketchier than others because I didn't take good notes, and my memory... It's nearly 2 AM now, so I don't have time to thank you individually for your guest book entries, but I do appreciate them - thanks!I left early once again, before the guys were up, and hiked most of the day by myself. It was mostly downhill for the first part of the day, then moderate ups and downs. I've been going back and forth into TN and NC since just after entering the Smokies ages ago, as the trail roughly follows the state border. At mile 389.6 after crossing a small field there's a small sign that reads "Leaving NC" and my guide book indicates that's the last step in NC. However, the map on my AT Hiker app on my phone indicates that the trail just barely pokes back into NC on a switch back around mile 398.5. No signs or anything there. So, just to be sure, I took a video of me saying "Well... that's two down!" at both places! :-) Farm BelowI stopped and had a nice picnic lunch at the best waterfall I've seen on the trail so far, down a short side trail just before the second leaving NC spot.I was trying to decide where to stop for the night. I'll need some minor food resupply between here and Damascus and there's a highly touted hostel at mile 417, the Kincora Hostel. However, that's way too far for today and too short for tomorrow. There's also a hostel mentioned in the guide book at mile 405, but I haven't heard anyone talk about it. It was either that or a campsite a little beyond it. I haven't had any cell service, and it would be nice to get wifi so I can call Linda on Mothers' Day using Viber. As I was about 3 miles from the hostel, I caught up with Celeste, who was at a nice campsite resting her feet and trying to decide whether to stop there or press on further. She told me Tim and asked her to pass on to me that his blood sugar was a little off yesterday morning, so he had gone to a hostel down one of the road crossings a little further down the trail from where we camped. She also said Eric was behind us somewhere. We talked about the hostel, but it's cash only and she didn't have any cash. But she noted the hostel also had Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and she'd really like to have some. So I told her I'd treat her to ice cream if she wanted to go there, and I headed off not knowing what she would decide to do.A mile later Celeste caught up with me and we hiked to the hostel. It was good she was with me, because I would probably have missed the small sign pointing up an obscure side trail just before the AT crossed over a large stream. The hostel is a small house with a back porch and two outbuildings - a small older one which holds two people and a newer one with a bunk room on the first floor and a single room on the second floor with double bed, computer and nice deck. That's where I am now, typing this! :-)Here's how that came about. When we approached the house, there was an older couple sitting at a picnic table on the porch with the owner Scotty and another guy cooking hamburgers on a grill. They were just friends of Scotty's, visiting for the day. The only hiker there was up in the bunk house. They invited us to have a hamburger - best one ever! (My opinion perhaps slightly affected by my eating mostly peanut butter on tortillas, dried fruit and nuts, cheese crackers and Clif bars the past several days!) Then he cooked up some hot dogs and gave us each one. Along with a soda, of course! :-)Scotty had gone inside to put up his heel he had injured earlier in the day, when I went in to get some ice cream out of the freezer. I stayed in there and talked with him awhile, mostly about backpacking since he has hiked the AT several times. I noticed an old polo shirt with NASA on the front lying on the back of a chair, and asked about it. Turns out he was an engineer with a contractor that worked for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center and then at Marshall Space Flight Center in AL. I mentioned I had worked for NASA and flew two space shuttle missions. He could hardly believe me. Turns out, he's pretty sure he watched STS-35's launch. So, we also had a good time talking about the future of human space flight. He also decided that I should stay in this room, and wasn't going to charge either of us for anything and I'll send him an autographed picture. The hostel is donation based, so I'll still leave some bucks for him in the morning. Good place, good folks!Best part of the day was I also got to talk to Linda and wish her a Happy Mothers' Day as well as our daughter Jen. I tried calling Linda's mom, but they were out. Happy Mothers' Day to all you Mom's out there! Thanks!