Date: 2012-03-20
From: Buck Mountain Road

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 21.4

Woke up to all my body parts accounted for and a beautiful pink shy with a jet screaming across it leaving its contrail...a unbelievable gorgeous sight. As I began my hike, I met section hiker No-Hear-Um...a 67 year old male who has to have his hearing aides in to hear you...thus the trail name. I got trapped in a lighting/hail storm for about 30 minutes until I made it to Moreland Gap Shelter. One lighting strike was right above me...it dropped me to my knees...I thought about removing all the metal from me...my backpack and walking poles...and just getting down into a ball. It is the worst feeling on the trail...no place to run to...at least I was not on top a mountain that was a bald (no trees..just grass). I was in the shelter for about 20 minutes and No-Hear-Um walked in and out of the storm. It was sunny before the storm...the storm last about one hour...then it was sunny after it. The storm was like a rogue wave...it wasn't forcasted...it just came with a nasty ferocity and left to wreck havic elsewhere...the ground was completely covered with white pea size hail...the landscape looked like it had just snowed. No-Hear-Um and I bonded as a result of the storm...we both talked about that one lighting strike that was above the both of us. I set off to the Kincora Hostel (6 miles away)...No-Hear-Um was gong to finish up dinner and do the same. I made it to the Kincora Hostel a about 7:30pm just as the last shuttle to town (Hampton, TN) was coming back. At the hostel were thru-hikers couple Sharey and Roamey...couple Ron and Merryll in their 70's from New Zealand, Zoso: Male 20...Tetras and Squash college buddies...and section hikers No-Hear-Um and Crash 50's. The hostel was a $5 donation and it it run by Bob Peoples (connected to his house)...Great guy. No-Her-Um offered to take me into Hampton, TN to resupply...He had parked his car at the hostel and Peoples had transported him to a trailhead down the trail and he just hiked back to the hostel over several days. So off No-Hear-Um and I went to Hampton, TN..I resupplied at the the Dollar General...we then decided to go have dinner at a Lone Star Restaurant in another town just up the road from Hampton. Had a great time with No-Hear-Um...had a burger, spinich and artichoke dip and a tall Blue Moon beer...needed it. No-Hear-Um (from South Carolina) was a retired administrator at a university...and owner of many houses he rents out...father of two daughters (like me)...5 grandkids...loves to hike. Well, we finished up dinner and got lost for about an hour trying to make our way back to the hostel which was up in the mountains...No-Hear-Um couldn't hear me very well and we kept going back and forth on this road trying to find the road that led to the hostel...at some point No-Hear-Um got frustrated...I strarted laughing...here we are in this very small town and we could find what seemed was this simple road...Yes, we only had one Blue Moon...eventually our male egos gave in and we stopped at a gas station and asked directions...we were completely off course...with our ego crushed...we made our way back to the hostel...laughing.