Date: 2018-05-17
From: CarverÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap

To: The Station at 19E Hostel
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: light rain

It rained most of the night. I could¢ve setup my rain fly a little bit better, the wind kept pushing it into the mesh of my tent. But wasn¢t bad only a little water on the inside. Strawberry and I got up around 7:00, hiking by 8:00. Both tired. We¢ve been on a pretty good push these past couple weeks. My first three weeks I averaged 10 miles a day. The last two, 16 miles a day. A good jump, I¢m proud of it. But the wear and tear has caught up. My feet are swollen and blistered. I am looking forward to two days off for Trail Days. Hopefully I¢m not on my feet too much!In regards to scenery the hiking was pretty great. Since getting out of the Smokys I¢ve gone over these large ¢balds.¢ Mountains with no trees, only grass. Rolling hills in every direction. Just the most beautiful scenery. We stopped at Overmountain Shelter for a rest and a snack. It¢s a 20 person shelter which is huge. Most are 6-10 person shelters. This shelter is a converted barn, painted the cliche barn red. I had actually seen this shelter in the documentary ¢Walking Home¢ about the Appalachian Trail. It was really cool seeing something in a documentary and then seeing it in real life. Finished our hike by 2:30. Not bad for 13 miles but my feet have had it. Swollen and blistered. Strawberry and I hitched the 3 miles into the town Roan Mountain for some food at Highlander BBQ. After eating we got picked up by the bar tender at The Station at 19E which is the hostel we¢re staying at tonight. And yes, I did say bartender. This hostel has a craft brew bar in the basement. Yes!!!! A bed with sheets to sleep in and great beer to drink before bed. Shower and laundry included in the price. Love it. I also caught up with Short Mile at this hostel. Great to see him again and catch up. So many great stories. Oh also an important update. My trail name has morphed. It is now ¢Who.¢ A bit unorthodox of a trail name but I am enjoying it. Naming me on the trail has proved a difficulty for my group. It was BlueChip but it just didn¢t stick. Didn¢t like having to make a comparison to my past career at the bank. As a full progression people have called me Connor, Just Connor, JC, Gutter, BlueChip, Blue, Old Blue, and now Who. The name Who came about because of all these names my group was joking about they didn¢t know what to call me. Pongo began singing ¢Who are you¢ by The Who. And then Who became my name. So that¢s what it is. There are names similar to mine. A young lady in my group is called Nameless. I¢ve met a Not Yet earlier on the trail because people would ask him ¢Do you have a trail name yet?¢ And he¢d say Not Yet. I¢ve also met a No Name. But I¢ve never heard of a Who before. On top of that I¢m a huge Doctor Who fan so the coincidence is a nice.So, I got to the hostel. Laid out my gear to dry. The vent from the laundry dryer went onto the porch so I laid my tent, rain fly, groundsheet, rain jacket, rain skirt, and pack cover in a heap and let the warm air blow on them. They were soaked. Showered, did laundry, and drank a few beers while talking with the owner of the hostel and its patrons. I am friendly with and have gotten to know Strawberry and Short Mile but for the most part I don¢t know any of the people I¢m around. One of the best parts of this adventure are the long conversations you have with what are basically strangers. That¢s not something that happens in your day to day life and what makes this so much fun. Tomorrow I will be finding a car ride to Damascus, VA for the Trail Days Festival. A celebration of hiking by hikers and their families. I¢ll make my way back here Sunday and continue on the trail. A much earned two-days off after hiking 230 miles in 14 days.