Date: 2020-06-24
From: Nolichucky River (Erwin)

To: Nolichucky River (Erwin)
Miles today: 0.0

First zero day. Stayed over at Uncle Johnny's. Charlotte's daughter Claire shuttled Sunshine, me, and a newly-minted NC State grad named Wesley to town for breakfast at Bojangles and resupply at the Food City. Sunshine retrieved a package containing his replacement trekking pole part. I wanted to visit the outfitter to try on trail runners, as my Lone Peaks have lost so much traction it's been tricky negotiating wet roots and mud the last few days, but they opened too late. I'll either have to order the same shoes I have now or take a chance on something new - not a slight risk if I plan to get 700 miles out of them.Bearfoot had hiked in by the time we returned to the hostel. He's finished the south and renting a car to drive up to Harper's Ferry tomorrow. Not long out of school, he's built trails in Colorado national forests with AmeriCorps. Naturally he's already looking at hiking the PCT and CDT. A section-hiking couple also came in, in the middle of a 150 mile southbound hike. The man goes by Question-Keeper, for asking oddball questions like "What two colors would you swap if you could?" rather than the usual banter.Had a video call with my family, which I've been looking forward to. Cell service and Wifi have been poor for the last week since I called in Gatlinburg so it was great to see their faces. All seems to be well, plus tonight is takeout night so they're all smiles! Later Sara got the pool pump working again with the spare parts that arrived early. What a relief - pools need a lot of babysitting. Maybe I can pass the hat as pool fix-it man - though I wouldn't blame her if she demurred!Another evening shuttle, this time to Walmart and an Italian place for dinner. Got a replacement dollar rain poncho since mine is getting some holes. But you get what you pay for - it tore apart the second I took it out and fluffed it open. Also got a new smartwater bottle. I'll try using that as my clean bottle so I can flavor the water with tea bags and powders, things which clog up the Sawyer filter when I drink through it.Erwin is surrounded by beautiful green mountains. It's an old railroad town - a central point on the supply line for coal from Kentucky and West Virginia throughout the south after World War II. Nowadays I-26 roars past it between Kingsport and Asheville. The area has great outdoor potential, but doesn't strike one as particularly oriented that way. It reflects the culture and challenges of Appalachia as much as any mountain town. It's unlikely claim to fame is being the only town to hang an elephant. In 1916 a circus elephant attacked her new and very unqualified trainer, killing him. For some reason the local authorities thought the solution was to treat the elephant like they would a man convicted of murder. Except they needed a huge steel girder to hang the elephant. I doubt anyone disputes now that the elephant got a raw deal. Rather than downplay this idiosyncratic history the town has embraced it, providing four-foot tall elephant statues for local painters to decorate, displaying them all over downtown, and auctioning them off for charity. Every good zero day must come to an end. At least if I want to reach Maine this year. The feet and legs had a chance to rest and the belly is full. Ready to tackle Unaka mountain tomorrow!