Date: 2020-06-27
From: Route 19E

To: Dennis Cove Rd (Kincora)
Miles today: 24.7

The highlight of Mountain Harbour is breakfast, and they did not disappoint. Over 30 people lined up for a buffet of every kind of breakfast dish imaginable, each one a culinary delight! And only two of us were thruhikers, so there were plenty of leftovers. Sadly I felt so full after one humongous plate I could only pick at seconds. Such a waste! Of course I knew I'd be hungry again in a couple of hours.The hostel is spread out on the hillside with the house up on the hill and the bunkhouse next to the creek. Two identical twin striped cats hang out in the hostel. Up at the house are two dogs including Mooky, "three-quarters wolf" and probably some husky, so hairy that she was recently sheared like a sheep. All the animals, except the taciturn billygoat, were eager for a good scratch. The dogs got so excited they started wrestling each other.Walking out of Route 19E the trail climbed through several open meadows. We missed an early morning shower, but the wet grass did a solid job of soaking shoes and socks, never to recover. Rain came on and off for hours. Even when it stopped, the wind would pick up and knock drops off the trees creating a mini-shower, and the shrubs would brush me with watery leaves.In between showers we passed several lovely waterfalls gracing the area including Jones Falls, Mountaineer Falls, and Hardcore Cascades. It was at Mountaineer Shelter, close by the falls, where I had an unsettling encounter last year during a section hike. I didn't write about it then because of potentially endangering hikers on trail. I'd come upon a middle-aged man named Puck Carrier and a young woman named Ninja. They told me a character who called himself Sovereign was nearby. He had threatened Ninja and some other hikers with a shovel (news reports said a machete) a few days earlier near Sam's Gap and been arrested, but they couldn't hold him. Ninja was concerned he'd recognize her. We agreed to stick together at the Mountaineer shelter for lunch and see what happened. Sovereign wandered in soon, shirtless, unkempt, and with an unsettling look, with a small dog in tow. He immediately began acting oddly. He scribbled graphitti across a board hikers leave messages on. Poked into every crevice in the shelter. He asked us all kinds of probing questions, then evaded even the most routine questions in return like "where you from?" with accusatory retorts. He demanded we sign the shelter logbook. If we declined, he demanded our name and wrote "Did not sign!" Then there were the conspiracy theories he kept muttering about under his breath, about people being after him, government spies, etc. He found a fishing rod in the shelter and shoved it in his pack. He referred to his dog by multiple names. When asked if one was a trail name he answered "He has a thousand names - one for each of his personalities." Ooh-kay.Puck Carrier goaded him with a sports taunt into admitting he came from Boston, and even that he'd had some trouble there, which appeared to include having been committed to an asylum. Meanwhile other hikers were coming up the trail and we posted someone at the turnoff to warn them of the situation. Eventually Sovereign moved on, apparently recognizing there were many of us and he had outstayed his welcome. But we then had the question of how to proceed. No one wanted to camp near him. We waited a couple of hours before hiking out, planning to tent together before the next shelter where he'd likely stop.Along the way we passed other hikers already setup for the evening. They reported seeing Sovereign, but with TWO dogs, not one. We deduced he'd nabbed some local's stray dog at the gravel road we had crossed. Sovereign (who went by many names) was always complaining he had no food and didn't want to go into town to get any, no doubt fearing arrest. Several times he threatened he would eat his dog. Apparently he said this to many people. The next morning we arrived at the shelter to find two ex-Marine hikers who said they had stayed up in shifts to keep an eye on the guy. They had not taken any guff from him and dressed him down for freaking people out. A third hiker passing through had confronted Sovereign about the new dog. He had seen him remove and hide its tags. The hiker took the dog from him and hiked off. It was eventually reunited with its owner through Bob Peoples. Sadly Sovereign's antics continued. Trail magic was set up at Dennis Cove Rd that morning, complete with a burger grill and beer. Sovereign had so many beers he became violently belligerent and the trail angels had to make him leave. He was so drunk a hostel owner drove him into Hampton, took pity on him and gave him some food and supplies. But Sovereign was later picked up by the sheriff. He was released again, without anyone to press charges, and found his way back to the trail near Watauga Lake, again sending concern rippling up the trail. News reports show that Odie, who publishes the hiker yearbook, picked up Sovereign and took him to Bristol and bought him a bus ticket home. But he never got on the bus, and a week later caused the now well-known tragedy on the trail in Virginia. By that time I was home, but people I'd been hiking with were closely affected.It was a seemingly preventable tragedy. It was certainly foreseeable. But in reality there was little that could be done to remove or dissuade this obviously unstable man despite so many people's efforts. That was the truly tragic part.After dwelling on this history I felt run down much of the rest of the day. Probably not eating enough. I went through all my snacks early on. Maybe these 25 mile days are wearing on me.There were almost no other hikers. At the last shelter I met a sixtyish guy named Barry who fretted about the weather and a graying Massachusetts woman named Sunkist.After a further six miles I turned off at Dennis Cove Rd for Kincora hostel. Kincora is run by Bob Peoples, the legendary trail maintainer. He's a very friendly, gracious, and approachable guy who chatted with us for a couple hours. We are the only two here tonight. Aside, that is, from six cats and a litany of woodland creatures that frequent the property including racoons and a shy bear.