Date: 2016-03-27
From: Uncle Johnny's, Erwin, TN 

To: Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: clear sky

Happy Easter, everybody!Ghost was out crazy early this morning but the rest of us got up and shuffled about around 7:30. I packed up and got ready. It's always tough to get out of a hostel. Too much moving from place to place, too many things far away. The roman noodles and Ribbit and Goose waited around for the breakfast shuttle that would take them to Huddle House (apparently just like Waffle House) at 8:30, but I just ate my pop tart and protein bar and got ready to head out. I was on the road just before 8:30. The trail out of Erwin was pretty easy. I thought to myself that it would have made a lot of sense to hike out last night a few miles to cut down into my day today, as I was considering making it all the way to Greasy Creek Hostel, 24 miles away. The day was overcast and cool, nice hiking if you ask me. It got quite foggy up high, though, which detracted from any views I would've had. The only place I feel I missed out on was called the Beauty Spot, but I enjoyed the meadow just the same. I met up with Red Bear at Indian Grave Gap, but pushed on ahead of him. Today was the first day I really noticed my physical abilities having changed. I am able to make it up climbs faster and easier than I could've possibly imagined at the start of this trip. I've also lost almost 20 pounds of the scales at the hostels I've been staying at have been correct. The only real big climb today was Unaka Mountain, and having climbed up most of the way without a break, I decided it would be a challenge to myself to make it up and over without stopping. I did it just about no problem! It was a neat hike, the top was full of evergreens and one area of very old evergreen growth was wonderfully spooky. At the gap after Unaka I met Klaus, an Austrian man and his husky, Nanook. I asked him, "oh, like Nanook of the North?" To which he gave me a puzzled look and said "yes, it's a Nordic name...." I ran into Ghost and made it up to Cherry Gap Shelter, where I knew I at least wanted to make it today. Ghost and I sat around for a while and I rested before deciding I was prepared to push on 7 more miles to Greasy Creek, and do the most walking I've ever done in a single day. It was just about 3 o'clock and Ghost didn't look ready to quit either, and the next 7 miles didn't look too intimidating. I pushed off betting that Ghost would be close behind me. I also put on some Nickel Creek, the second time now I've actually used earbuds to listen to music on the trail. It occupies my mind for the somewhat monotonous miles. The last 7 miles weren't tough per se but they weren't easy. There were a few pretty brutal climbs near the end, and with rain sprinkling on me a few times, I was freaking out a little bit. As I came over the final crest before the gap I desperately tried to get reception to call the hostel for a pickup at the gap, only to be told a few minutes later that there is no road, only a half mile woods trail from the hostel up to the AT. The woods road down to the hostel made me appreciate just how much goes into good trail maintenance. Though the road was wide and flat, it had countless problems for hikers: piles of leaves that harbor loose rocks ready to twist an ankle, drainage issues that make the whole road a trail of mud. It felt like quite a bit more than a half mile down, but I was going slower than I do on the trail. Finally, a few houses started showing up, and I found the one with the Greasy Creek Friendly sign on it. It was about 6 (my previous record of 22 miles had taken me 12 hours, but it was also over far tougher terrain). I was met outside by the crew of hikers who left Uncle Johnny's yesterday afternoon, including Rain Man and Doctor Trails. They had stopped in for ice cream. I wonder if they looked in to see if it was worth the stay, because if it truly was just for ice cream I can't imagine walking .6 miles steeply downhill then uphill. Anyways. I was showed in by CeeCee, the owner, who is extremely talkative and meticulous (she credits both to formerly being a dental hygienist). I decided that the bunkhouse looked worth the 10 bucks for stay, and then took a shower and hung around. I talked with Highland Dave, a strange older hiker who just took a zero here. The only other thru hiker here is Oat, a very soft-spoken man from Tallahassee. Soon enough the hostel received a call, and I recognized the voice as Ghost's. He was asking for a pickup just like I did and was similarly disappointed. He pulled in a few minutes later. I cooked a Mountain House (using water boiled in a microwave, imagine that) and had a few sodas. The Ben and Jerry's in the freezer looked tempting, but my very mild lactose intolerance is set off worst by ice cream, so I thought better than it. I facetimed with Ali for quite a while and watched most of the Incredibles, which Dave had playing on the TV. CeeCee out everyone's laundry into one big load and showed me as a joke the result of the immediate submerging: water brown as mud. Gross. After a little more FaceTime, it was bedtime. I wanted to push myself today for a few reasons: I wanted to see whether I could do it; I wanted to get a jumpstart on this 76 mile section to Hampton, and now I have three reasonable 17 and 18 mile days in front of me. I think I'll try to stay at Kincora hostel when I get there. Jeez I've been making the grand tour of the NC/TN hostels this past week. Mostly I wanted to push so I could stay at Overmountain Shelter tomorrow. It is a converted barn that can sleep more than twenty people, and I've wanted to stay there since learning about the trail. I didn't think I could do it, but now it looks like tomorrow I'll make the climbs up to Roan high knob and then cruise down to the shelter!