Date: 2004-04-09
From: Uncle Johnnys Hostel

To: Uncle Johnnys Hostel, Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

6:30 AM: Today is beautiful. The sky is clear and the sunrise is bringing promise of a warm day. I am standing on the banks of the Nolichucky River watching the sunrise. A blue heron is fishing from a rock in a white water stretch of rapids where kayakers were playing yesterday. Last night my toes swelled, then my foot and calf. So I got worried that I had an infection and went to the hospital. I don't have an infection, but just a reaction from all the stress of hiking with my circulation problems. So I am relieved, but I promised the doctor I would rest the foot for a few days.9:00 AM: I caught the shuttle to town and had a delicious ham and eggs breakfast with biscuits and gravy included. I still can't bring myself to opt for grits when there's a choice.After breakfast, I sat in the parking lot on a planter wall typing an email and a man came over to ask if I needed a lift anywhere. Peoplehere are very nice and show an interest in the hikers. I told him that I had already arranged for a ride and thanked him. It made me feel good to know he was willing to go out of his way for me - a scruffy stranger.stranger.About 10:30 Uncle Johnny arrived to shuttle me back to his hostel. I feel restless; I am wasting perhaps the most beautiful day for hiking yet by just sitting here.. but wait... what could be better than this? I am sitting on the bank of a wonderful stretch of a wild river, with blue sky, cool breeze and good company to chat with. Mo is also here, she too visited the doctor yesterday because of an awful rash on her hands. Hoplite is here with a poison ivy problem. Wolf Wind is here with some strange illness that has cut her appetite. Sasquatch and Ghia are here too. I am looking for something entertaining to do besides eat and pour coins into vending machines.2:15 I'm sitting in the shade when I see a bright yellow kayak on the river, then a blue one and orange and more. Soon there are 9 brightly colored kayaks with paddlers dressed in bright suits and helmets. Nothing matches, which makes the color infusion all the more interesting. I know nothing about kayaking, but obviously some of these people are very skilled. They hit the rapids and turn 360s and roll upside down popping upright again then slipping into an eddy and in 45 seconds they are back in the rapids to do it again and again. One by one they gather on the bank to rest and have lunch. Seems they'll be playing this particular eddy pool and rapid combo for a while.7:30 Around 5:00 PM we called Pizza Plus to order dinner. I ordered a meatball sandwich and large salad. Can you believe Pizza Plus doesn't deliver forks with their salads??? I scrounged through the hiker box and found a plastic SPORK. mmmm!! Good dinner! Mo hiked out earlier but Ghia, Harmony, Wolf Wind and Semi Colon, all happy to finally have other girls to chat with. This proved that girls ARE more gross than guys are. It has been educational. I know a lot more about ... well never mind. It's a good time this evening. When I met Semi Colon today she said "Oh, you're the guy that helped Mo out. It's interesting how this hiker community works. Everyone seems pleased to be apart of this group and as for me I am. The guys of the group are Hoplite, Sasquatch, Hillbilly and I.As we talk here on the deck of the hostel several other hikers we all know emerge from the woods across the road. (The trail crosses the bridge on the road where the hostel is located.) They are Honeypie, Wounded Knee, Shot (without Governor), and Hoss. Miss Janet, another hostel owner in Erwin, soon picked them up. Its great to have made so many friends this past month, and to hear my name shouted out in greeting. But I'm falling behind some and pulling ahead of others. Still there are people I met online that are in the vicinity and I'm hoping to meet them as well before I leave Erwin myself.