Date: 2006-04-16
From: Erwin, TN

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: 0

Cell none.The day started out great, I slept in a bed last night and I was comfortable. When I got up I took a shower first thing, just like I do at home. We packed up and headed out by 7am. We stopped and grabbed a Coke to drink for energy as we left Uncle Johnny¢s. What we forgot was we either had to find a trash can or carry the soda can until we could dump our garbage. Now what we did next borders on littering, but I¢ll justify it a little. As we reached the trailhead we saw a small church. This church has a cigarette butt pole receptacle near the door. Well I neatly placed the cans next to the butt pole figuring a smoker could bring them into the trash when they go into church. I figure it this way, I¢m not a smoker but I¢ve picked up my share of cigarette butts. I figure a smoker should be more than glad for that service and pick up my soda can.The hiking was good all day and we reached another bald with a view at lunch time. I was fortunate to make a call to Cindy¢s house where I spoke to Sue, Cindy, Kyle, and Natalie to wish them happy Easter. I¢m glad I did, as this campsite has zero cell signal. Most sites are tucked in behind the mountains, and many do not get good signals.Something interesting occurred last night. The guy we call Sputnik told me he had served three years in the Peace Corp and just finished a few months ago. What is interesting about that is that in 1999 my niece Tanya did the same thing. She hiked with a trailname of Baadai, which is a Mongolian name she chose from her Peace Corps country.Another funny thing happened when I started to tell him about Tanya¢s follow up job with the Circus. I mentioned that she heard about an unconventional job through the Peace Corp, and I got a chuckle from him.Back to the hiking today, the Erwin valley is full of Springtime plant growth. While I was hiking, I saw some small Poison Ivy plants. They were easy to avoid, but I am concerned when they are everywhere. I¢ll do what I can to avoid them as I break out easily and very severe. When I started I figured I would be the worst case on the trail; now I¢m glad to say there is someone worse. There¢s a guy who has gotten Poison Ivy three times already! He has the trailname of "Outbreak." I think I mentioned him before, but I only found out about his second and third outbreak tonight.Let's see if I can remember some of the people I¢ve seen today. We ran across a very nice local hiker by the name of "AT Hugger." He even shared some food with us, thank you. Tonight the group consists of Bear Can, Afterburn, Teddy Ruxpin, Rambo, Lancelot, Sputnik, Die Hard, me, plus a few whose names I don¢t remember. Every one of us left Erwin this morning.The song for today is ¢Poison Ivy¢ by the Coasters. ¢You¢re gonna need an ocean...of calamine lotion...you¢ll be scratching like a hound...whenever she comes around...Poison Ivy eee,Poison Ivy eee.¢GoodnightOld GoatSue's Note: When Old Goat called he said he had Deviled Ham for lunch...I laughed. We were having Ham for our Easter dinner. It's somewhat of a traditional Easter meal for our family.I was amazed when Old Goat told me about Miss Janet - she is a very nice lady who invites any thru-hiker to stay in her home. Old Goat and Die Hard met Miss Janet at the trail head. She let it be known that she planned to serve an Easter Dinner for anyone who wanted to come over. Old Goat and Die Hard decided not to hang around since they had a 0 day Saturday and wanted to get going.We heard later that there were about 50 people who stayed at Miss Janet's house...sleeping on the couch, the floor, etc....anywhere they could find a space. A large group enjoyed the Easter Dinner, too. Unfortunately, some virus/bug spread among some of those who stayed at Miss Janet's house, so some of the hikers were sick for a few days after. That's too bad, but it's a risk when so many people are in one place like that.Home issues - I mowed our lawn today, but found that our riding lawn mower wouldn't go in reverse gear. I had to finish large sections with our hand mower. If Old Goat was home he'd have the gear problem fixed in a jiffy...I've asked a good friend, Dean (thanks, Dean!) to take a look at it.A note about our niece, Tanya. After the Peace Corps, Tanya hiked most of the AT, and then took a job as the teacher for the Barnum and Bailey Circus' Red Line. We often kidded that she "ran off and joined the circus." Tanya now is a teacher in a remote town (Hughes) in Alaksa!! My sister and her children do the most unique things!!