Date: 2010-05-01
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: 421
Miles today: 12.9

Woke up just in time for another wonderful sunrise. The change in time has made it more difficult to see them. Lots of bright pink colors on a light blue canvas. Feeling a little better but still kicking myself for leaving without saying goodbye to Fun Dip and meeting his Dad. Sure thought he'd be hiking into Damascus and I could slow down at Watauga Lake to see them. Passed a lady who was running on the trail and then a whole group. All of them with cheesy grins on their sweaty faces. They were disgustingly enthusiastic at dark thirty in the morning.So I learned my lesson about water. I will not skimp on it just because of weight any longer. I'll make sure my sources sound reliable before relying on them. Anything listed as 0.5 miles - downhill shouldn't be counted upon!Excited about Whippersnappers trail magic that he told us about! Wrote in the register that I hope it's 10lbs of peanut butter, 3 gallons of milk. Not that instant crap either! Didn't see the Nick Grindstaff memorial. He's suppose to be the most famous Hermit ever!? The inscription on his grave reads, "Lived alone, Died alone." Wow, nice one.There was trail magic before TN91 in the form of an iron box. Painted orange, bright orange. The box had crosses blow torched into the lid. It was a church group permanent site for goodies. Pop and snack cakes consumed! Copied Proverbs 23. Kind of a favorite verse. Wrote in the register there, "How do you spell Halleluiya?! Oh well, Alleluia! The goodness of Jah-Jah idureth foriver! - Marley" Nervous eating the snacks there for some reason. Thought of a bumper sticker I saw once that read, "Come to the Dark Side, we have Cookies!"There was a beautiful farm after 91. Completely unexpected! Dandelions blooming. Crab apples! Bee's! Lots of bee's and long winding flat trail twisting through a green grassy field. Would love to own this place. Passed Sk'rabbit and Skidmark camped out in the field. What a nice spot! Ate lunch at Double Spring Shelter. Read my crappy $1 book called "Requiem". Worked on my tan. Drew a cool picture in the register that I'd been daydreaming about. Kind of a Wizard of Oz themed rip off using my logo and the Mad Scientist idea. Sk'Rabbit and Skidmark stopped for lunch and chatted a while. Left the shelter singing my pirate song tune. Thought there might be trail magic at 421!? Weekends and road crossings have worked their way into my itinerary! It's my theory that it should be a priority to encounter as many road crossings as possible on the weekends.Hiking down a hill towards 421 and I saw people standing around and got so excited! Oh, the possibility! Turned out to be a couple on motorcycles. Meh! They're not packing much. I rounded the curve. My eyes focused on people sitting just out of sight at a picnic table. All of a sudden people shouted and raised their glasses, and yelled, "SKIPPY!!!" It was Fun Dip!! It was Joe, Dave and FUN DIP!!! Wow I was so excited. I think I was blushing! They had Brats, onions, potatoes, beer and oranges! McKinley was resting under the table in the shade. Sk'rabbit and Skidmark here to. Wow! So happy and relieved to see Fun Dip. His Dad looks just like him. We laughed and shared trail stories from 2pm to 7pm that night. Longshanks, Icabod, Seeker, Maple, Doppler (the boat thief), Conan and Backwards and Larry, the local jacked up 4X4 chevy truck driving weatherman/know-it-all/nicest guy in the world. We wrote a letter to Sk'rabbits mom. Everyone passed it around, when it was my turn I asked permission to write, "If you love something let it go; but don't be surprised if it comes back with herpes!" - Chuck Palahniuk! Haha! It was a hit!Fun Dip wanted me to go with them to town to celebrate his birthday. We cleaned up the trail magic site. Said, "Goodbye" to the hikers and squeezed into the car to go to the big city of Shady Valley. The ride down was rough! Cooler in my lap and leaking icy water at every sharp turn at high speed. McKinley stunk...that and there were 4 people in a tight space who hadn't seen a bar of soap in a week.We stopped at a gas station to ask how to get to the camp ground. The old men sitting on the bench outside responded, "You can't get there from here!" Haha, classic!The ride back to the cabin included 460 turns on the East Coasts curviest mountain road! Wow that sucked! Cramped between packs, food, coolers and Fun Dips bobbing head as he slept the whole way. Rolled down the window to prevent motion sickness. I actually get car sick now pretty quickly. I saw a deer in the road and told Joe before he saw it. Backseat driver! The campground was okay. WD, Crunch-wrap, and BM were there already. Beverly and Bob live here. Bob is a mason by trade. They had Sam the huge "Warlock" Doberman pincher. McKinley was not greeted as a friend by Sam. It's Bev's birthday also. They had a nice fire with very dry wood! Rained us out and we went to the cabin. Finally got Fun Dip and Dave in bed. Fun Dip got up to pee in the middle of the night and got confused...slept in the wrong cabin. He was in the one beside ours! Haha. McKinley pissed on the floor in the cabin. We think she's afraid of the A/C. Slept with sheets and a comforter for the first time in a while. Funny how I can't sleep with a pillow under my head anymore.