Date: 2008-05-09
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I thought i would start this journal entry with a shout-out to my little cousin, and future adventurer "Juicebox"! In an earlier entry, i noted that i was going to get to see my cousins who were coming in from out of town. I got to see them last night, along with some of my other cousins, and my immediate family - and it was a lot of fun. Keep an eye out for Juicebox on the trails one day!Gobbles and I met up for lunch yesterday, and figured out our plans for gettingback out to the trail and all of that. We are heading out next Wednesday. My wife will take us out and drop us off, and we'll head north from there. The basic plan is to start back slowly, doing only 12 mile days or so for the first or two, and then slowly build back up the mileage, once we know for sure our feet are okay.Gobbles and Hokewa talked on the phone and Hokewa is going to keep going from where he is in VA... so he won't be joining up with us. Unless he catches up someplace along the way. He's hiking with team phenomenon right now, and they are a fun group to hang with, so I can see why he would want to stay. Looking forward to getting back out on the trail....I had a request on my journal guestbook to discuss where i am, the clothes i wear, and if I've seen any horseflies...I got as far as Greasy Creek Gap - which is 22 miles up the trail from Erwin Tennessee. If you look on the map, find the border between Tennesee and North Carolina, and look for a little town called Erwin, or maybe Johnson City (Johnson city might be bigger and show up on the map if Erwin is not there). Then look on the map, and see if you can find the Nolichucky River. I crossed the river, and then hiked north. I almost made it to Roan Mountain, or highway 143 that goes between North Carolina and Tennessee. Unfortunately, I got hurt, and had to get off the trail, so as I write this journal, I am sitting in my apartment in Laurel, Maryland. But I will be back out hiking soon!What do I wear? Well, that depends on the day. I have my hiking boots, and my crocs (for nights at camp), i have 2 pairs of socks, I have 2 pairs of pants with the zipper legs, so I can turn them into shorts, some rain pants, 2 cool max T-shirts, a long sleeve cool max shirt, a down jacket, a rain jacket, a wool hat and gloves. For sleeping, i have shorts, and silk long johns (shirt and pants), a fleece hat and a turtle-fur neck warmer. When it is really cold, and/or snowing, and I am not hiking, i wear almost all of my clothes, or i get into my sleeping bag, so i can stay warm. When it is hot, or i am hiking, i only wear a T-shirt and shorts. I actually haven't seen any horseflies out there yet. It's been pretty cold at nights, so I haven't seen many bugs at all. Lots of gnats after it rains, but no horseflies. To be honest, I hope I don't see any horseflies. It hurts when they bite you. I will write in the journal if I see any, especially now that it is starting to get warmer, and the bugs are going to be coming out.Today i am going to go out and do a little hiking to break in the new boots, and make sure the feet are good. I spent 2 hours at REI in college park the other day trying on just about all the boots they had to find a good fit. I ended up with REI brand boots, because they seemed to have the biggest toebox, and were the most comfortable. They are ugly boots, but as long as my feet don't hurt, i can live with not being fashionable. We'll see how they work for me.