Date: 2005-04-13
From: somewhere (I'll fix this soon)

To: somewhere (I'll fix this soon)
Miles today: 0.0

There are towns that you encounter on the trail where you break outyour guidebook, compare and contrast costs and benefits of varioussleeping options and then try a few. Then there's Erwin, the townthat I arrived at today. Good hiking today, although the weatherdidn't really want to cooperate. As with most towns, it was almostall downhill until you got to town, in this case "town" was theNolichucky River and the road that crossed it. Right near the riveris a place called "Uncle Johnny's", which is run by a formerthru-hiker. Uncle Johnny's offers a small camp store/outfitter,cabins, and a hiker hostel. But we had no intentions of takingadvantage of anaything but the $.35 snickers bars. As luck would haveit, it started to rain just as we made it to Uncle Johnny's, butfortunately for us there were some tables under umbrealla's outside. I enjoyed a snickers bar outside under the umbrella with Red and Razthe Elder (not to be confused with Raz, now known as BruceMoose, who Ihiked with in the beginning of the journey) while Bubbletoes calledhome on the payphone. With the rain beginning to look like it wasn'tplanning on ending anytime soon, Raz the Elder and I decided to starthiking towards Miss Janet's House, one of the best hostel's on the AT.Hoofing it down the road with a pack on your back and a thumb out, itcan sometimes be pretty hard to catch a ride. Raz and I threw thumbsout for most SUVs and pickup trucks we saw, to no avail. After we hadrounded the first turn traffic seemed to die off a bit, and it seemedlike we might have never gotten a ride, until I threw a thumb out fora white car. Success, the young woman behind the wheel, who I'm trulysorry to say I can't remember her name, was generous enough to shuttlethe two of us right into town. Ma'am, if you're reading this, youreally did make two hiker's days, and I'd be honored to fill your namein here if you email me.So, after studying the guidebook for a few minutes we located MissJanet's and checked in, it was a hustle and bustle of activity, hikerseverywhere, a lot of whom I'd never met. Raz and I both found bunks,and waited for the others to arrive.A few hours later, word comes that Bubbletoes, Freeze Dried, andCaptain Patagonia have gotten a room at the Holiday Inn Expressoutside of town. How anyone could turn down Miss Janet's I'll neverknow, but you know, HYOH. I finally say hi to Miss Janet, andsurprisingly enough, Fat Chap (a NH trail angel who I've crossed pathswith quite a few times) and Baltimore Jack. Being my nerdy self, Iinquire about use of the computer in the kitchen. Miss Janet informsme that the computer is in need of some repair, and that Fat Chap hassome equipment to repair it. I of course offer my assistance in thedealings, which was graciously accepted.   I knew it would happeneventually, that I'd be on the trail doing computer work.Before you could say "PC Load Letter?" several of us made our way intothe living room and put in Office Space.That movie has got to be one of the best movies to relate to when oneis on the trail, with the exception of instead of leaving an officejob for a physical labor job, we've all left our respective offices,restaurants, work zones, etc. for an unpaid position walking fromGeorgia to Maine. But to hell with money, this may be the bestexperience I've had in my life, so many amazing people and places, andall by foot, there is no better way to experience what is out there inthe world.Back to reality, after office space the Chap and I got to "work" onMiss J's computer, by 1:00 we still had more work to do, butfortunately we also had coffee. Ahh, the wee hours of the morning, acaffeine rush, and a broken computer, suddenly I almost feel like I'mhome again.