Date: 2012-05-15
From: TN County Fire Road 293

To: Dennis Cove Road, Hampton, TN
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

So that you can visualize today's hike, you'll need to do the following: put the tips of your thumbs together, then, keeping your thumbs straight, put as many of your other fingertips together as you can so the space in the middle forms a triangle. Got it? Now, while maintaining the triangle so it's right in front of your face, raise your elbows so your arms are in line with your thumbs. You should now see a straight line in front of you running from your left elbow, through your thumbs over to your right elbow with a teepee-shaped triangle right in the middle (formed by your fingers.) This is the terrain that I hiked today.Bob and Mary Lee, the co-owners of Black Bear Resort (along with their daughter, Stephanie and son-in-law, Brian) dropped me off at your left elbow at 9:00 this morning (Griffith Dam) so I could slack-pack South on your very flat left forearm (across the Watauga Dam and around Watauga Lake -- an absolutely lovely three mile walk along the water's edge in the first sunlight I've seen in several days.) During this stretch I ran into numerous hikers of the younger generation all of whom were hustling to get to Damascus by Thursday night to partake in the ¢Trail Days Festivities¢ (¢Ginger Snap,¢ ¢Milkman,¢ ¢Chatty Kathy,¢ ¢Sacajawea,¢ ¢Birdman,¢ ¢River Rat,¢ ¢Quiver,¢ ¢Mountain-Dash,¢ and ¢Beast Mode¢ to name a few of those with whom I stopped and talked.) When I reached your left wrist I was treated to some unadvertised ¢Trail Magic!¢ A local woman had told her children that, for Mother's Day, instead of receiving flowers, she'd rather feed AT Hikers, so there she was with her daughter with a big load of hot dogs and baked beans (which I passed on) and still-warm, homemade peach cobbler with whipped cream (which I had two double portions of!) Oh, was it good and just the fuel I needed to get me up the back of your left hand to the top of Pond Flats Mountain, 3 1/2 miles and 1,700¢ above at the tips of your fingers?I ate my lunch at the top, chatted with a very nice fellow whom I had met a couple of days earlier while slack-packing back to Mountain Harbor named ¢Bo-Shag¢ (short for ¢Beauregard Shagmaster¢ that comes with a story too long to relate here.) After we talked for a while, I realized I had a phone signal (a rarity for AT&T customers in these parts!) so I did a few emails, checked in with the office, etc... all at the tips of your fingers.When I started down the back of your right hand I was disappointed to find that, unlike the trail heading up to the summit on the back of your left hand which was very smooth and without any obstacles whatsoever, the trail down was rough and potted with roots and rocks (maybe you need to consider more hand-cream on your right hand?)Once I made your right wrist, however, I was treated to another exquisite three miles of flat, right forearm trail along the Laurel River. Unlike this morning's walk, I went for several hours without seeing or speaking to anyone else except for Courtney who was headed for one of the shelters I had passed earlier in the day. The highlight of this stretch were the Laurel Falls, some of the most impressive I've seen anywhere on the Trail. I sat at their base and enjoyed my afternoon snack, mesmerized by their beauty for nearly an hour.When I made it back to your right elbow (Black Bear Resort) I showered, did a load of wash and then joined Bob and Mary Lee on the porch of their house to cook out some steaks on the grill which were accompanied by salad and baked potatoes -- can't think of a better way to conclude an easy, incredibly enjoyable day on the Appalachian Trail. (You can put your hands down, now.)I now have 37.6 miles and three more days of easy hiking to get to Damascus and to the end of my Appalachian Trail odyssey. I probably won't be able to post any more journal entries until I get there, but if I should find a cell connection between here and there I'll try to keep you posted with developments.Damascus; here I come!