Date: 2023-05-04
From: Unaka Mountain

To: Greasy Creek Gap/Greasy Creek Friendly
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

May the 4th be with you.Well, the enchanted forest did not turn into a horror forest. The only evil spirits that showed up were the spirit of being way to windy at night and the spirit of being too friggin cold in the morning. The biggest problem with the wind last night wasn't that it blew real hard in my tent area. There were enough trees that it wasn't too bad. Instead, it was just really loud above the tree line, so I didn't really get a good nights sleep. I also think that the sleeping pad just isn't working. I just don't have enough cushion between myself and the ground. When I get to Damascus, I may see if I can find another air mattress. Hopefully I can find a decent one that doesn't sound like I'm on a bag of potato chips every time I move.I may have said this before, but I DO NOT LIKE WAKING UP COLD. And it was very cold this morning. I believe it got down to the mid 30s overnight and it wasn't much warmer in the morning. It just takes that much more effort to get moving when it's that cold and even after I start, my body gets pretty stiff when its that cold. Having gloves would have helped, but I never thought I'd need them in May, in the South. But, I did get moving and once the sun came up and was out for a while, I started warming up pretty quick. It actually turned out to be a pretty nice day and I do believe the weather is calling for increased temperatures over the next few days. It might rain in the next few days, but I think if it does it's only supposed to be for a few hours. Hopefully that holds. Actually, hopefully it doesn't rain at all, but beggars and choosers and all that.I will say that I could get used to this camping for a day or two and then staying in a hostel. I don't know if my bank account would support that all the way to Maine, but it would be nice.The hostel I'm staying at tonight is called the Greasy Creek Friendly. It was actually a little difficult to find. Once you get to Greasy Creek Gap, you have to take this side trail that winds through the forest for about half a mile. It's not marked and more than once I wasn't sure I was actually going in the right direction. But, I finally made it and Cee Cee and Gadget are wonderful hosts. Cee Cee made all the guests a hamburger dinner at no extra charge and I know she's given some other things, including beer and wine, at no charge as well.The hostel has a pretty interesting history from what I've gathered. When Cee Cee first opened up the place back in the early 2000s, it was just her. Apparently she has a neighbor that wasn't too thrilled about it and did things like put signs at the trail saying the place was closed when it wasn't all the way to actually destroying property like digging up water lines and such.She also has an ex-husband who I think owned the land and was threatening to sell it.Fortunately things seem to have worked out. Another hiker named Gadget came through here some years ago and became a business partner. He really helped Cee Cee out. Among other things he took the nasty neighbor to court and won, so the harassment has completely stopped. He also created a GoFundMe campaign to help with the land issues. I don't know if everything has been completely worked out, but things do seem to at least trending in the right direction. I for one am glad they are here. Hostels like this make hiking the trail so much better.Breakfast: A bagel with one half with peanut butter andnthe other half with Nutella. I may get sick of peanut butter, but I don't think I'll ever get sick of Nutella. It doesn't hold up as well in the cold though. It was very hard and instead of spreading on the bagel, it was more like chunked on.Snack 1: Some dried fruit mix.Lunch: Summer sausage and cheddar cheese. I know they say you can carry this without having to worry about it going bad for a while, but I still think I'm going to trash it. I took a few bites of it and it just wasn't doing it for me.Recovery Drink: Cee Cee made me a nice glass of milk with chocolate syrup.Supper: A Marie Calendar chicken pot pie and a Sprite.Dinner: A hamburger with fries and some vegetables that Cee Cee made. Also a Dr. Pepper.