Date: 2004-04-28
From: Elk River Campsite

To: Dennis Cove Road (Kincora)
Miles today: 17.3

Day 464.28.049:30pmWay past my bedtime. Guess the decision about whether to zero at Kincora has been made. Unless I decide to do a really short mileage day instead. Crusty, a 3-year section hiker, said the way to get to Damascus is a 10, 19, and 20-mile day. Sounds reasonable. My body¢s definitely hurtin¢ after the miles I¢ve put in during the past 2 days -- 38 by my count. Today was really tough. The terrain wasn¢t bad. Actually were probably some of the easiest, flat miles in a long time. But, my legs were feeling the miles of yesterday, creaking and groaning their complaints. But, I made it, all 17.3 miles, aches and all. Stopped quite a lot along the way. Threw up my tent to defrost after 4 or 5 miles. It was ice-encrusted after the dewy frost (or would it be frosty dew) of last night. Still having to use my fleece liner. May not go home in Damascus after all. Looking forward to having another T-shirt tho. Wearing one shirt day in and day out leads to a very rank Scholar. Full house here at Kincora. When I arrived, only Jabberwalky, Yippy, and Grizzly Dave were here. The dinner shuttle pulled in not too long after (5:30ish). Out popped Crusty, Bob Peoples, Sox, Jester, the Hobbits, Navigator, Krispy Kritter (! thought he¢d flown by me -- he severely twisted his ankle which hobbled him for 3 or 4 days), Bear Tracks. Probably forgot a few others. Chris and Elly arrived, as did Sean and the other 2 cuisinarts. Went to the Chinese AYCE buffet w/ J & Y. Bob is totally awesome. He runs the maintenance from Sam¢s Gap to Damascus, 134 miles. The hostel is basically a side project. Runs itself by hikers. He shuttles us around for free. Donations only for staying. But, most hikers donate a day¢s worth of labor to do trail work, which I think he appreciates more. Hopefully tomorrow I¢ll feel up to lending a hand. Bob was sporting the Rattlesnake ATC ¢00 shirt. Brought back memories, as did hiking up Carver¢s Gap. Was glad to see my handiwork (or at least the work I had a small hand in producing) has stood the test of time. All 4 years. But, the need to rush to Damascus has lifted somewhat. Sox told me that she got a message relayed via hikers, from Sweetleaf, saying she had to get off the trail b/c of a funeral. Apparently she left at Erwin, which is why I haven¢t seen her name in the registers. Hope it wasn¢t an unexpected death, or a close friend. I¢m sure we¢ll catch up again at some point, I just hope she¢ll be ok. But, that frees me up to spend a day giving back to the trail. Grizzly Dave doesn¢t seem able to understand how Bob operates. That he truly only has a desire to help, both hikers and the functioning to the trail. That there¢s no monetary incentive whatsoever. Dave just couldn¢t seem to grasp that. Kept wanting to pay Bob, saying ¢I think it¢s great, the volunteerism, but I can¢t afford to waste a day. I¢ve got to finish this thing.¢ Doesn¢t seem to be the right attitude at all for being out here. Hiking the trail just to hike it. Aw, some things just rub me the wrong way. Just have to shrug it off. Everybody has different motivations. If we were all the same, out here for the same reasons, it wouldn¢t be the trail anymore. Anyway, back to the hiking of the past few days. Gorgeous blue, blue skies today. Yesterday was kind of different. Felt like storm clouds were chasing me from one bald to another. Maybe I was overly leery after the drenching of the day before. But the winds on the Hump Mtns were especially vicious. From Big Hump, I could see Jester running across the gap, then diving for cover in the rocks. Tree Frog apparently hunkered down there too. After the Humps, the trail dropped down and was fairly well sheltered from the wind, but the nasty black clouds started looming. It actually tried to snow. Had a few flakes land on me before I realized what it was. It just didn¢t feel that cold. Fortunately, nothing came of it. Another occurrence of note -- hiked across the field featured on Wingfoot¢s ¢04 Handbook. A little muddier when I crossed it. But idyllic all the same. On a happier note -- hit 400 miles! Wohoo! Chugging along. The ¢lil engine that could. But now it¢s really late and my eyes are as tired as my legs.