Date: 2011-04-08
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 302.2
Weather: light rain

Hey!Its been over a week since my last entry. Wow! Time has really been flying by. We left Erwin after a lovely zero day full of watching old VHS films and eating some delicious banana bread sent by on of my mom's friends. Butter and I pretty much destroyed that loaf during the first movie. Most would find this shameful, I however deem it a victory. (Side note banana bread and Nutella, great combo. actually anything and Nutella is pretty delicious.)Upon leaving Erwin we headed in the direction of Cherry Gap Shelter, which would have meant a 17 mile day, which isn't too shabby. Once we arrived at Cherry Gap the idea of a 24 mile day into Greasy Creek Hostel over came our common sense and we made the push. We arrived around 7 which considering the long day and late start was really good. Unfortunately the hostel was having a water issue, so the showers were quite an adventure. The slow trickle of water made getting the dirt off a very tedious and trying event, but the water was warm and I ultimately felt refreshed upon exiting the shower which is the goal. The owner of the hostel agreed to slack-pack us over Roan Mountain. That was really nice as the climb over Roan Mtn was a pretty tough one. After finishing our slack-pack we headed on to Overmountain Shelter. That was such a cool place! The view was awesome and it was so spacious. It was a really windy night and the shelter is a tad drafty, so it made for a night of listening to a roaring wind. I actually found it very soothing, it was kinda like the pitter-patter of rain that lulls you to sleep. We awoke the next morning to a breezy, but warm day. I thought it was going to be the perfect day to climb over little hump and big hump, but as it turns out what had been a breeze at the shelter turned into a seemingly hurricane force wind. I have never been in wind that strong in my life. The gusts were literally blowing me off course. Climbing up those balds against the wind was one of the hardest things I have encountered the entire trip. The views from the balds were awesome though! It was such a clear day and the views were 360 degrees. It was awesome! Even the wind became fun and entertaining once I had reached the top and begun the descent. The day quickly became hot after the balds and with the heat came my grumpy mood. Hiking up the balds with all the winds had taken a lot out of me and I was just not prepared for it to be so hot already, but alas I made it to my intended destination, Mountaineer Shelter. There was an awesome water fall right before the shelter and it made for a great place to cool off both physically and mentally. It came at just the right time. Just after dark when everyone was just starting to hunker down for the rainy night we all hear hooting and hollering coming from the trail below the shelter. Shortly after Backflip, Yogi and Patches showed up soaking wet and thrilled to be at the shelter. They had decided to night hike not realizing that it was supposed to rain and once the rain started they were afraid they had already passed the shelter. Everyone moved over and made room for them and in the morning we were all really glad to have the closeness and the body heat. We awoke to snow. Yup it went from 80 degrees to snowing the very next day. TN is such a bi-polar place with a serious lack of privies. I was delighted to see the snow as I have come to realize I will take a cold day over a hot one anytime. I think this is odd as I am from the south, but it is what it is. We only had a 16 mile day to Dennis Cove Rd where we were going to meet Andy's dad, Ken. We got there early in the afternoon and headed to town to get town chores done and find ourselves food and a comfortable bed. Ken was so awesome, he had all sorts of food items with him. (including apples! yummmm!) It was awesome! You could tell Andy was really excited to see him even though he tired to play it cool. He basically jumped out of his sleeping bag and ran down the trail to meet his dad. We spent the next two days slack-packing into Damascus all thanks to Mr. Wood. The first of the two slack-packing days was a 28.7 mile day, which was our longest day so far. It was long... and I was definitely tired by the end of the day, but the endorphins got me through. haha We went out to eat and found ourselves a hotel and it was a very enjoyable evening. The next morning we had a 21 mile day into Damascus. Ken dropped us all off at the trail head and even walked with us for a while. You could tell he didn't really want to leave. He was nice enough to drive out of his way to drop all of our gear off. He even stuck some "motivational" mentos into my pack which was super sweet. I arrived in Damascus before 3 (21 miles before 3?? Oh yeahhh! yeah it was SUPER flat and I was slack-packing, but still let me celebrate.) We stayed at the Montgomery Homestead and had the whole house to ourselves. It was so awesome. We watched E.T. Stayed up until all of 10:30. Yeah I know we know how to party out here. Haha We woke up this morning and moved to a house my family rented from the niece of a family friend. I was really excited to see them again as the further north I hike the less often I will be able to see them. The house we are staying in is really nice and plenty big for all 8 of us. We could fit more easily. Its been a super relaxing day. I drove to the grocery store... oh man! It felt so weird and it has only been a month! Well dinner is ready and I'm hungry so that's all I have for now. Hope all is well!