Date: 2018-05-26
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: US 321, Hampton, TN
Miles today: 14.9

I left camp this morning at precisely 7:17 which is the birthday of my younger sisters Laura and Laureen, they're twins. Z was already out in front of me and Tom was ready to leave momentarily. Trouble left long before us all having chosen to eat cold cereal on the go. Rain was looming but it's always easier to start hiking before the rain rather than leave the comforts of a dry shelter if the rain has already started. Within 20 minutes I had to stop to put on my pack's rain cover. And 20 minutes after that it was raining enough to remove any hopes of staying dry today. Little did I know it was going to rain consistently all day. My thoughts were on reaching the Boots Off Hostel 15 miles away. It was the only thing keeping me going on the sloppy trail. Before I left for the AT, people had asked how do you know where to go. The AT is marked with white blazes on trees, posts, rocks and sometimes roads. You just follow them. A blaze is roughly the size and shape of a Hershey candy bar. Blue blazes are side trails and can be very short in length to very long. The only time I'm on a trail marked with blue blazes is to get to a water source or to a shelter not directly on the AT. Well, I had been following the trail along the river for awhile when I realized I'd seen two blue blazes in a row. How could this be? There wasn't a spilt in the trail. I headed backwards and ran into an older gentleman with an accent and asked him for clarification. He was certain we were on the right trail as he also saw no alternative route. I turned around and headed in the initial direction but when I saw the third and fourth blue blaze I knew something was amiss. When doubling back I told the gentleman I'm going back to the last white blaze I saw. He continued down the side trail. Last thing I wanted to do is hike extra miles in rain but I needed to be sure. When I arrived at the last white blaze I could now see the trail went straight down the side of cliff and slightly backwards. This is why I missed it as it headed downward to Laurel Falls. I was relieved and felt for the other guy going the wrong way but he was on his own now. The trail was extremely tough over the next half mile. I fell twice and slipped, nearly falling two more times. One of the falls put me half over the edge. I managed to stop my momentum by placing my hand on an eight inch diameter log on the side of the cliff. Honestly, this was the first time I was afraid for my safety. After the treacherous section I caught up with Z. Turns out he came across the same gentleman I did and he was going southbound rather than northbound on the white blaze trail. Z got him going in the right direction. The side trail the gentleman took bypassed the Laurel Falls, probably due to it being too treacherous for some and put him ahead of me. I passed him later and we talked briefly of what occurred. Finally I reached the hostel only to find out no space was available. Z was going back to the trail but I wanted to dry out. Luckily I was able to arrange a shuttle to another hostel 2.5 miles away. Our mysterious gentleman with the accent had arrived, sat next to me and said, "You go I go with you." I had the chance to get to know him over the next several hours. His name is Erich and he's from Switzerland. He's retired and came to America to hike the AT. We went to Subway for dinner and it was his first trip to the franchise. I helped him put in his order since his accent and unfamiliarity with Subway confused the sandwich maker. We've never had such good subs! For book followers, mile 428.1 page 45.