Date: 2003-04-27
From: DENNIS COVE ROAD

To: US 321, HAMPTON, TN
Miles today: 8.9

On April 27th we went to the Huddle House for breakfast in Erwin. So that was nice. then we drove on to our hike, leaving a car at hwy 321.Here at Dennis Cove, it's 10:30am. Going to hike over to Highway 321. Think its about nine miles. Beautiful sunny day today. perfect temperature. Sixty degrees and we're off.  It's 11:06 now, we've been following Laurel Creek, we come to a crossing of the creek on a beautiful bridge. I've got to come out here in the sunshine, in the middle of the bridge, and get my smooch from Cindy. Its our twenty year old hiking tradition. OK now it's 11:24 and we're taking a potty break before we go down some steps. We're going off the high water trail where the old train bed went. Now we're going down the steps on the Appalachian Trail. As you can hear on the recording we're at Laurel Creek Falls, one point two miles on the trail.We had a nice break here, it's eleven fifty six. We enjoyed the sunshine directly on the falls for ten minutes. Another couple here tried to swim but it was too cold today. But it's very beautiful. We're going to head on down the trail now. At twelve twenty we got to the two mile mark, which is the loop trail for the shelter. And now we're walking along a ridgeline. Looking down at the river, we're a hundred feet above it now, looking back at the Gorge. Its just going to be one of those nice warm days today. I talked to three through hikers back at Laurel Creek falls, they had seen us yesterday near Mountanier Falls and we talked to them there. We can't really remember them, we're forgetful, like everybody else. They will probably pass us later and we will find out who they are. We see a lot of the flowering bush, which we might have mistakenly called flaming Azalea. In this area there's a Rhododendron bush that's similar. We are told, its this particular Rhododendron that flowers everywhere along this trail. Very pretty pink, out in the sunlight. We're leaving our campsite here at the two mile marker by Laurel Creek. It's 1:06pm, on the trail again. OK 1:18pm, the second of our fancy log bridges over the Laurel Creek.It's time for the usual(kissing noises and laughing). OK it's one twenty five and were at two point seven miles mark, at the turn off to go over Pond Flats mountain on A T. If you go on down the road for three miles, you'd be in Hampton, following the creek . So a beautiful warm day. hopefully you get cooler as we go up. Maybe not. 2:13pm, on the trail been doing a lot of up up up this Pond Flats mountain. Somewhere we come to an outcropping of rock looking over the river valley and see back into the town of Hampton. All right we're going back up again. 2:26pm we're stopping at the shoulder of the mountain looking back at Hampton. got a picture of town. Just relax for a few minutes here, on the way to the top. Now Taking a break here it 2:39 at the first level or false summit of Pond Flats mountain. We are 10 minutes from the real summit. Taking a break because of a real steep section. reminded us of a real steep section South of Fontanna dam. Kind of a warm day. You know about seventy five degrees. Humid and Sunny. We've got a nice section since the false summit.  We hit the peak of Pond Flats about three twenty. Very peaceful up here, calm day not much breeze, very sunny. Get a sunburn real easy. I put on some lotion to my ears and nose. No leaves on the trees and there is a lot of sun here. Kind of flat on top. Three thirty six looks like we're already headed down off the mountain. we went by the pond on Pond Flats Mt and didn¢t stop or take any pictures. There's no good views up here in the middle of the woods on top of the mountain. At 3:59 and I get my first look at Watugua lake. I can see the hwy down there where my car might be parked. not the car itself but the Highway and a huge huge lake. It looks very nice. OK It's four thirty nine coming down the mountain and I got some Good pictures of flame Azaleau.Quite a few of them, don¢t usually see them in April. Hopefully we got a good shot of them. Now its five twenty and we're down to Shuck Branch road or something. Got another four tenths of a mile to our car. OK We're at five twenty five at the car. And on 321 highway. Near Hampton. We drove to Kinkora, but Couldn't find anybody to talk to at Kinkora, so we went on down to Laurel Forks Lodge on Dennis Cove road. Thats what the brochure says. The gal there said, "John's around, Johns around, don't go, make yourself at home. If you want to stay, take a shower and relax". Finally John came back, hes been shuttling or something. We said, "well we don't think we want a cabin. We could camp in our car". John said they have electric and water up behind the place and we could stay up there for ten dollars. And that's what we did. We took a shower and we used their kitchen. Terry talked a lot with a bunch of hikers there. Fish was the main guy in the kitchen, who was doing most of the cooking, because he was almost a chef, he had taken classes. And he was making up this gourmet meal fancy salad and Some kind of chicken, shrimp gumbo pasta thing. They invited us but we had already ordered hamburgers from John. So we cooked up our soup and ate it outside by the creek. And then we went later, up to the dining room area and John fixed us our Hamburger. But it turned out it was more than just hamburgers, it was like a whole plate with potato salad and chips and soda and a little Dessert. And then John went down and brought back Fish's pasta, saying they wanted everyone to try it. Great tasting. I had talked to Foot Slogger in the shower room. and she just went on and on about completing the hike.  back in 1997 she and this guy she knew and some other people, they all got excited about doing the trail. They decide to do it in ninety seven and he got hurt. ended up, I don't know the whole details but she said he killed himself. It was not a nice story. and then in ninety eight she tried to thru hike and dedicate it to his memory. got all the way up to the far north and broke her foot, and quit. Now in 2003 ,shes trying to hike again and will die on the trail before giving up again. Thru hikers really do need motivation to complete the trail. Terry and I are just on a 2 week vacation, doing what we love the most. And up in the dining room we also were talking to Nez and Blacksheep. Blacksheep is an older lady and Nez is an older guy living in two different states. Hes now living in South Dakota but born back east, shes from Arizona, New Mexico border. we had passed them going up over Pond flats the last day, and we had talked to them there. So we had another nice talk with them. and there was another guy there, Two Shoes, that had been on the internet there. Don't know, but I talked to him for a while. there was a young guy there, his parents had brought him back to the trail, hes been off a week for injuries, we can see that the injuries are gone, and they're bringing him back to get back on the trail. but they were taking him out for a steak dinner that night in Hampton. So we didnt talk any more to him. Then we had a nice night camping in the minivan. John kind of keeps a running tab of people, Sean O was in for the night, in one of the cabins, but we never saw him.