Date: 2005-05-03
From: Erwin, TN

To: The Beauty Spot
Miles today: 10.8

Nero in Erwin. After waking up and consuming a good sized continental breakfast, I was done packing by 8 am. I had to get out of that stinky hotel room. I needed to go to the post office and mail a few things home (used up cameras and such) and to see if a package my wife sent me arrived (a pre-planned food package). Since I bought all the supplies from Phoenix rising the day before, I did not need it. I decided to send it forward to Elk Park, NC. This was the second one sent out because I sent one to Troutdale, VA also(what I bought from Phoenix as well). I selected those cities because simply they had names I could remember easily. Later I found it better to also make sure the post office was as close to the trail as possible. Hitchhiking in to town proved to be a problem later on up the trail so again I modified the plan. The Plan - Post office drops, light in weight, near the trail, just enough food to get to the next town and also a good way to have equipment there when needed, nice...    I still had to pick up some fuel and just a few small items. I was back on the trail by 11 AM after stopping in at Uncle Johnnie's (to see what they had there). I picked up the trail where I had left off at. That was once again, the purist in me. Even that started to modify as I went along, how I left the trail that is. More on that later, I can't tell everything right away, I will save it for another entry. I spent a total of about $80.00 on this break. Hotel $20, town food $20, hiker food and supplies $14, mail $10, camera $10 and laundry $6.00.      I walked along the trail following the Nolichucky River, up stream and soon came upon Batch. I wanted to get his picture before we separated again. We talked for a while and then he moved on ahead of me. I was beginning to feel a little ill and it hit me real fast. Batch told me perhaps I could "walk it off". I figured I must of drank some bad water a few days and a few miles back. The trail talk I picked up in town was that a lot of hikers were "Down" with something. The next 4.2 miles up to the "Curly Maple Gap Shelter" was slow and painful. I was defiantly ill and sure was not having a good time at all. It took over three hours, I was weak as all get out. It kind of felt like how I felt when I had the food poisoning only not as bad.      I am doing it again, I am about to reveal another technique I picked up on fast. Something I used to do when I used to run a lot that is, pacing someone. First I must admit I went as far as I could until a couple of friends, Fig and Just Visiting, caught up with me. I was about to call it a day. They told me they were heading to a camping area just past what is called "The Beauty Spot". I asked if I could pace their hike and I did. Pacing someone helped me over "The Wall" I was up against in my mind. Trust me on that one, all long distance hikers hit their wall at one time or another. Just Visiting was in front and she had a great pace. It was easy to follow and we made good time considering it was up hill and I felt like the walking dead. This was where I ran in to Panoramic for the first time, he and many others were slack packing south either from Indian Grave Gap or Iron Mountain Gap. I ended up moving a total of 10.8 miles. Pete, Coho and Roamer camped closer to the beauty spot and I talked to them for a while. My former room mates were feeling OK so it wasn't from the funky room, (bad water indeed). I was in my tent soon after a few pictures were taken and I was out of it. Fig and Just Visiting were camped next to me and the next morning, they were gone long before me. I didn't leave the next morning till 8:30... I felt like such a slug.