Date: 2015-04-27
From: Whistling Gap, TN

To: Curley Maple Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

Last night was another cold, wet one. I woke up just as cold and just as wet. No lollygaggin' this morning for it was all business to pack away our wet gear and get moving in order to get some blood flowing. Moosehead, Hobble, and I would say a quick g'morning and g'bye to Rock Boat and hot the trail. Not too far in we would hit the first scenic view of the day at High Rocks, an outcropping of rocks at 4,280ft overlooking mountains to the south and west. Moosehead and I exchanged quotes from the Lion King - stating everything the sun touches is part of our kingdom. And the dark place you should never go to? Gatlinburg, of course. After a few minutes of enjoying the view, we continued on so we wouldn't begin to freeze again. In Spivey Gap we would stop to refill our water and I would take the opportunity to take care of my morning bathroom break. During this time Rock Boat would catch us and would remain with us Flor the remainder of the day. Through Ogelsby Branch and Devils Creek Gap, we enjoyed a relatively easy hike in beautiful, warm weather. We joked, played the 20 questions game until we were ready to fight one another, and then just strolled in a comfortable silence. We stopped to rest and eat our early lunch at No Business Knob Shelter. We had heard that the stretch from this shelter into Uncle Johny's Hostel in Erwin, TN has been known for its Norovirus outbreaks so we kept our sprawling and touching of anything to a minimum.Zigzagging in and out of valleys while skirting mountains made for easy mileage. Passing Temple Hill Gap, we would hit a series of camel hump ridges that would climax at a bend overlooking Erwin, TN and the Nolichucky River. We sat on an outcropping of rocks for the better part of 45 minutes since we were ahead of schedule. We took turns climbing into a tree on the edge of a cliff (a fall most likely resulting in death) and getting our pictures taken. Eventually we continued the final 2 miles into Erwin and sat on a bridge spanning the river waiting for our trail angel to return to spoil us again.Hobble's dad, Bucky, went out of his way again to give hikers a help in fan. It'd only been ~36 hours since we last saw him, but 24 miles later made it feel like longer. With him were Hobble's friend, Chris (given the trail name Cotton by yours truly due to the amount he's wearing,) and Hobble's dog, Nala. Cotton is joining us through Wednesday simply to enjoma hike with us. We met him while in Asheville and he's a cool guy. Nala will be joining us for at least a few days if she does well on the trail. Bucky took us to Pal's, a burger/dog joint custom to this part of the country. If you're tired of main chains like McDonald's, Burger King, etc. then give this one a try whenever you see one. Solid burgers and fries that easily beat the other top chains. Bucky, being awesome and spoiling strangers again, treated Moosehead, Hobble, Rock Boat, Cotton, and I to lunch again. I seriously can't thank him enough for introducing me to Pal's and transporting us to our locations. My only knock on him would be that he's a Cowboys and University of Tennessee fan. No one is perfect. For lunch I had a Coke, large fries and a Pal's bacon and cheese burger. I followed that up with another Pal's double cheeseburger. Excellent.Bucky then took us to a nearby Walmart where we were able to restock on food for the next several days. Again I got too much food and will suffer the consequences over the next few days until some of it is consumed. Afterwards, Bucky returned us to the location we last ended before returning home to Johnson City. We sat along the road for ~30 minutes, stuffing our newly purchased food into our packs dreading the final push to our current location. Fortunately the final ~5 miles would pass by quickly for it was fairly flat until the final half-mile where the trail seemed just shy of vertical leading into Curley Maple Gap Shelter.The shelter is filled with a new bubble of hikers we've crossed through. We found Burnsides camped behind the shelter. He had to take the day off due to some kind of sickness he developed overnight, causing him to spend most of the night throwing up. He's feeling a little better, and Moosehead even packed him in a Gatorade from town to help the cause. I packed in a Coke, but not for myself and not the cause. Dinner is complete (fire toasted tortillas with a Nutty Butty inside) and now quickly wrapping this journal up before bed. I didn't feel like setting up a tent so I will be cowboy camping underneath a fallen tree that I tarped my rainfly over. The temperature will be dipping well into the 30's again, but I'll manage.As a heads up, I was unable to find an opportunity to charge my gadgets so I will most likely be without phone and iPad service for the next several days. I will continue to write my journals and update once I'm able to recharge. My apologies to my followers, but, as always, I thank you for the continued support.Also, please follow my good trail friend, Rock Boat at:www.trail journals.com/rockboatUpdate when I can. Full steam ahead.