Date: 2009-05-08
From: Hemlock Hollow

To: Nolichucky Hostel and Outfitter, Erwin, TN
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Uncle Johnny'sThis morning we took a shuttle from Hemlock Hollow to Uncle Johnny¢s Hostel and Outfitter in Erwin, TN. Fred drove us and told us much about the history of Hemlock Hollow and the personal history of him and Hattie ¢ including ditching his date at the High School prom to take Hattie home instead.When we arrived at Uncle Johnny¢s it was pouring down rain so we quickly ducked under cover on the deck and checked out who was in the hostel. Butch, Ten Sticks, Maxwell, Moe, Red Lion, Junior and Fatmandu were all there so we decided to pitch our tent and stay at leas5t one night.Uncle Johnny runs the outfitter and hostel, actually called Nolichucky Hostel and Outfitters, which sits on the Appalachian Trail were it crosses the Nolichucky River. The Nolichucky River is renowned around the world for its White Water rafting, and after more than 2 weeks of straight rain, was running high and fast. Uncle Johnny is a short and friendly man with a thick white beard, hat and amiable demeanor that makes him a natural looking sailboat captain ¢ he¢s only missing the pipe. Johnny¢s wife, Charlotte, was originally from the deep south and had the accent and conviviality to show it.Also at the hostel lived several former, or diverted, thru hikers that worked at the hostel in exchange for room, board and a small stipend. Freebird, one of the hostel caretakers, hurt his sciatica earlier in the rear and has been working and recovering at the hostel ever since. James, a large tattooed man that looked like a stereotypical biker, had shown up a few months before after returning from Iraq. CB, a gruff voiced and jovial prankster, had probably been working there for some time and helped Uncle Johnny run the place. The hostel sits next to a river rafting place, so several of the people who worked there would hang out at Uncle Johnny¢s as well.Behind the outfitter and hostel was a large yard for tents, a shower/bath house and about a half dozen cabins. There were good showers, flush toilets, cheap laundry, Internet and 3 free shuttles into town each day ¢ all things that have become treasured luxuries on the trail. There were even bikes that guests could use for free to ride along the river or into town.We took advantage of the lunch shuttle for the AYCE pizza joint and the dinner shuttle for AYCE KFC and a beer run. The rain had let up early afternoon and it turned into a beautiful day, so we took a hike up the river for a visit to the AT&T bench ¢ the nearest place to get AT&T coverage.N¢Da¢Wind was also in town staying at the Holiday Inn Select down the street. Miss Janet, who was in town on her way to Damascus for Trail Days, was shuttling people around and drove by with N¢Da¢Wind in the car. Stone Skipper and Calamity ended up going with her to stay at the Holiday Inn.After dinner we relaxed on the porch and got to know the staff and many of the other hikers staying there. We saw BJ Charlie (Bobby), Heather, Odin, Running Clear, Rabbit, Butch and a few others we had met along the way. The Dude from New Hampshire was a new person we met, and had been laid up there a week with a stress fracture, so he gave us the scoop on the place. Another new person we met was Giggles and his dog Rio. Giggles had recently lost his grandmother, who he had been living with and taking care of full time, so he decided to hike the trail, as taking care of his grandmother had been his main job and he was now unemployed. However, along the trail he hurt his back, picked up his car to drive up and down the trail for a while, and was currently laid up at Uncle Johnny¢s waiting for some mail. His dog, Rio, was a 2 year old pit bull he had rescued from a shelter. She was very sweet and playful, but Einstein didn¢t get along with her well at first.Giggles brought out his guitar and, along with BJ Charlie¢s small Hannah Montana guitar he bought at Wal-Mart, several people took turns playing while Maxwell carved a hand made chess set to donate to the hostel. Other than that, it was a fairly quite evening for all.