Date: 2014-05-06
From: Beauty Spot Gap

To: Greasy Creek Gap
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

I was dreading the climb up Unaka Mountain. I did it - without any sit-down rest breaks! Are my trail legs finally starting to come it?At the top was dense spruce forest and it was difficult to distinguish the trail without looking for the white blazes on the trees. I really like the chance in greenery. On the descent, I spent time chatting with Mooch and Neon.After the mountain, there were a couple of hills until arriving at Cherry Gap Shelter. It had an awesome water source a couple mins walk away with a piped spring shooting out cold, clear, refreshing water. The shelter was hopping with hikers having their lunch breaks - Neon, Gator, Sleepy Hollow, Nuclear, Cheer Up, Mooch, Sunny D etc.I ate my first Snickers of the day which gave me energy to power up Little Bald Knob and down to Iron Mountain Gap. At the gap, I was surprised by trail magic! A former thru- hiker named Just (hiked 2013) was paying forward the magic he received with a BBQ. I devoured a hot dog and hamburger washed down with two pops. Thanks for your generosity Just!The heat of the day came out in full force soon after leaving the gap. There were some steep and challenging climbs. I saw two brothers sitting under a shady tree. One's trail name is Coco and I'm blanking on the second brother's name. They looked really tired since they were getting over a bout of gastro-illness. They told me they picked it up somewhere between Erwin and Hot Springs. They did not see a doctor but they said they reported it. After resting and chatting with them for a bit, I continued up on the trail.Mooch was hiking the same pace as me so we climbed Iron Mountain together. The trail descended into Greasy Creek Gap. I had planned on staying at the hostel since I had heard good things about it. The gap is unmarked, and I took and old jeep road down the hillside off trail for 0.6 miles. The road was stony and it wasn't pleasant to walk on. I'm sure I'll hate the ascent even more tomorrow morning!The hostel is run by a charming lady named Connie. She has a quirky way of setting everything up and there are lots if rules to follow (most rules are common sense). Her dog named Yogi is really cute. I recommend this hostel for it's uniqueness and to hear Connie's hospitality and songs about hiking. She has a crazy neighbour so don't believe signs stating the hostel is closed for random reasons like a death in the family.Most of the hikers staying hear placed a dinner order at Mountain Grill. We went to pick it up ANC Zi ran into the Slay family and a couple of hikers I knew. They are staying at the gap further back and got a ride to the Mountain Grill for dinner. It was nice to have a short visit with them.I ordered a salad for $2.99 and a grilled chicken BBQ sandwich for $3.50 and both portion sizes were huge! I couldn't finish everything and other hungry hikers gladly took my leftovers. I was happy the food didn't go to waste and was instead converted into hiker energy.Kevin Bacon, Shaunassey and Mohawk stopped at the hostel to purchase some food. Kevin Bacon cut her hair into a mullet in Erwin a couple days ago and she told me someone in town called her a 'sexy Joe Dirt'. lol lol lol lol! Kevin Bacon's hair is a work in progress and I can't wait to see what it will look like next!