Date: 2010-05-06
From: Moreland Gap shelter

To: Kincora
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

06 May 2010, Kincora   I felt better when I woke up this morning. I ate one pop tart and a couple swallows of propel drinks (powdered drink mix).   We made good time today. I made it to the road crossing for Kincora at about 10 am. Bismarck was an hour behind me because he took the side trail to Coon Den Falls. While I was waiting for Bismarck when some guy pulled up in a new looking red ford pickup truck and asked if I had seen any snakes. He then walked over to the bridge near the road and then walked back to his truck and back to the bridge again. This time he had a hand gun on his side. That made me a little nervous. I asked what he was going to do and he said he was going to kill a snake. I walked back up the trail and told him I had been waiting for my hiking partner and headed back down the trail. I then heard two shots and looked around and saw him walking back to his truck, I yelled out to him and asked if he got it and he said he was not sure. After he left I went back down to the road crossing to wait for Bismarck. I set my hammock up and laid in it while waiting for him. Once he arrived we walked to the hostel just up the road.   Bob Peoples (hostel owner) shuttled us into Elizabeth tonight from the hostel for dinner and resupply. We ate at Arby's. Gonzo spent $24 plus on food and when we added up the calories for his food it was over 3,000 calories.   Gonzo is also thinking about trying to do 50 miles into Damascus tomorrow. We are trying to talk him out of this foolish stunt.   While sitting around the hostel this afternoon Tour Guide asked Popcorn why he was thru hiking for the second time. Popcorn told him it was for health reasons and went on to explain that it was to help circulation of his blood. Tour Guide suggested that if he quit smoking it would probably help more than hiking. Popcorn came back with the comment that is always easy for all the idiot non smokers to make a statement like that. Tour Guides response was that he use to smoke and quit. He also pointed out that if a hiker had the will power to complete a thru hike once and then to do it a second time that quitting smoking should not be an issue. At that point Popcorn tuned everyone out and went back to readying his book.   I have heard a lot of things up the trail from other thru hikers that have passed thru Kincora. The things I have heard people say are that this is a dump. People need to realize first off that this is a hostel and not a four star hotel. Next they need to realize that it is the responsibility of the hikers to take care of and clean up this hostel after themselves. Bob Peoples does a lot of work for the trail and spends all his time doing trail maintenance on the trail; the hostel is something else he does to help out the trail and the hikers. This place it not to back, it could use some maintenance and cleaning up; it is a lot better than the bunk house at Uncle Johnny's.   I met the hiker Seven D's who is from Bangor Maine and retired from the Air Force. We talked about Maine and where we both live and other things for a bit.    Here tonight are Ohiobro, Eric the Red, Core Girl (later to be known as Ghetto Sheep), Tour Guide, Seven D's, Not Yet, Gonzo, Popcorn, and two other section hikers.