Date: 2019-04-14
From: Little Laurel shelter

To: Laurel Hostel at Rector Laurel Rd
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

The wind buffeted the shelter last night, pushing waves of rain under the eave and dampening our sleeping bags. I'm glad I slept with my head to the inside wall.It's an early morning, and Clammy is raring to hike out to the next shelter before more rain comes. The forecast looks grim and the radar doesn't help. The other two guys in the shelter say they're staying put for the day, where it's dry and warm. One of them is called Mr. President. He was on Marine One staff for Presidents Carter, Reagan, and Bush, following them all over the world in a C5 transport.Another thruhiker announces he's "bailing out" and hiking south (backwards) three miles to stay at Hemlock Hollow Hostel to wait out the storm. I don't say anything, but I can't help thinking "No rain, no Maine". You can't duck the weather forever.Fast Lane, UNICEF, Clammy, and I all hike out separately. I'm dressed for rain, but other than a light drizzle for a few minutes it doesn't come. But man is it windy! It comes from the east mostly, and whips at me in great gusts when I am on the ridges.There are two bad weather bypass trails today - a long one around Firescald Knob, known for its rock scrambling and long exposed ridge, and a short one around Big Butt Mountain's summit. I'm only aware of three other such bypasses on the southern AT: Blood in Georgia, Albert in North Carolina, and Clingmans Dome. Maybe this is a weather-prone area.Not far before Jerry Cabin shelter I encounter a very strange sight: a Jeep with handicap plates stuck on the side of the trail on an uphill about a hundred yards north of a small gap, far from any road. It's wet, indicating it's been here since at least yesterday, with a pair of women's shorts hung from the bumper. There's also a roll of kitchen trash bags on the fender. Since I'm in need of a new trash bag to keep my gear dry I treat it as a "trail provides" moment and take one.Aside from the Jeep incident, the area feels remote. There are several connecting trails, but no road crossings for at least a twenty mile stretch. Just a few woods roads, which are basically ATV tracks.We all reach the second shelter, Flint Mountain, after 14 miles with very little rain. Tulsa Time is here, curled up in his sleeping bag. He thinks he ate some bad tuna yesterday and was sick to his stomach all night through the storm. He hiked a few miles here and called it a day. The other guys decide they're done for the day as well, though it's only 1:30. The forecast still looks ugly even though we've been lucky so far. It's supposed to drop near freezing overnight, so staying dry is paramount. I agree, so I plan to hike another three miles to Laurel Hostel to stay warm and dry. I dawdle, but there's nothing to do here, so I arrange to meet them tomorrow and hike on.Of course Mother Nature wouldn't let it be so easy. A few minutes later the sky opens up and pours on me for the entire walk to the hostel. But as I arrive it relents, and the sun even peeks out.Snowflake greets me. She's helping out at the hostel for a few days during her thruhike. She started January 31st as number 40. Along the way, through weeks of rain, she adopted a rescue pit bull in Hiawassee she named D'artagnan. She's been training him since while hiking, skipping the Smokies to avoid the huge kennel and transport fees. He's a friendly but very well behaved dog, and looks very healthy now.Tim, the hostel owner, owns half the mountainside, 150 acres. His family used to grow tobacco but now he cultivates ginseng, which apparently commands $850 per pound and is frequently poached in national forests.Two other hikers are staying, arriving minutes before me. Diesel is doing the Clingmans to Erwin section. He can only get two weeks off at a time from his work at the Arkansas parks service, where he heads their law enforcement division among other duties. Grasshopper, from Charleston, is about 70 and making a second thruhike attempt. In 2011 he made it to Massachusetts before hurricane Irene knocked out the trail in Vermont. He flipped to Katahdin then hitched home to SC, zeroing one day in Portland by taking advantage of an Occupy Maine protest to camp in the city park.Grasshopper has details on the Jeep stuck on the trail since he was staying at the nearby shelter and saw the perpetrators. A local girl and her boyfriend borrowed her uncle's Jeep and, being more than a bit drunk, drove it up a forest service woods road to a gap then up the AT about a hundred yards into a rhododendron bush and got stuck. They stumbled over to Jerry Cabin shelter, looking dazed and disoriented, and having no food. The guy was seen trying to use a large branch to lever the Jeep back onto the trail, failing miserably. The girl dropped her ID before they ran off and Grasshopper picked it up. He reported the incident to the ATC. Not sure how they're going to get the Jeep out of there.Laurel Hostel is very basic - a shack with six bunks, a shower, fridge, microwave, sink, and large covered patio with picnic table. The fridge is loaded with drinks and a freezer has pizzas, ice cream, and chimichangas, all of which I partake. There is no heat, the TV gets no reception, possibly due to the storm, and Wifi is spotty. I have no cell service, as usual. The storm whips up again in the evening. Snow is possible in the early morning.Still, I am warm, dry, and safe on the AT. And Tim our host has promised to run us into Erwin for breakfast. So life is good.