Date: 2009-05-05
From: Erwin

To: Damascus
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

Howdy, y'all! Chief Duffy's Shorter Half here with a tiny bit of an update from the Boys. Duffy (and Billy) just called. I didn't get a starting time but evidently things went perfectly for the beginning of their hike. Both are parked in Damascus and hiking to their trucks. They made 11.5 miles today, doing a lot of "up" in quite a bit of rain. They're both pretty wore out, which is no surprise, is it. Duffy's had supper, Billy was eating his, and I'm guessing they make a pretty early night of it. I'll keep you posted when I hear anything. Y'all take care, and thanks for checking in.Duffy here:Made it to Damascus by 545 and parked both our vehicles at Lone Wolf's house. He came out and we all piled in his little ford pickup. I got the jump seat and the speaker. Between the radio fading in and out, he asked us about our plans and gear and talked of his work. A great, quiet, unassuming guy, I am happy to count him as one of my friends. He finally dropped us at the Nolichucky River Valley trailhead at 830 or so, and walked up to the trail and pointed us in the right direction. Immediately we were surrounded by the deep mountain forest, very wet, with creeks and little bridges at every turn. We took some pictures, and talked of taking it slow and taking in the beauty. Billy had all the normal worries, untested gear, never clumb a moutain with a 40 lb pack, etc. I reminded him it was just walking, and he had surely been doing it for over forty years. We began to follow a stream, and stayed with it for a mile or so, until the trail turned steeply uphill. We walked up slowly, until we were out of breath or the muscle burn got too bad (or both), then paused to get our breath. This would be our normal hill climbing routine, only varying as to how far we could make it before stopping. Eventually came to Curley Maple Gap shelter, where several hikers were just setting out for the day. One guy, Crike, came over and asked about my pack. A girl hiker, we nicknamed Cheeky, didn't give her name, but gave us a big smile and waved, as she hiked away. I noticed a spring beside the shelter, and I showed Billy how to treat a quart of water with aquamira. A few miles of ups and downs later we stopped for lunch, and rain started blowing in across the ridge. I pulled out my umbrella and Billy pulled out his pack cover, and we continued on. Eventually the rain tapered off, and we took a sit down break at a trailside campsite. As our break ended we walked about 30 feet and the rain suddenly began pounding down again. We were on a real narrow ridge, dumping our packs and digging for ponchos, and here came 3 southbounders almost running up the trail in the rain. After the chinese firedrill, we made our way down to a road crossing where the bottom really fell out. No where to stop, we climbed the steep trail on the far side of the road, the icy rain slamming into us and the trail now an ankle deep creek of rushing water. Thunder added to the excitement, as it continued to rain for sometime. Later in the day, the rain slacked off, and we climbed to the bald Beauty Spot. Actually, we climbed to the false summit. We rounded a bend and looked up, up, up to the real summit. Samwise the thruhiker shook his head and remarked how hard it is to hike with a hangover as he passed by us. We watched him climb to the summit, then followed in his tracks. The weather cleared when we reached the top, but after snapping a few pics, the rain came again and we hurried off to our spot for the night, Beauty Spot Gap. I thought we would never get there, going up and down and around in the cold rain. By the time we arrived, the rain had slacked off, and we were early enough to find a nice flat spot for Billy's tent and a nice spot nearby to hang my hammock. People streamed in after us and set up tents all around. All in all, a fine first day on the AT.