Day 32-Wetness, Town, and a Month-aversary

April 20-6.2 miles-No Business Knob Shelter to Erwin, TN-AT mile 344.6

We hatched a plan with Primo to get going at the crack of dawn so we could get into town early, get all our chores done, then get back on trail tomorrow. It worked, but it was made a little tricky due to three things. One, it rained most of the night, and I to the morning. We knew that was going to happen, so we were relatively prepared. But, two, due to the rain, it was not really light enough at our planned departure time of 6:30 (got up at 5:15). I was ready to go at 6:30, but couldn’t see well enough to feel safe hiking in the rain. Because, three, the batteries in my headlamp were dying, so it wasn’t helping (and I didn’t want to dig down to the bottom of my pack to get the replacements). So, at about 6:45 I started walking really slowly. Here’s my morning selfie. 

I’m smiling...really!

Once it was light enough, I picked up the pace. Of course Sure Foot was ahead of me, as there was some downhill, and he moved faster in the dim light than I did. I really pumped it on the uphills, though, and got out ahead of Sure Foot for awhile. 

At the top of the last climb before the long descent  to Erwin, I called Doug, the shuttle driver who would take us into Erwin, to arrange our ride. We planned to meet him at a church (covered porch) about 10:00. He was running a gal to the airport in Asheville. A little aside here...mystery solved regarding Mouse...she headed home. Doug took her to the airport. We heard from another hiker, Tic Tac, that Mouse was unable to keep up with her, Papa Smurf, and a third guy, yet she was having trouble finding her way on her own (legally blind, and got lost following a blue blaze for three hours). Tic Tac called Mouse’s mom, and she told her to come home. Need to try to get her contact info...

Anyway, the rain let up enough to give us views of Erwin and the Nolichucky River. 

See the church (zoomed in))? That’s where we were to meet Doug. 

The Nolichucky River. 

Primo, who hikes very fast, and Scruffy caught up to us at the Erwin viewpoint. We hiked the rest of the way down together. 

Primo and Scruffy crossing the Nolichucky River. 

We arrived at 9:50, and Doug arrived 20 minutes later. He said Mouse had paid for our shuttle (even though she couldn’t have known it was us). 

Doug the shuttle driver. 

We checked into the Super 8, and promptly got our laundry going (Primo’s, Sure Foot’s, and mine in one load with two things of detergent-yay, clean clothes!!!). After we had clothes to wear, Sure Foot and I headed to Food City, our first full grocery store since Franklin. It was hard to restrain ourselves. Sure Foot still got too much food, and I might have, but I’ve been wanting a bit more food, so I think I’m good. We’ve resupplied for the next 6 days to Roan Mtn. We also got food to eat here from the deli. For lunch I ate the following: a piece of fried chicken, Mac and cheese, jojos, a big Caesar salad, a roll, a bottle of kombucha, and no bake cookies! I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!

One month ago today, I stepped foot on the AT. I won’t say it’s been easy, especially with the whole virus challenges, but I am enjoying the hiking. I feel like I have gained strength, and I feel ready to up the mileage. I feel like I’m ready for a 15 mile day. Now, if the trail will just cooperate! 

One more thing...if you leave a comment on the blog itself (not through Facebook), please say who you are (thanks, Matt, I always know it’s you commenting). Most of the comments come to me as anonymous (or with your blogger profile name), and I don’t know who is commenting. 








Comments

  1. UnknownApril 21, 2020 at 11:27 AM

    Hey Two Wheels, kind of thought you might not know who the comment was from since on this end it shows as anonymous when posted, though it says "comment as:" and your name at the top.
    Anyway, glad to hear all is well and you are enjoying the hike despite the additional challenges created by the virus. For me, I have two complications to my tour plans ... Oregon St. Parks are closed due to the virus as are some towns / stores so I am awaiting a clearer idea of how it might be possible to do some sort of tour this summer. Secondly, while riding on the "safe" CWT I had to evade another cyclist and took a bit of a tumble a couple of weeks ago, resulting in a cracked wrist bone and a cast for 4 weeks!! So, at the moment I'm just "cooling my heals" waiting to heal and for better virus news.
    Take care,
    Matt
    PS - your blog postings and pics are great, first thing I check for when on my computer!

    ReplyDelete

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