Damascas, VA 463.5 miles

Leaving Hot Springs was difficult. Difficult enough that i walked about a half mile across the river to where camping was again permitted and pitched my tent. I found this to be acceptable because almost all of the hikers I saw at the bar the night before were doing the same thing. Unfortunately Duke won the NCAA tourny, but I made sure to let everyone know in that small NC town of my disapproval.

Returning to the trail after two great days in a town is like jumping into a cold shower. This lasted about ten miles for me. I reached a road and saw a sign for a hostel. Here I met a nice man named Fred who actually ran an incredible place. He gave me free coffee and let me use the phone. I used the Internet, got and few snacks and then it began to pour. Luckily Fred gave me a ride back to the trail head.

The next few days were amazing. The highlight being big Bald Mtn, which is over 5500 feet. Luckily the 50 mph wind gusts at the summit dried all of my wet gear in minutes. The shelter which was 400 feet below the summit was very cold and ended up being my last shelter to sleep in for sometime.

the day after Big Bald I made my way into Erwin, TN. There is a hostel right off of the trail called Uncle Johnny's. My mom actually stayed there in the past and informed me they rent bikes. Today about three of those bikes are in working condition and one has working brakes. Uncle Johnny himself gave us a ride to town to eat and resupply. i finally got Mexican food which I had been craving for sometime, however it did not compare to El Amigo, a local Valpo restaurant. Sonic, who I have been hiking with since Hot Springs ordered $21 worth of Wendys and ate it all in one sitting. After that he had a rough night.

On the way back we had a beer run and I split a six pack with a hiker nameed Pop-pop. There are many characters on the trail but Pop-pop may be my favorite. He is a retired pharmacists from WV and is in his mid sixties. He hikes like he is 30 and he lives the "highlife." I capped my night off with a viewing of none other then Forest Gump, to the delight of the entire bunkhouse.

Uncle Johnny has shuttles to town everyday so I decided to take the breakfast shuttle. I sat down at a Huddle House with James, Sherpa, Sonic and Pop-pop. The waitress gave sonic a hard time, most likely because he is from the West Coast and says the word "bro" in every sentence. Anyways a random couple walked up and laid a 20 dollar bill on our table and told us to add it to our order. We must have looked like we were starving POW's.

I returned to the hostel and got packed up and ready to go. I still had a load of laundry going and by the time it was done the lunch shuttle was leaving. How could I pass that up?

When I returned everyone was still at the hostel and hanging out on the porch. We found a guitar and started singing songs. James knew Britney Spears and the 5 of us guys proudly sang her hits at the top of our lungs. We delayed departure even further until the temp cooled and left at 4:30 pm.

Along the way we passed a train and Al flattened a penny on the tracks. Our plan was to hike until dark. At around 7:30 we were approaching a mtn called Beauty Spot. I reached the summit just as the sun was setting to an amazing scene. The best part was the spontaneity of the day and how great it ended up. We finished the hike with our head lamps and made camp at deep gap. Somehow we ended up doing 12 miles. It may have been my best day out here yet.

to be continued...